Sewing patterns and The Queen of Fashion In 1870, Scottish immigrant James McCall began designing and printing his own line of sewing patterns. As a means of advertising his patterns, McCall founded a four-page fashion journal entitled ''The Queen: Illustrating McCall's Bazaar Glove-Fitting Patterns''. When McCall died in 1884, his widow became president of McCall Company, and hired Mrs. George Bladsworth as magazine editor. Mrs. Bladsworth held the position until 1891. Though still mainly a vehicle to sell McCall's sewing patterns,
The Queen began to publish homemaking and handiwork information, and by 1890 had expanded to 12 pages.
''McCall's Magazine'' In 1913, the magazine was purchased by the banking firm of
White Weld & Co., which organized the
McCall Corporation under the direction of president Edward Alfred Simmons. In 1917, the price was raised to 10 cents per issue. In 1932, Wiese changed the format to what he called Three Magazines in One. Three sections—News and Fiction, Homemaking, Style and Beauty—had their own cover, and each contained ads tailored to its contents.
Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, and Otis Wiese immediately revamped the February 1942 issue then in preparation. A frilly valentine cover was replaced with a woman wearing an "I've Enlisted" consumer pledge button. Readers were asked to sign a pledge that stated "As a consumer, in the total defense of democracy, I will do my part to make my country ready, efficient and strong. I will buy carefully. I will take good care of the things I have. I will waste nothing." Within three weeks, 150,000 readers signed the pledge and sent in a coupon printed in the magazine. During World War II, all women's magazines took on a patriotic slant, but ''McCall's
received much positive press coverage for being the first magazine to do so. McCall's'' began a "Washington Newsletter" section, which provided information on rationing and conservation. ''McCall's'' Three Magazines in One format was discontinued in 1950. In 1953, financier
Norton Simon began purchasing shares of McCall Corporation, and in 1956, Simon's group of investors was in control of the corporation. Simon replaced Wiese with
Herbert Mayes, who had been editor of
Good Housekeeping. From 1962 to 1965, John Mack Carter was editor of ''McCall's
. Under his leadership, circulation rose to 8.4 million, making it the third most popular magazine in the United States after Reader's Digest and TV Guide. In 1965, Carter left to become editor of Ladies' Home Journal''. A rapid succession of editors followed Carter, including Robert Stein and James Fixx. Alexander left in 1971. Robert Stein was editor from 1972 to 1986. During Stein's tenure,
McCalls gained the slogan / subtitle "The Magazine for Suburban Women." In 1986, McCall's Publishing Company was bought by
Time Inc. and Lang Communications. In 1989, ''McCall's
was sold to The New York Times Company, and in 1994, German-based Gruner + Jahr announced plans to purchase their magazine business. Gruner + Jahr rebranded the magazine as Rosie'' in 2001 before selling it to Meredith Corporation in 2005. Throughout these transitions, the McCall pattern business remained separate and continued under different ownership.
Renaming to Rosie and cancellation In 2000, entertainer
Rosie O'Donnell became editorial director of ''McCall's
. In 2001 McCall's
was renamed Rosie''. O'Donnell stated, "I wanted a magazine that celebrates real women, that understands that they care about more than waistlines or the latest makeup styles or fashions, that they want to be relevant and help each other and care about the world." On June 5, 2025, IG Design Group Americas, Inc. was sold to
Hilco Global for $1, who will also profit and receive 75% of all of the company's brands' sales. The company blamed
rising U.S. tariffs as part of the decision. On July 3, 2025, IG Design Group Americas, Inc., filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with plans to wind down and sell its assets. == Golden Mike Awards ==