The Rise of the Fake Ladies
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While mannequins have a long and storied history, it wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that they truly became popular. With the development of sewing machines, electric lights, and larger store windows, mannequins became a necessity for clothing stores to effectively sell their products.
Initially made from materials like sheet metal, hemp rope, straw, and wax, early mannequins soon evolved into 300 pound ladies, thanks to iron feet weighted to keep them upright (though they kept wax heads and torsos to keep a more natural appearance). Wax proved to be the most lifelike material, and some wax mannequins even featured glass eyes and human hair. Their appearances were unsettling enough that the Women’s Christian Temperance Union succeeded in getting several cities to pass decency laws around mannequins after one store dared to display a mannequin modeling a corset. Until the 1960s, many stores were legally required to cover the windows when dressing and undressing the fake ladies (and gentlemen).
But the wax used to form the mannequins had other problems - namely, its low melting point. Mannequins did not do well with summer heat or hot lights, which led to some truly alarming window displays.
In the 1920s, stores instead began using more papier-mâché and plaster mannequins; though substantially less water resistant, these ladies did not melt in the window. They also featured movable appendages, an innovation that became popular after World War I. Around World War II, one company introduced mannequins made completely from plastic materials but did not account for the chemical reaction between the plastic and store windows. They had to stop production when their mannequins all started turning green.
Today, mannequins are mostly fiberglass or plastic (though treated so as not to change colors when kept in store windows). Though they have a long history, the average mannequin’s lifespan is only seven years. Standing still in a store window must be more strenuous than it looks.
Image Credit: Vevchic / Shutterstock.com
