Trendlet Alert: Dress Forms (or Dolls for Designers)

By Marni Elyse Katz
November 30, 2011

Mannequins

left: Australian designer Justine Hugh-Jones’ family beach house north of Sydney (photo by Nicky Ryan). right: Munich-based photographer Christine Bauer shot these images in a vintage home shop in Vienna called Das Weiner Zimmer. Bauer says, “These kind of dress forms are a must in every shabby chic place!”

Its roots: Sometimes called mannequins, but more properly referred to as dress forms, these three-dimensional, headless models are used for fitting clothing during the design or sewing process. (Technically, a mannequin is a more realistic human body replica—rather than a basic stuffed torso—used to display finished clothing.

Mannequins

left: A display at Anthropologie features a headless mannequin as a decorative element. center: Realistic Chic blogger Shannon Plante’s secondhand dress form isn’t just for decoration. Plante says, “She adjusts perfectly to all the sizes I need for the four dresses I'm making. She's a little worse for wear, but nothing my glue gun can't solve.” right: The British blogger behind Pretty Shabby found the dress form that sits in her bedroom on eBay. She says, “It was an absolute bargain at £30 including postage.”

Apparently, a female dress form is sometimes referred to as a Judy (a male is a Jack). Some dress form owners name their models beyond the generic Judy, instilling human attributes, as one might a doll, or pet. Fashion designer Tricia Royal named her dress form Penelope. Realistic Chic blogger Shannon Plante christened her secondhand dress form Queen Anne Boleyn, “since she's lost her head and all.”

Mannequins

left: Fashion designer Tricia Royal bought her 1970s era dress form from a clothing designer Brooklyn when she was a fashion design student at Parsons School of Design in New York. right: Alice Flynn of Penny Farthing Design House finds creative inspiration from her dress forms’ presence.

The look: Although utilitarian in nature, dress forms—particularly vintage varieties—are adored by many non-seamstresses. They’re very tactile; one gets a real sense of their having been used, touched, and admired. As Alice Flynn of Australian firm Penny Farthing Design House points out, they imbue a room with a sense of creativity, exuding a feeling of timeless style.

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, dress forms also provide a strong sculptural presence in a room. Denise Purrington of Denise Purrington Bears, who has a dress form on a cast iron base adorned with intricate carving (which she believes to be from the late 1800s), points out, “Utilitarian objects were made to look like sculptures/art and be displayed proudly in your home.” Vintage lover, seller, and blogger Jessica of Jess James Jake has a wire dress form she displays in her living room. She says, “It’s a textural and sculptural, adding interest but not heft.”

Mannequins

left: Denise Purrington’s dress form, which may be from the late 1800s, has a cast iron foot pedal to raise and lower it and a metal skirt area that can be pulled up or down. She says,  “There are a few areas where previous owners used black tape to repair it, but I think that adds historical character.” right: Vintage lover, seller, and blogger Jessica of Jess James Jake says of her full-figured wire mannequin, “I love her defined waistline and hourglass shape.”

Loved by: Seamstresses, designers, vintage enthusiasts, shop owners, interior designers, and artists are all fans, be it for practical, decorative, or sentimental reasons.

Fashion designer Tricia Royal says, “I have the dress form because I am a clothing designer. She looks nice in my sewing studio; she's really more of a practical, usable item, rather than just decor. It’s a professional piece, pinnable and collapsible, and perfect for draping, as well as for modeling designs for my blog.”

Mannequins

left: Designer Jill Goldberg tucked a dress form on a dark wood stand next to a muslin-covered armchair with a similar silhouette in her Boston shop, Hudson, where she uses it to display jewelry and a scarf. right: Tyler Doran of Heir Antiques in Providence hangs a mini manni on a knob.

Retail shops often use dress forms as decoration and to display accessories. Interior designer Kate Maloney has a dress form in her Cambridge, Mass. studio. She imagines the form taking up residence in a walk-in closet or bedroom, to remind its owner to cultivate timeless style. In the meantime, Maloney adorns the form with jewelry that’s also for sale.

Mannequins

left: A dress form with jewelry in interior designer Kate Maloney’s Cambridge, Massachusetts studio. center: Artist Tracy Nors makes one-of-a-kind lamps, including this one, from found objects. right: Artist Tracy Nors purchased her Danish mannequin in her living room from a flea market in Kemp Town Brighton for only 35 pounds. She thinks it’s from the ‘60s or ‘70s, since modern ones have differently shaped breasts.

Mixed media artist and blogger Tracy Nors turns found objects into lighting. She says, “A friend in retail offered my photographer husband a job lot of mannequins for a photo shoot, so we had around 30 at one point, all standing in the bedroom!" She kept two favorites and some torsos that she made lamps from, complete with hand-stitched shades.

Detroit area designer Dan Davis used a dress form to flaunt a client’s prized possession. He says, “The mannequin is wearing Kara Saun's runway dress from the first 'Project Runway.' My client loved it so much she won the bid for it. It was too cool, so we had to display it.”

Mannequins

left: Interior designer Dan Davis used a mannequin to display a client’s prized possession: Kara Saun's runway dress from the first “Project Runway." right: Kym of the blog Kyandra purchased her dress from five years ago through a secondhand dealer in Australia. It’s one of many sewing-related pieces she collects.

Denise Purrington, who found her dress form on eBay, adorned the neck with a pearl necklace that belonged to one grandmother and a mink wrap from my other grandmother.

Kym, who blogs about her Australian home on Kyandra, collects vintage pieces related to sewing. She says, “I am lead to believe that she is from the 1920s, due to her shape. I love to sew and my grandmother and her sisters were seamstresses. They were young woman during the 1920s, so perhaps that is why I feel so connected to these pieces.”

eBay fans love dress forms, too. Sales for related items are up 18 percent in the past 90 days compared to the prior period. And currently there are over 4,200 "dress form" listings on eBay.