This is a 1960s textured paper silver MAXI dress I bought at a thrift shop in the 1980s, in Buffalo, NY, my home town. I bought it as a collectible. I have never worn it, and now I am finally prepared to part with it. Similar dresses sell for $150 on e-bay. When I got this, one corner was missing a tie, . Each corner had 2 ties, so I took one tie off a corner and attached it to the corner missing all ties, using my sewing machine. I never had the wrapper, so I don't know which manufacturer made this. They are rare, hence the high prices on e-bay, as they were made for only a short period of time. The front of the dress has darts at the bust, but other than the ites and darts, there is NO tailoring. This gets slipped over the head, hence the loose shape. There is no hem, or it was cut off by a previous owner. There were two rips, and both have been repaired with tape, on the inside of the dress.
bust: 38"
Hips: 42"
length: from bottom of arm opening to the bottom: 45"

Here is what Wikipedia says about 1960s paper dresses:

Paper clothing, in the form of women's dresses and other clothes made from disposable cellulose fabric, was a short-lived fashion novelty item in the United States in the 1960s.[1]

Individual paper and papier-mâché clothes and accessories (especially masquerade costumes) were used as early as the 19th century. The American Scott Paper Company developed mass-produced paper fashion in 1966 as a marketing stunt. Customers could send a coupon and $1. 25 to receive a dress made of "Dura-Weve", a cellulose material patented in 1958.[1]

These "Paper Caper" dresses, which featured a red bandanna print or a black and white op art pattern, kicked off a fashion craze. 500, 000 of them were produced, and other manufacturers soon followed suit. By 1967, paper dresses sold in major department stores for about $8 ($61 in 2018[2]) apiece, and entire paper clothing boutiques were set up by companies such as Abraham & Straus and I. Magnin. At the height of demand, Mars Hosiery made 100, 000 dresses a week.[1] Other items made of paper included underwear, men's vests, bridal gowns (expensive at $15, or $114 in 2018[2]), children's pinafores ("just the thing for ever-sprouting sprouts") and even rain coats and bikinis ("good for two to three wearings").[3] Among the novel materials used for such clothes were "Kaycel" by Kimberly-Stevens (93% cellulose and 7% nylon, "fire resistant unless washed"), "Ree-may" by Du Pont (a "spunbonded" polyester) and "Webril" by Kendall (a nonwoven rayon).[3]

The paper dress captured the vibrant, youthful, optimistic and consumerist zeitgeist of 1960s America so precisely the fashion press speculated about paper garments taking over the entire clothes market. The dresses were whimsical, often featured eye-catching pop art-like patterns, shapes for the customer to color, or advertisements (such as the "Souper Dress" featuring Andy Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans"). They were just one of many newly disposable items – like cutlery, plates, pens, lighters, and razors – consumers were embracing; the "Paper Caper" sales pitch ran: "Won't last forever…who cares? Wear it for kicks—then give it the air." [1]

As the novelty appeal of paper clothes wore off, their downsides became more apparent: they were generally ill-fitting and uncomfortable, their garish colors could rub off, they were often flammable, and eventually ended as waste. By 1968, paper clothing had disappeared from the market.[1]

While no longer encountered in mass-market fashion, the same cellulose fabrics are still employed to make disposable garments for work environments, such as hospital gowns, scrubs, and coveralls. The paper dresses of the 1960s also still inspire contemporary fashion designers, including Yeohlee and Vivienne Tam, who have on occasion incorporated paper into their designs.[1]

This item is sold from a vintage boutique in Las Vegas, Nevada.