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Understanding the History of the Mannequin

The history of both the male mannequin and the female mannequin can be traced back as far as the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt themselves. When Howard Carter opened the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamen he discovered a torso mannequin next to a clothing chest. As this dated from 1350 B.C it may indeed have been the first example of the forerunners of the modern mannequin.

Over the centuries that followed various forms of mannequin were crafted, mainly for use by other fashion conscious royals, nobles and wealthy persons.

mannequin did not begin appearing in retail shop windows until after the Industrial Revolution had hit England in the 1860s. The glass pane was a new invention as was the street light so these store owners understood the benefits of displaying dress mannequins in their new store windows but these early models were far from perfect.

These early prototypes were made simply from wood and stuffed with sawdust. They had iron fillings in their feet to keep them from falling over and often weighed 300 pounds or more, a far cry from the sexy mannequin of today.

When mannequin began to be crafted from wax it was considered to be a great improvement that is until they began to melt under the glare of the hot store lighting. Paper Mache was the next material to be experimented with but that became bloated and misshapen if it got damp. However imperfect they were though these mannequin did draw the attention of potential customers, especially the females, and as the fashion industry began to understand just how well mannequin could influence consumers they began to demand wholesale mannequins that looked more like their target audience.

Until the 1920’s and the 1930’s the mannequin was commonly known as dummy because of their blank expressions. When the decade of the flapper dawned female mannequin makers began focusing on the body shapes, but still not the faces.

From thereon in though, creating wholesale mannequins became something of an art in itself. Beginning with the glamorous and realistic Gaba Girls that were created by a former soap sculptor Louis Gaba mannequin evolved to reflect both the fashions of each decade as well as the social standings of both men and women. In fact examples of wholesale mannequins from each decade serve as a sort of window on the attitudes of the era and society that created them, making them far more than mere window dressing.

These days fiberglass has long replaced wax as the material of choice for crafting mannequins and they can be found in as many different styles and forms as one can imagine. sexy mannequin, the Torso mannequin, even the headless mannequin, it is now possible for those in the fashion industry to buy mannequins that are perfect to complete their own unique fashion vision , whatever that may be.

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