Choosing The Right Mannequins For High-Traffic Areas in Your Fashion Boutique
A ready supply of mannequins is an essential part of any fashion boutique's inventory, giving you a convenient and versatile way to display the clothes you sell and demonstrate how they would fit on a human body. They are particularly useful when placed in the most visible parts of your boutique, such as central aisles, outside fitting rooms and other areas of your premises that receive high foot traffic.
However, placing your mannequins in these high-traffic areas also exposes them to a fair amount of accidental damage, and the mannequins you place in these areas must be more durable than mannequins placed in store windows or on high shelves. If you are looking for a new stock of mannequins to display in high-traffic areas, keep the following guidelines in mind as you compare mannequin models.
Choose durable mannequin materials
Mannequins placed in high-traffic areas can be subjected to some pretty heavy collisions, so it's important to choose mannequins made from a durable material that is not easily damaged by heavy impacts. This is particularly important if you place your mannequins on raised plinths since they have farther to fall if accidentally toppled.
Fibreglass is the most commonly used material to create mannequins, but it isn't entirely suitable for mannequins in high-traffic areas. While fibreglass mannequins can be more realistically sculpted than plastic mannequins, they are also considerably more fragile, and components can be chipped, scuffed or even shattered by accidental impacts.
In most cases, plastic mannequins are more suitable for parts of your boutique that see the most customers. They are more durable and shatter-resistant than fibreglass mannequins and tend to scuff much less easily, allowing you to use them for longer. Most types of plastic mannequin are also cheaper than similar fibreglass models, which will benefit your boutique's budget and also make it less expensive to replace broken mannequins and mannequin components.
Choose easily visible designs
You can help make mannequin accidents and damages less likely by choosing highly visible mannequin designs for your high-traffic areas. Plastic mannequins with reflective, chromed surface finishes are a popular and stylish choice that also makes your mannequins more easily visible. Mannequins with pale, white or brightly coloured finishes can also be more easily visible than darker, muted colours, especially in smaller boutiques.
Consider headless mannequins
Headless mannequins may look a little macabre before they are fully clothed, but they can be particularly useful in high-traffic areas of your boutique. They are less top-heavy than full-body mannequins, making them less likely to topple over if they are involved in an accident. You also have one less body part to replace if your mannequin does suffer accidental damage, and many retailers believe that the missing head is simply one less distraction from the clothing your mannequin is displaying.
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