The Fashion Designers' Best Dress Form Choices

When looking for a dress form it's important to know what exact use you're going to attribute it. Once you have decided, you may also want to take into account what are the best choices for your budget and your business needs.

To help you out more, check out our article on Mannequins for sewing: what you should know before buying. https://mannequinmall.com/blogs/posts/mannequins-for-sewing-what-you-should-know

First, it is good to know that the best mannequin choice for professional use, which includes fashion designers, seamstresses or tailors, is a dress form that replicates the human torso with great accuracy and with a ground base to support itself. Many times, no hands, legs or heads are added, specifically for the practicality of it.

So let's take them one at a time and see what best fits your needs, next to our best recommendations.

Dress Forms for Tailors

Tailors usually have a wide variety of customers, all different and implicitly, with different body types. As tailors work with suits and coats and even dresses such as ball gowns, a full body dress form is very useful as well as a simple torso. Also, for coats, a dress form with collapsible shoulders is extremely handy.

The important elements for tailors are: for the dress forms to be adjustable in height, width and to be made pinnable or at least partially pinnable. Then, the best dress form to choose is an adjustable one as it offers a wide spectrum of body sizes.

Here is our product selection for tailors:

1. Full body female dress form   
2. French dress form  
3. Dress form with collapsible shoulders  
4. Adjustable dress form 

Dress Forms for Seamstresses

Although the difference between what a tailor and seamstress would use as a dress form for their work is fine, there is still a difference.

A seamstress usually sews apparel and fabrics, that's why a softer form is required.

Yet again, a full body professional dress form is the best choice useful for the sewing of pants, overalls or casual dresses, a torso with collapsible or non-collapsible shoulders can work as well. And as in the case of the tailor, also an adjustable dress form is wise to invest in.

1. Full-body dress form   
2. Torso dress form   
3. Child dress form 

Dress Forms for Jewelry Design & Display

For jewelry designers & manufacturers there are different types of dress forms that are useful.

One choice is the medium dress form used for necklaces. Another choice is the full torso dress form. This is usually used for body jewelries, that are extremely popular right now. This will allow the manufacturer to design the jewelry in harmony with the human body, keeping in mind the right proportions.

Still, another good dress form choice remains the adjustable one because it offers a greater variation in terms of size. This dress form is perfect for shoulder chains and shoulder applications.

1. Medium dress form   
2. Adjustable dress form

Dress Forms for Fashion Designers

If you want to be a fashion designer, these tips will suit you well. Because fashion designers work with all kinds of materials and forms but usually prevail the same body type (the mannequin body) it is safe to say that a standard 2-4 size dress form is the best choice.

However, depending on your niche, you can choose to make designer clothes for over-sized models or petite models.

1. Size 12-14 dress form  
2. Size 18-20 dress form  

In the end, as mentioned in the beginning, it is your niche that best defines the dress forms that are meaningful for your business.

Also, feel free to have a glance at our best mannequin choices by clicking here for the rest selection of our dress forms.