In love with Mannequins

Window-shopping is a favorite past time these days. If one walks through a mall or for that matter even a street full of shops one is bound to see a lot of mannequins dressed impeccably & drawing our attention toward them. These life size plastic creatures show off on them the latest in fashion or at least what the particular store stocks.

These mannequins are one amazing piece of invention aren’t they? To me they are for a lot of reasons. To me they don’t just exist to show off a dress, but for a lot more than that. Ever wondered why none of these mannequins come in the real shapes but only in the thin, curvy ones? That of course must have to do with the worldwide phenomenon to look trim, slim & healthy. They indirectly seduce the shopper into believing that they’ll look as beautiful as the mannequin if they were to wear the same dress.

Of course, they are available in various kinds. The life sized ones are in the female & the male variety. Then you will also get to see a life size mannequin without the head. Then we have the busts. For reasons completely unknown to me, I like the life size ones, complete with a head.

On Com Street, there still exists a shop where a heavy bosom mannequin stands wearing a sari, bindi & the works. Oh, what a sight! The Indian woman in her complete glory. Very pretty indeed.

Of late, there are the mannequins that are dressed in western wear. Trust me, any honest guy will confess that he just loves to ogle at them. Low waist jeans, low neck lines and all. Any guy would want his girlfriend or wife to be like that wearing the same kind of dress.

Then of course there are the ones that are clad in lingerie. Umm, actually not very exciting this. Yeah, a guy can once again let his imagination run wild but in reality when they are lingerie clad, they are showing more plastic than skin and that way becomes very boring.

With the kind of technology we have at our disposal today I feel there should be more research done to improve their lot. Instead of being stationed as statues, there should be some movement instilled in them. I remember seeing a mannequin outside Big Kids Kemp which would every few seconds raise her two hands to do a namaste. That is what I’am talking about. Give the following a thought:

-Imagine mannequins looking in your direction once you go past them. Scary did you say? May be not.
-How about the mannequins wishing you good morning or some thing like that? May be a “Hi Hottie” or some such thing would make the shoppers day.
-May be a wink or a whistle could make it interesting as well. I’ve seen this stuffed monkey at Hallmarks that whistles as you go past it. I think that is really cool & will invariably bring a smile to the shoppers face.
-On a more serious level since the mannequin’s main job is to show off a dress, they could be programmed to describe the dress they are wearing.

With more & more malls coming up, this could be one of the innovative ways to attract more footfalls and all those of us who indulge in window-shopping could have some nice fun out there.