Abstract
This essay examines the evolution of patterns (conception, refinement, and distribution) in 19th century American magazines. It refers to information on specialty shops, such as those run by Mme. Suplee and Mme. Demorest, contained in women’s magazines from the 1850s and ’60s, and issues of Harper’s Bazar from the late 1860s. This makes it clear that patterns attained popularity prior to the rise of ready-to-wear clothing and haute couture, and that women learned how to make clothes and embraced new styles by copying specific patterns. Patterns, which gave women a sense of following a fashion, were an important element in the modernization of clothing.
