The Evolution Of The Dressmakers Dummy

By Author: William Pollard
Total Articles: 160
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The dressmakers dummy is still a specialist item, which is used by tailors and dressmakers to help them to produce good quality, tailored garments. However, over the years they have also been bought by the retail industry and some private individuals.

A Brief History of the Dressmakers Dummy

Exactly who invented the dressmakers dummy is not known. It is an item that evolved rather than being invented. Tailors have always hung up garments to work on them. There is evidence of this dating back to ancient times. Basic body forms have been found, which allow garments to be draped over them to make it easier to hem them. However, strictly speaking these are early examples of mannequins rather than of dressmakers' dummies.

A dressmakers dummy is a body form that can be adjusted across the shoulders, chest, waist and hips. The best ones allow you to adjust the height of the dummy as well this enables you to get the length right. This kind of dummy is usually armless and only represents the upper part of the body. Because of this it is usually only used to help a dressmaker to get the fit of a dress right. Men's ...
... tailors rarely use them. If they do, it is only for shirts and jackets and just to double check certain measurements and get an idea of how the finished shirt or jacket may hang.

Modern fully adjustable dressmakers' dummies did not become available until the late 1800s. Even then they were rare, however by the 1920s and 30s they were relatively commonplace. Many amateur seamstresses and dressmakers bought their own and at one stage, it was not unusual to see them in private homes. However, as the fashion of making your own clothes waned, so did the use of the dressmakers dummy in private homes.

The modern dressmakers dummy has evolved further to take account of the fact that the size of people across the globe has changed. The latest dummies are far more adjustable. They can now be adjusted to cater for plus sizes as well as more traditional dress sizes.

If you want a dressmakers dummy visit The Shopfitting Shop website. There you will find a good range of high quality dummies for sale at great prices.