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SPEAKER_01: This Women's History Month Encyclopedia Wamanica is brought to you by Mercedes Benz. Mercedes Benz's legacy was propelled by the courage and vision of one woman, Bertha Benz. Back in 1888, when the world was skeptical of her husband's motor car invention, Bertha brought it worldwide attention by embarking on the first ever road trip, all unbeknownst to her husband. Little did she know, she was pushing an entire industry forward. Tune in tomorrow for a special episode on Bertha Benz. Hello. From Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia Wamanica. Today we're talking about an American businesswoman who forever changed the US fashion industry. She was a successful milliner who's credited for inventing mass-produced tissue paper dressmaking patterns. She established a company and magazine to sell patterns of the latest French fashions to the everyday American woman. Let's talk about Ellen Louise Demarest.
SPEAKER_01: Ellen Louise Curtis was born on November 15, 1824 in Schuylerville, New York, to Henry D. Curtis and Electra Abel. She was the second of eight children. Her father was a farmer and the owner of a men's hat factory. The family lived a comfortable life, made more lively each summer by dramatic influxes of tourists. Each year, notable members of society would make their way to nearby Saratoga Springs. Ellen later wrote that the visitors turned typically dull surroundings into places that present the spectacle of a grand reunion of wealth, fashion, and beauty out of doors. From a young age, Ellen was interested in fashion. After graduating from school, Ellen's father helped her harness her interest into a career via a women's hat shop of her own. The millinery shop was quite successful, and after a year, Ellen moved the shop to Troy, New York, and then to Brooklyn. In 1858, Ellen married William Jennings Demarest, a 36-year-old widower with two children. The couple would also have two children of their own, a son in 1859 and a daughter in 1865. The family moved to Philadelphia, where they ran an emporium. It was there that Ellen's career really took off. As the story goes, Ellen and her sister Kate were working on a system of dressmaking when they saw their African-American maid cutting a dress pattern out of brown paper. Ellen was inspired by the idea to create tissue paper patterns of fashionable garments for the home sewer. Some historians refute that the idea originated with Ellen and her maid, and instead suggest it was first had by a man who would become Ellen's rival. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] Ellen's family moved back to New York and began manufacturing patterns. They also opened a women's store on Broadway. In the fall of 1860, Ellen and her husband began selling paper patterns and publishing a quarterly catalog called Mirror of Fashions. Ellen hired journalist and women's rights advocate Jane Cunningham Crowley to work for the publication. The magazine was filled with sewing tips and tricks, pictures of accessories, sheet music, poetry, and fiction. Each issue included a tissue paper pattern and sewing instructions. The magazine was well-timed, and circulation grew quickly, as sewing machines were then becoming commonplace in middle-class homes. The magazine also featured contributors, including writers Julia Ward Howe, Louisa May Alcott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Ellen frequently made strong statements in the magazine in support of women in the workplace. She also took firm stands on domestic abuse, prison reform, and mental health treatment, among other topics. As the catalog business thrived, Ellen and William's Brick and Mortar store on Broadway grew, too. Ellen and her sister Kate adapted foreign styles into patterns and made samples for the store. The store's fashion openings became major social events. Ellen and William's store was also notable for the couple's hiring practices. They hired African-Americans at the store on equal terms as white employees, long before integrated workplaces were a norm. In 1876, Ellen became a founding member of Cirrhosis, the first professional women's club in the United States. Throughout that decade, while most businesses were failing, Ellen and her family continued to do well. According to historians, up to 3 million patterns were mailed each year. But Ellen's success didn't last forever. In the 1880s, Ellen's empire began to decline. Ellen and William had failed to patent their paper patterns. A competitor, Ebenezer Butterick, had done so successfully. At first, Butterick stuck to men's and children's wear, but by 1867, he'd expanded to women's patterns, too. Ebenezer Butterick's company remains the center of the paper pattern industry today. In 1885, William Demarest retired to devote himself to the temperance movement. That year, he ran for lieutenant governor of New York on the Prohibition ticket. A decade later, in 1895, he died. That same year, Ellen suffered a stroke and was left bedridden. She moved into the Hotel Renaissance in New York, where she died of a cerebral hemorrhage on August 10, 1898. She was 73 years old. Ellen Louise Demarest took her love of fashion and made it accessible to the everyday woman. In revolutionizing the fashion industry, she also committed herself to the betterment of opportunities for both white and black women. Though she failed to patent her patterns, her impact is still apparent today. All month, we're talking about women in the driver's seat. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our newsletter, Wamanica Weekly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Encyclopaedia Wamanica. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Tune in tomorrow for a special episode brought to you by this month's sponsor, Mercedes-Benz. 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