I know I showed you my dolled-up dress form (she's really just a bust but please don't tell anyone) in my Festival of the Vine post, but I also promised to tell you her story.
Well, here it is.
I've always wanted one of those really cool vintage dress forms. You know the kind: the ones with French words written on them, the print nice and faded, barely visible after years of use.
Well, sorry, but that just wasn't in my budget. Then one day at a local flea market I spied a bust being used as jewelry display. It was for display only, but the artist who made it agreed to make one for me. It was really inexpensive, somewhere around $30.00 if I remember correctly. I blogged about it in one of my very first blog posts way back when here. Little did I know how show-stoppingly beautiful she could be with a little imagination.
Over the past few years I've enjoyed collecting Pinterest pins of unique jewelry display ideas and dress forms as well as dream sales booths. One theme kept rearing it's beautiful head: the tutu. And I really wanted one for my girl. Then a blog friend hooked me up with another blogger who was selling her tutu, just like the one you see here, for $70 plus $10 shipping. Hhhmmmm...I thought. I can do better than that. Seek and you shall find!
When I found this one it was a no-brainer. I ordered it right away and was so happy when it arrived! $17.99 and free shipping! Woot, woot!
Funny thing is, I wasn't wild about the satin at the top around the waistband. (Only because I thought it made the tutu look too new.) So I went looking for something to cover that part up. I shopped one of my daughter's closets and came up with the amazing lace-covered belt that you see here. Right beneath the belt I added some really wide lace-type ribbon I had on hand and it was a match made in heaven.
I can't tell you how many people at the show asked to buy the belt. They were so disappointed to learn that it wasn't for sale! Also funny -- most people felt the need to touch the tutu as they passed by!
I placed her on a round hat box which is sitting on top of a table. That way it allowed me to really fluff out her skirt, and gave her the illusion of being more of a "mannequin" rather than just a bust. She was the perfect display piece for my vintage pink rosary necklace which got a ton of compliments and sold really early on in the show.
Since I've never seen a vintage mannequin for sale anywhere for under $100 I'm pretty happy with this arrangement. She's pretty and draws the customers in. And she's just plain nice to look at in my studio at home, too.
I'm hoping that this gave you some useful information about decorating a bust/mannequin!
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xoxo
I'll be partying here:
