Mannequin

As far as the pants thing - they sell plastic forms that are just legs. Maybe that's an alternative? Maybe looks a little strange to be legs with no torso but would do the job. I know that the dress forms that have a "hint" of a leg were mentioned and they work for when you are selling a top or jacket and the pants are just a prop, but when you are selling jeans, or some special pants I am wondering if it would be better to get a leg form?
 
aw shucks, thank you marty and sarah :embaressed:

anne, i don't know why that is, but i've noticed the same thing! they make forms that are size 6 and under, and plus size, and nothing in between. weird.

i wish i had a form with an off-center hole so i could shoot pants and jumpsuits. i've been looking for one in a size 2 (providing i can find space to stash her) that has that, and also has nice lines. so far i haven't been able to find one like that.
 
Anne - the only downside to my dressform is that pants/shorts don't work on it. Other than that, it is SOOOO easy to work with plus I now have two covers for it which increases its versatility.
 
vicki, ha! i've seen a few of those. my manni and my french form are both on the less-than-optimum endowed side, so often i had/have to use a bra on them for some kind of shape.
 
Yeah.... I was looking for one less endowed to fit it some of the tinier clothing. Ummm, I hadn't thought of accentuating her with a bra...I'll have to go buy one! Great idea! LOL.
 
I put my manni in a bra & stuff it when I need to, but it still doesn't give me the look I want--cuz unless I fiddle around with putting a sweater around her waist and somehow padding her butt, I still have a too-tiny manni in a too-large dress that I can't pin to fit properly!

For now maybe I'll get a form that is the right size and if she can't take pants, I'll live with that. And maybe get a pants form later on.

My old manni, Claire, was about a perfect size 8 to 10, but she was a vintage dept-store gal, and was so heavy and so hard to wrestle with (me, with my 5'1" body trying to beat a 5"11" heavy manni into submission so I could dress her got to be too much--and her arms were both bent, so wrassling them into coat sleeves and such was a nightmare) I had to part with her. At least the 2 newer ones are lighter, but I'm tired of fighting with them too.
 
Oh, my, a size 10/12 dress form!

Well, wouldn't you know it? Apparently there IS a size 10/12 dress form out there--the only model from the only seller that I've seen.....

Here on eBay:

Bust: 37
Waist: 27
Hip: 38

Now that's a wee too large for what I want right now, but down the road a bit, I'd love one with those dimensions--my old manni Claire was about that size and she looked great in larger sizes!
 
Anne -

I don't think this dress form is a modern size 10-12 with those measurements. More like a modern 8. I realize there is no standardization anymore but a size "4" is 34", 26", 37".

Linn
 
Linn, I use eBay's sizing guide for approximating sizing, and those measurements are pretty close to their size 10.

It really depends on one's proportions. I took a size 10 when my bust size was about 37". A 10, according to the guide I use, is 36 - 37" bust, 28 - 29" waist, 38 1/2 - 39" hip. So it is definitely proportioned more for the vintage figure, with more the hourglass shape than the pear shape--which is what I would want in displaying vintage dresses.
 
Originally posted by Catbooks1940s
vicki, ha! i've seen a few of those. my manni and my french form are both on the less-than-optimum endowed side, so often i had/have to use a bra on them for some kind of shape.

Great idea!

My MIL made me a dress form that is soft, tiny, and "conservation" friendly for my tiny Victorian dresses. Cages usually take care of the lack of a hiney, but I could never quite stuff the bosom and keep it in place. I'm going to try that. As long as it doesn't show through, it just might work!

Diana
 
I'm a broke college student so I rigged up my own dress form. Two bed pillows with a corset, bra and some fabric to shape up the boobs, stick it on a tripod and viola!

a little ghetto I know but it does the trick.
 
Mannequins

Dave's surplus mannequins has all types. He's in Delaware, and ships UPS for a reasonable price. I bought a 1980's Decter shipped for under 300 dollars. He has Rootsteins, Patina's, etc. Lots of specials, too. Males, kiddies, torsos.
 
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