History of Mannequins in Fashion Design - A Look Back Shows They're More Than Just Dummies

Walk through any department store, and you'll pass countless mannequins modeling the latest fashions. While we've come to take these visual display staples for granted, mannequins have a rich and storied past that dates as far back as ancient Egypt. Looking at how mannequins have evolved through the years, we can see that they have reflected not only the ideal of how we should look, but how we should live. No wonder historians, retailers, and fashion school students alike have been fascinated by these lifelike figures for so long.

Ancient and medieval times. When King Tutankhamen's tomb was opened in 1922, one of the treasures found was a lifelike torso believed to be the world's first dress form. Indeed, the mannequin continued its functional role as a dress form through the centuries. Lifelike facsimiles of kings and queens were created so that tailors and dressmakers could create clothes without having to bore the monarchs with endless fittings, or worse, threatening their modesty by touching their bodies.

French aristocracy. In the 18th century, France was considered the fashion capital, and "fashion dolls" were created to show off the French fashion design to the world. These early mannequins, which represented the ideal of courtly fashion, ranged from about twelve inches to life size. They were sent abroad so people could see what the French were wearing and copy the styles. Marie Antoinette was known to send dolls to her mothers and sisters in Austria so they were kept up to date with what was in vogue at Versailles.

The Industrial Revolution and window shopping. Mannequins made a huge leap forward with the development of electrically-lit streets and large, glass-pane windows. Suddenly, strolling along avenues and looking at the fantasy worlds displayed in retail store windows became a favorite pastime. The first mannequins created for this purpose were made of wax and wood. They were extremely heavy, weighing between 200 and 300 pounds, with iron-reinforced legs so they would stay upright. With glass eyes, false teeth, and real hair, the mannequins adopted the feminine ideal of large bosoms and tiny waists, in situations of genteel living, like giving a toast at a dinner party. The art of fashion merchandising was born.

Hollywood influence. Until the '20s, mannequins had wooden expressions, which is why they were called "dummies." In the silent film age, however, there was more focus on the face than the body. With the popularity of Hollywood movies, mannequins acquired more realistic features and animated facial expressions that mirrored those of famous stars like Mary Pickford and Rudolph Valentino. To complement their movie star looks, they were displayed in aspirational, make-believe situations like having cocktails at the country club.

The Gaba Girls. In the '30s, mannequins began to be produced with plaster, decreasing their weight to about twenty-five pounds. And thanks to a former soap sculptor named Lester Gaba, they reached a new level of realism. His lifelike figures were dubbed "The Gaba Girls," the most famous of which was named Cynthia. Gaba envisioned Cynthia as the ultimate New York socialite, and the mannequin became a pop culture sensation. He took her to nightclubs and the opera, and Cartier and Tiffany even lent her jewels.

World War II. With the arrival of the second World War, life changed, and so did mannequins. Mannequins resembling carefree people were replaced by serious, no-nonsense ones. But when the troops returned, mannequins performed the public service of encouraging the public to be happy again. The female mannequins wore radiant smiles, while the male ones were relaxed and comfortable; both displayed domestic, suburban bliss.

Fiberglass and plastics. By the '50s, mannequins moved away from brittle, breakable plaster to rugged fiberglass and plastic. Because manufacturing and sculpting had not yet been refined, the new mannequins were less realistic and took on an abstract quality. They actually celebrated surrealism, with sprayed-on hair styles and anatomical inaccuracies. The mannequin had become pop art.

The women's revolution. When women's roles started changing in the '60s, mannequins depicted the shift. On one hand, there were the housewife (or aspiring housewife) mannequins with bouffants and hopeful gazes. At the other extreme was the active, assertive woman, posing casually and confidently. The decade also gave us the Mod look - skinny, leggy figures epitomized by the Twiggy mannequin.

Real life. The '70s saw the introduction of Black, Asian, and Latino mannequins, reflecting the growing ethnic mix in the country. Also mirroring the turbulent decade, mannequins started having facial expressions of pain, worry, and stress. In the 80s, the country got "physical," and mannequins followed suit, taking on running and leaping poses.

Modern day. When it comes to mannequins today, the old rules are out, and anything goes. Mannequins are different colors, crystal clear, headless, backless, and any form of abstraction. In fact, the realistic figures of previous decades now look decidedly creepy. There is no "ideal" form, probably because there is no longer a consensus on an ideal vision of beauty.

While we know that fashion design and mannequins have been forever intertwined, it's fascinating to see how much these "dummies" have shown us as about civilization, history, and culture.

History of Mannequins in Fashion Design - A Look Back Shows They're More Than Just Dummies

Housewife

History of Mannequins in Fashion Design - A Look Back Shows They're More Than Just Dummies

History of Mannequins in Fashion Design - A Look Back Shows They're More Than Just Dummies
History of Mannequins in Fashion Design - A Look Back Shows They're More Than Just Dummies

Housewife

How a 42 Year Old Mom and Housewife Managed to Lose Tummy Fat and Get a Flat, Lean Stomach!

Are you sick of that fat you see every day in the mirror, are you sick about the fact you can't fit into the most of your clothes you recently bought, do you want to make a change but don't know how to lose that belly fat? Don't be afraid because here's everything you'll ever need to lose that fat and get that body you deserve.

Although I'm referring to women in my article these steps are as good for men as for women. Since these are plain simple steps there was hard work necessary for me to achieve a body like I have now in my late forties. After trying a lot of bogus weight loss pills, ab belts, fad diets and being scammed by all of them I can finally say this is it if you want to lose tummy fat and even body fat in general.

It's a fact if you want to have six pack abs as a women you need to lower your body-fat percentage to 16 - 19% and if you do so your abs should be visible, of course a little specific ab exercises would make them even more visible. But these same ab exercises won't make you lose fat they won't get you to that 16 - 19% body fat percentage because they don't increase your metabolic rate and fat-burning hormones in your body.

So to get a body-fat percentage of 16 - 19% you'll need to increase your metabolic rate and fat-burning hormones. The only way to achieve this is by doing full-body multi-joint workouts training larger muscle groups of your body.

Full-body workouts stresses almost every muscle in your body as opposed to single muscles like ab specific exercise do for example crunches or sit-ups. This increases your resting metabolic rate for a longer period because your body needs to recover more muscles. This sets your resting metabolic rate 24/7 after your workouts and studies have shown that cardio workouts have a RMR of only 1 to 2 hours after workouts. Now you know why cardio doesn't help to lose fat.

One of the better full-body workouts is weight lifting unfortunately a lot of women don't do these workouts. Like I said before the best way to lose fat is by increasing your resting metabolic rate therefore weight lifting is a good choice for resistance training.

Don't be afraid you'll look like a body builder because women have no hormonal balance to build to much muscle mass. Besides weight lifting there are more full-body workouts women can do also, you just need to get started and in the right way.

How a 42 Year Old Mom and Housewife Managed to Lose Tummy Fat and Get a Flat, Lean Stomach!

Housewife

How a 42 Year Old Mom and Housewife Managed to Lose Tummy Fat and Get a Flat, Lean Stomach!

How a 42 Year Old Mom and Housewife Managed to Lose Tummy Fat and Get a Flat, Lean Stomach!
How a 42 Year Old Mom and Housewife Managed to Lose Tummy Fat and Get a Flat, Lean Stomach!

Housewife

A Real Swinging Housewife Talks About Her Vacation

Changing up the scenery from time to time can make any real swinging housewife even more excited, so why not look into something like this?

If you're met another couple over the Internet and they're out of town, meeting up somewhere in between can provide for an erotic and adventurous location.

Making The Plans

When it comes to any vacation planning, you want to sort out all the details first. There's nothing like a few surprises to kill a mood.

Start with picking a few destinations that you might enjoy, factoring in your own separate budgets and preferences. The more private and warm the destination is, the better, in my opinion.

But if warm isn't an option, then you just might want to look into places that exude desire. Honeymoon suites might be a little strange though.

Pick the place and then get tickets and hotel reservations. If you want to maintain a sense of privacy, then you will want to reserve the rooms separately. This ensures that you won't know each other's names unless you want to reveal them.

You can just talk about what room number you can find a real swinging housewife.

This might sounds a bit paranoid, but if you've never met before, it's a good way to keep everyone safe.

When You Arrive

If you've decided to remain anonymous at first, then respect that boundary and don't try to find each other just yet. Get settled in and meet up at a restaurant or other neutral location.

Have a lovely conversation and see how the four (or more) of you get along. If dinner goes well and the mood seems fitting, then you may want to exchange room numbers (showing each other your keys and giving the spares to each other) and then let the night begin.

Be sure to acknowledge your spouse throughout dinner to show how much you love them. Touch them and kiss them constantly.

What Else Do You Do?

Well, this part is really up to you and your comfort level. I like to make the rule that I wake up with my husband and only my husband in the morning.

This gives our relationship priority and we can talk about our adventures in private if we choose. Sometimes, we even like to share breakfast together as well as the morning. Heck, we're on vacation!

You may want to leave a way to contact each other the next day to set up another fun evening or afternoon.

And from there, you can enjoy as much swinging as you'd like.

A last suggestion is to make sure that you don't plan too much time together. You don't want to feel like you 'have' to be together all the time. You may want to say that three nights are as far as you will absolutely save for each other.

And then you can enjoy your own relationship for the remainder, or go home.

Of course, if you're having fun, then by all means, keep the party going.

A Real Swinging Housewife Talks About Her Vacation

Housewife

A Real Swinging Housewife Talks About Her Vacation

A Real Swinging Housewife Talks About Her Vacation
A Real Swinging Housewife Talks About Her Vacation

Housewife