Reading patterns : Dressmaking sections in women’s magazines in the 1960s and 1970s
Törnvall, Gunilla LU
(2025)
In Cultural Studies
39(4).
p.574-599
- Abstract
- In the 1960s and 1970s, many women’s magazines had special sections for home dressmaking. At a time when ready-to-wear clothing was expensive, the sew-it-yourself pages had an important function to win over competition among female readers. Teenagers read the magazines in search of clothing designs to copy in order to dress according to the latest fashion. Despite the importance of such special sections, they have only been given a marginal place in the history of the popular press and in cultural studies. This article examines and discusses the role of dressmaking sections in women’s magazines in Sweden in the 1960s and 1970s. Based on analysis of the two largest Swedish women’s weeklies and interviews with readers and editors, the study... (More)
- In the 1960s and 1970s, many women’s magazines had special sections for home dressmaking. At a time when ready-to-wear clothing was expensive, the sew-it-yourself pages had an important function to win over competition among female readers. Teenagers read the magazines in search of clothing designs to copy in order to dress according to the latest fashion. Despite the importance of such special sections, they have only been given a marginal place in the history of the popular press and in cultural studies. This article examines and discusses the role of dressmaking sections in women’s magazines in Sweden in the 1960s and 1970s. Based on analysis of the two largest Swedish women’s weeklies and interviews with readers and editors, the study highlights women’s ‘utilitarian reading’, which combines textual, visual, and material literacy, and thus contributes to an overlooked area within women's studies, fashion and media history. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- På 1960- och 70-talet var det vanligt att svenska damtidningar hade särskilda avdelningar för hemsömnad av kläder. I en tid då konfektion var dyrt hade sy själv-sidorna en viktig funktion i konkurrensen om de kvinnliga läsarna. Tonåringar läste tidningarna i jakt på modeller att kopiera för att kunna klä sig enligt det senaste modet. Trots betydelsen av sådana specialavdelningar har de endast fått en marginell plats i populärpressens historia och inom kulturforskningen. Den här artikeln undersöker och diskuterar mönsteravdelningarnas roll i damtidningar i Sverige på 1960- och 1970-talet. Baserad på analyser av de två största svenska veckotidningarna för kvinnor och intervjuer med läsare och redaktörer belyser studien kvinnors... (More)
- På 1960- och 70-talet var det vanligt att svenska damtidningar hade särskilda avdelningar för hemsömnad av kläder. I en tid då konfektion var dyrt hade sy själv-sidorna en viktig funktion i konkurrensen om de kvinnliga läsarna. Tonåringar läste tidningarna i jakt på modeller att kopiera för att kunna klä sig enligt det senaste modet. Trots betydelsen av sådana specialavdelningar har de endast fått en marginell plats i populärpressens historia och inom kulturforskningen. Den här artikeln undersöker och diskuterar mönsteravdelningarnas roll i damtidningar i Sverige på 1960- och 1970-talet. Baserad på analyser av de två största svenska veckotidningarna för kvinnor och intervjuer med läsare och redaktörer belyser studien kvinnors "nyttoläsning", som kombinerar textuell, visuell och materiell läskunnighet, och bidrar därmed till ett förbisett område inom kvinnoforskning, mode- och mediehistoria. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c8f8f469-88ba-4e7e-a6a9-1eb418278024
- author
- Törnvall, Gunilla
LU
- organization
- alternative title
- Läsning av mönster : Hemsömnadsavdelningar i damtidningar på 1960- och 1970-talet
- publishing date
- 2025-06-13
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- dressmaking patterns, home sewing, women's magazines, visual literacy, material literacy, history of reading
- in
- Cultural Studies
- volume
- 39
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 26 pages
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85204771517
- ISSN
- 1466-4348
- DOI
- 10.1080/09502386.2024.2391315
- project
- Reading Patterns: Women, Clothes and Print Culture in Sweden 1881-1981
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- c8f8f469-88ba-4e7e-a6a9-1eb418278024
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-25 12:05:17
- date last changed
- 2025-06-13 14:15:18
@article{c8f8f469-88ba-4e7e-a6a9-1eb418278024,
abstract = {{In the 1960s and 1970s, many women’s magazines had special sections for home dressmaking. At a time when ready-to-wear clothing was expensive, the sew-it-yourself pages had an important function to win over competition among female readers. Teenagers read the magazines in search of clothing designs to copy in order to dress according to the latest fashion. Despite the importance of such special sections, they have only been given a marginal place in the history of the popular press and in cultural studies. This article examines and discusses the role of dressmaking sections in women’s magazines in Sweden in the 1960s and 1970s. Based on analysis of the two largest Swedish women’s weeklies and interviews with readers and editors, the study highlights women’s ‘utilitarian reading’, which combines textual, visual, and material literacy, and thus contributes to an overlooked area within women's studies, fashion and media history.}},
author = {{Törnvall, Gunilla}},
issn = {{1466-4348}},
keywords = {{dressmaking patterns; home sewing; women's magazines; visual literacy; material literacy; history of reading}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{06}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{574--599}},
publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}},
series = {{Cultural Studies}},
title = {{Reading patterns : Dressmaking sections in women’s magazines in the 1960s and 1970s}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/221321378/Reading_patterns_dressmaking_sections_in_women_s_magazines_in_the_1960s_and_1970s-2.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1080/09502386.2024.2391315}},
volume = {{39}},
year = {{2025}},
}