Posty, posty!

[dancerjodi]

I guess I have a lot to say today :)

I'm looking to buy a vintage adjustable dress form on Ebay at some point soon. I don't know a thing about them, can gather that they come with size ranges, and I know I want one w/ a stand so it can be at person height (rather than sitting on a table).

Do any of you crafty people have any suggestions or things to stay away from? Thanks in advance!

I'm watching a bid for an Acme one (hee hee) that's the right size, a good price, looks to be in good condition . . . but I'm concerned about how its adjusted (I can't see knobs or buttons on the outside from the pix).

Comments

[snowwand.livejournal.com]

We got mine off of ebay also, the only problem with it is the shipping.

The way mine is adjusted is by a series of push tighteners? on the body itself. Sorta hard to explain...

dress forms

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"We got mine off of ebay also, the only problem with it is the shipping."

From what I can tell ebay is the cheapest way to go. I've seen people say shipping would be around $20 (depending on where its coming from, of course). Do you remember how much your's ended up costing (if you don't mind me asking)?

"The way mine is adjusted is by a series of push tighteners? on the body itself. Sorta hard to explain..."

Is it difficult to adjust? I'm just nervous since the thing is so old I'll end up with one that's a nightmare to adjust.

Its too bad, my mom had one from when she was in high school that sat in our attic for years. Dad threw it away when he went on a cleaning binge a couple of years back :/

Re: dress forms

[snowwand.livejournal.com]

I think mine came to around 100-150 total. It went for a bit more because it was one of the smaller sized ones.

It is a little hard to adjust and is a little battered, but that will differ with each one. My dad was able to put it on the settings of my measurements fairly easily.

That sucks about your mom's getting thrown out! Kinda like my dad's baseball cards :)

[lillydrag.livejournal.com]

My adjustable dummy has dials center back, center front and on each side at the waist, hips and bust, and a dial for the neck. I forget the brand, but I think it's the brand that Jo Ann's fabrics sells. It's great because the hip/bust/waist measurments can be out of proportion if that's what you need for who ever your designing for at that point.

Dress Forms

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"My adjustable dummy has dials center back, center front and on each side at the waist, hips and bust, and a dial for the neck. I forget the brand, but I think it's the brand that Jo Ann's fabrics sells."

Does "my double" sound right? I just went to the Jo Ann's site and that's the only kind I found on there (its a reddish-plum color in the pix).

"It's great because the hip/bust/waist measurments can be out of proportion if that's what you need for who ever your designing for at that point."

This sounds really good (and the price, $99 would be good - if I could just go and buy one - with shipping on ebay I'm guessing the cost would be similar).

Was it something you just walked in and bought, or did they need to order for you?

Thanks for the info, its a huge help!

[roaming.livejournal.com]

You're crafty -- have you thought about making one that fits you exactly?

http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00002_p2.asp for three different ways to do it.

body double

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"You're crafty -- have you thought about making one that fits you exactly?"

Nah, I know that's an option - but I'd like something adjustable (since I do and may change size from time to time). That and the prospect of stuffing the thing so that it was firm enough and pin-able AND figuring out how to get it to stand at human height kind of scared me off :)

[narnee.livejournal.com]

I did quite a bit of research on eBay for these when I was looking to get equipment together for eBay selling; I decided to go with a hanging plastic mannequin sold by someone in the UK, but I learned a lot!

I'd recommend adding the various ways this item could be listed (dress form, dummy, mannequin, incorrect spellings of mannequin) to your favourite searches in MyeBay and then checking them every few days for a reasonable length of time to get an idea of what's available in each category and what the final bid usually is for the type of dress form that you want. Personally, I'd suggest getting one with the easy-to-turn adjustible dials for various measurements and a handle for the stand as if you're going to spend that kind of money you'll want it to last a while.

The most important thing is to ask questions if you're uncertain about something. I tend to always ask a few to gauge the honesty and professionalism of the seller (and it helped narrow down the field substantially for this item), particularly how much they charge for packaging and handling versus the actual shipping cost. They should be happy to give you any details you ask for about the shipping and the item.

Good luck! :>