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I would like to purchase a dress form for displaying the clothes I'm selling, rather than just hanging them on the wall or wearing them myself. The problem is, I don't really know anything about dress forms. I do know that my dream dress form is sitting in a local vintage shop with a $375 price tag on it. I also know it's not coming home with me any time soon.
So... I'd like to recruit your help. Does anyone have any real-life-dress-form knowledge they'd like to pass along? My budget is around $100 (including shipping). I'd like one that's sturdy enough to last for a least a few years. It can be new or used. I like the idea of an adjustable one, but it doesn't have to be. I'm thinking that trolling Ebay for a used one is going to be my best bet. Whatdya think?
27 comments:
I live in Poland and here on allegro.pl (which is like ebay but polish) you can get dress form for around 50 $. It's made of material and wood, simple but looks nice :) so I suggest you search the internet and lower you budget
I don't really have any new info since I asked about it on flickr, but I am really regretting not shelling out the $89 for that one I saw before!
I'd like to have dress form, such a dream.
juliet xxx
I think your best bet is to troll craigslist in your area or in the closest city. the vintage forms are so much nicer and you can find a used one for about $100-150 (or even less) depending upon the condition. I found my first at a local estate (it was 50s, metal, adjustable...and creaky) and just recently upgraded to a made-to-measure wolf form that I was lucky enough to inherit from a woman close to my size. there are great ones out there and you're bound to find something soon. good luck!
this one might be worth the trip to nyc:) http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/art/1165020322.html
I would say- don't go the vintage dress form route- Mine is from the 1950s...It gets so much use from adjusting daily and moving around, that I've banged it up pretty bad. It looks cool, but it is so fragile that the felt on it is peeling off a bit and the underside is flaking the glue, I think. And I think I just broke off a plastic piece on it, too... (by accident, and not even throwing it against the wall or anything haha).
I'd say get a new(er) adjustable one. I think you can find them at Michaels craft store for about $100, but it really is worth investing in a good, quality one, even if you have to spend more. You'll get so much use out of it, it'll pay for itself in no time. Don't go the cheap route- You'll have this long enough that price won't even matter in the long run.
*Look at one in person if you can, too. You'll want a sturdy, strong built form. I bought mine off Ebay, if I would have known mine was a bit flimsy from age- I would have passed on it.
Good luck on your search!
I found this off Craigslist.
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/clt/1159986640.html
I know it's not in your state, but it's the nearest I could find.
thank you so much for asking this question! i'm looking for a dress form myself and these comments have been helpful to me :)
Oh how I would love on for sewing.
Sadly even on trademe (New Zealand ebay)they are still hundreds of dollars :(
I wish you the best of luck! I found mine at an old costume shop it was underneath a pile of costumes. Hunt your local vintage clothing and costume stores and dont be afraid to dig. ♥Darla
You could make your own, I have the pattern for it from one my grandmother and I made. It comes with an option to make the size adjustable, although I didn't use the option because it seemed a way too far outside of my sewing/construction comfort zone, and I just wanted a dress form that was my size. It's a fairly cheap project, cost me about 30$. Although it is time-consuming, it is custom made for me and it was quite fun to make.
There is a tutorial on Threadbanger about making your own dressform:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x--8bbDFR3U
Good luck!
I recently bought one off from a website called Manne-King. It was just over 100.00, shipping included....and it came within 3 days.
http://www.manne-king.com/dspskudetail.cfm?CatId=22&ClId=124&PlId=346&Sku=106SB-C
We used to have one from a garage or estate sale, but I think I used to climb on it when I was little and I killed it.
Craigslist usually has one every now and then--right now there is one up in my area (upstate NY) for 60$,it's this one:
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat2620&PRODID=prd10733
which I would grab, but I am reeeally poor at the moment.
so I swear I used to have at least one link saved in my bookmarks but I couldn't find it (I really need to organize those) but there are a lot of tutorials out there on how to make your own. A duct tape form probably wouldn't be very nice for display, but a paper tape or paper mache form mounted on a a nice wooden dowel might do the trick.
oh, wait- found it!
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3659/clone-yourself-a-fitting-assistant
threadbanger has a great tutorial on how to make a dress form!
http://www.threadbanger.com/episode/THR_20090403
oooops, never mind, someone linked the youtube vid up above... sorry!
I had the very same dilemna until recently. Dress forms are just so expensive nowadays. I just recently bought a mannequin off of this website to display my vintage pieces on, but they have a really big selection of dress forms as well, and they're really cheap (starting at $38, probably around $50 with shipping). It's the cheapest I've been able to find them, and they appear to be pretty good quality, as I think their main consumers are retail shops. Look under the body forms category; I think that's more of what you're looking for. I'm thinking of getting one myself! I hope this helped and good luck with your search!
I wanted one for christmas, and my mom ended up wandering through warehouses of mannequin body parts before she found me a dress form in adorable pinstripe.
BUT, I just saw a bunch of them at a local thrift store for $65, I'd be willing to ship one to you!
I found my dress forms at a clothing store that was going out of business. They were selling all of their fixtures, so it's worth checking the paper and craigslist to see if anything like is going on! Mine were $20 each and I also got a form for displaying hats and wigs.
http://www.buystorefixtures.com/pages/store/skudetail.nhtml?profile=displayforms&uid=11148&returnURL=http%3A//www.buystorefixtures.com/displayforms
Ah, I feel your pain. I've been searching for one, also. I have one that is vintage and adjustable, but it just doesn't photograph that well. It also has no stand, which is a must. I have been checking craigslist frequently, but most get snagged up quickly and there are LOTS of people looking for them in PA, it seems. I found a few stores going out of business listed on craigslist but most just have mannequins and not dressforms. It's a battle. I say deff go with the link above. I'll probably be doing that as well.
http://endlessvintage.etsy.com
Actually I got mine (Martha Stewart is her name) on Ebay and the shipping wasn't too bad, it has a wood base and is really nice and it cost around $80 total, shipping and all.
Hi there: I live not far from you, and the local estate sales are where I frequently see dress forms (that's where my husband got mine!) We've pretty much furnished our entire house with things from local auctions.
Every Tuesday, starting at 1 pm, there is an auction at Farmersville, and I see forms there quite often, and usually don't go for a lot of money. They also have antique sales (Memorial Day is next). Drop me an email and I'll give you the details. There are a few other auctions that go every week, that you might like, if you're not already aware of them!
amishpromqueen@gmail.com
Did you ever find your form! I think it's SO FUNNY that I just posted a similar story today on my blog at www.menmyhouseblog.blogspot.com...I, too, heart vintage dress forms...the ones on Ebay right now are already too high for me...I am willing to pay about $150 for mine with shipping...somebody help me! Anyhow, hope to hear back from ya!
From personal experience, DO NOT BUY A MANNEQUIN FROM EBAY!! I paid $50 + shipping and the CHEAP cloth began ripping off the mannequin within 3 weeks and I WAS GENTLE while changing the mannequin's clothes for my clothing boutique! I had to spend money AGAIN and buy another one. Put in money once and get a QUALITY mannequin! I found this place with FREE SHIPPING :) Plus, I've had their mannequin for about 6 months now and it's as good as new!!
http://prettywomanclothing.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=4918970
I actually just got 3 dress forms that i bought from MannequinHub.com and i love them!
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