Life size Jantzen girl display?

[Kenwa]

Hi all! I have this very cool swimsuit store display that I believe was manufactured for Jantzen right around 1950. I can't find another like it but there are a few 35" counter top versions out there that look just like her. Mine measures 70-3/4" from floor to top of elbow. 66-3/4" from her toe to top of hair.

Can anyone help identify?

 

[jazzbug]

Never heard of such a thing -- she's darling! Thanks for sharing it (could you rotate the photo for us?)

 

[northstarvintage]

She's fantastic!

 

[sewingmachinegirl]

Gosh she is amazing!

 

[Kenwa]

First pic is a 35" Jantzen counter top display that I found in Ebay records. Second pic is from an old episode of friends. The rest are more pictures of my life size display. So similar I feel like she had to be made for Jantzen.

 

[Kenwa]

A comparison shot of a known Jantzen 35" countertop display and my life size girl.

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

What is she made out of? Fiberglass? Composite?
A real find

 

[Kenwa]

What is she made out of? Fiberglass? Composite?
A real find

She is fiberglass.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

Absolutely a find of a lifetime.

 

[thespectrum]

Wow.

 

[EndlessAlley]

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

I asked about the material because I believe this is from the 50s - 60s and is a Jayne Mansfield promo form.
If she was 1930s she would most likely be all plaster and very heavy. I have a 1930s mannikin and she is all plaster. My late 40s one is a composite with horsehair type material under her hairdo. She is chipped and you can see it.

Jayne Mansfield was the ultimate pin up. She may be newer but I cannot find much at this time.

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

Great find!

 

[Kenwa]

Another Time-
Thank you very much for looking into this for me. I originally thought she was a Jane Mansfield promo as well but I couldn't verify that either.
I contacted Jantzen and they told me that they didn't even produce the 35" versions that are signed and selling on Ebay. Here is a photo of two of those "Jantzen mini mannequins" with my display pictured in the middle.

The one on the left sold for over $1600 and the one on the right for over $700.
Mine, again, is pictured in the middle.

She remains a mystery....

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

Did they say they had produced your model?

The only other person this reminds me of in stance and hair but not the face would be Rita Hayworth as in her movie role of Gilda.

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

It is a mystery. Enjoy her anyway even if she is not Jantzen.

so the small ones are knock off?

 

[Kenwa]

Carol Alhadeff (Jantzen Archives) very kindly replied back to me. So nice of her to answer these types of inquiries as I'm sure she must be very busy. Below is her email.

"Hello ken ,
Thank you for your interest in the Jantzen brand. I have researched our files and cannot find any documentation or images resembling your mannequin. All of the mannequins produced by Jantzen were very clearly marked with the Jantzen logo and Diving Girl emblem. They were officially made by Wolf and Vine in Los Angeles to display swimsuits.

I have seen this model/mannequin on E-bay advertised as a Jantzen mannequin. [I believe she was referring to the 35" counter top models here] Some even have the Jantzen logo but it is painted very crudly on the base. I can find no evidence or photos to document that they were produced by Jantzen. My guess is that they are new models.

The earliest forms sold by the company in the late 1940s and early 1950s were headless and 3/4 torso. The forms were laminated in plastic and the Jantzen logo and Diving Girl were visibly embossed into the mannequin.

Very sincerely,

Carol Alhadeff
Jantzen Archives"

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

It's a spectacular mannequin but I can't see it as being a vintage Jantzen model either. The shoes look about '49 to me but the pose, the extremely large bust and stylised figure don't look like they're designed for selling swimwear. Or lingerie for that matter. The fibreglass construction suggests it's more modern too. I used to have a '70s fibreglass mannequin that looked very much like an early '50s but the woman I bought it from admitted to getting an original copied and cast in multiples.

 

[retro ruth]

I swear I have seen another of these recently, outside a shop in England. It's not somewhere I visit often, so I don't know when I can go back to check if it's the same one. But it was a similar life size pinup mannequin, if not the same one.

She's marvelous!

 

[Kenwa]

Yes, none of these seem to be from Jantzen according to their archives person. Not the counter top "mini mannequins" or my large version.
After much digging I have found quite a few examples of the counter top versions that have sold on Ebay for anywhere between $450 - $1600. Most of them were sold as "Jantzen mini mannequins". Some were even signed on the base but Jantzen does not believe that these are authentic - as mentioned in the reply above.

I have also found a few sales records from Europe where people were selling the mini versions as Jayne Mansfield swimsuit displays but after speaking with a few Mansfield experts I don't think this is the case either. Not official Jayne Mansfield displays at least.

I did finally find another like my large one. She is for sale in Europe and is exactly that same as mine but her bathing suit is a red color. That one is being sold as a Jayne Mansfield "like" mannequin.

Hopefully someone will come along and see this post who knows the true origins of these displays.