Use your ‘silent salespeople’

Mannequins can be great selling tools.

For seaside retailers that carry apparel in their stores, bust forms and mannequins can be great selling tools. I like to think of these as “silent salespeople.” A properly dressed bust form can help the customer see what the apparel will look like when worn.

To properly dress a bust form, I have three words… layer, layer, layer!

Layering tips

If you carry only short-sleeved souvenir T-shirts, layer a lighter-colored T-shirt underneath a darker-colored T-shirt and roll the sleeves once to reveal the two colors together. You can also hike up both sides at the hips to show the other color underneath.

For long-sleeved T-shirts, you can layer a lighter-colored long-sleeved shirt underneath a darker-colored short-sleeved (or long-sleeved) shirt for a youthful look. If using two long-sleeved shirts, scrunch up the outer long-sleeved shirt to reveal the shirt underneath. Again, hike up the shirts at the hips to reveal the two colors.

"Once bust forms and mannequins are all dressed up, your displays will usually appear to “come to life.” "

Take this same approach for fleece or hooded sweatshirts. Remember to pull out the lighter hood and scrunch up the outer sleeves.

Accessorize appropriately

A previous client of mine had a directive that I still believe in today: “If it doesn’t have a head, it can’t wear a hat!” I agree. You probably shouldn’t put a hat on the neck of a headless bust form or mannequin, but you can always display a hat stand next to a headless bust form to showcase coordinating headwear.

For mannequins, follow the same guide here for tops — but do not forget to layer with coordinating pants or skirts as well as other accessories such as handbags, backpacks, jewelry or scarves. Don’t be afraid to layer mannequins with multiple accessories.

Once bust forms and mannequins are all dressed up, your displays will usually appear to “come to life” and tell the story of your apparel collections for you.