Definitely a mannequin and take lots of pics. People want to see details. Try and get some up close pics too so they can see the fabric pattern. The worst is to lay them on the bed or the floor wrinkled in a wad. I always pass on those when shopping.

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Nickie, you have me excited with your question because I, for one, find that clothing looks & sells better if on mannequin(s). In my “neck of the woods” a new mannequin of any size or gender retails @$125.00 and up. Retailers going out of business also is a great place to find one at a lesser price. Now, as a buyer, I tend to pass up any clothing displayed flat on floor or other but that is just my “personal online shopping” opinion. Thank you for posting such a SUPER topic!

…I ALS0 have to agree with others that the hanging half mannequin will provide adequate results (plus they’re cheaper to find)
…AND, baby clothes offer BeST Results since they always perform better if layed out flat (I had forgotton about the babies).

I agree with Vintagemaven. Mannequins are the best. I don’t like to see a dress/shirt etc, laying on someones bed or floor.

I would also say definitely mannequin if possible. I personally do not sell a lot of clothing, but I have taken photos outside with the item on a nice wooden or heavy duty plastic hanger on a wooden fence with some greenery in the shot as well. Here is a shot I took of a shirt several years ago now.

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I decided when I started selling clothes that I HAD to have a mannequin…there was no other choice for me. I’d seen listings online with mannequins and they look so wonderful ~ better than the other options! I was lucky and found a set of 3 mannequins, a man ~ woman ~ child, for $80.00. Now I rarely use them. The mannequins don’t guarantee a sale…it didn’t increase my clothing sales, and they never paid for themselves!!

If you use a mannequin, it’s very time consuming putting on clothes the mannequin and taking them off. If you have a lot of clothes to list individually, you can spend an entire day simply dressing & undressing the mannequin to take pictures!

Last year on that other site, I had a lot of 20 Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and Universal Shirts, Skirts and Shorts to sell. I first listed them with each item hanging in pairs on the mannequin…they didn’t sell! I took new pictures and put them on the bed while I stood above the bed on my ladder to take the pictures…the lot sold! (It was soooooo much easier just to put them on the bed! I did show a couple of different ways the items could be mix-’n-matched. Maybe that helped?)

I’ve listed clothes with a mannequin, hanging on hangers, and in clothing lots with pictures taken on my bed with one of my different backdrops covering the bed. I found I had better and more sales by listing clothes in lots, except for special items which I still reluctantly use the mannequins for.

Recently I took a picture of a jacket on myself… in the mirror.
Lighting must be right that you don’t need flash.
Then I cut my head and the surrounding out :-)

I’ve many more clothes for sale, I will try the same…
picture to be seen right on top of the listings @
EuropeanGoodies… if you are interested.

Photography in mirror :
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and on a wall

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I think it works many ways

I hang them on the door of my office. It provides a solid white background. I have a flood light that I shine on the clothing so I don’t have to use a flash. I put tape on the edges so I can spread the shirt a little so it doesn’t look droopy. The hanger I use is clear. I sell a lot of t-shirts.

I prefer to see clothes on a mannequin than a model.
Nothing wrong with that look IMHO as long as half the manny is not showing their nekkid parts.

If you sell mostly clothing, than I would think it
is a necessity.
:-)

If I had a choice, I would buy clothing off a mannequin rather than a floor or a bed. It looks more professional. Take great pictures … close-ups if needed.

I use everything.

Personally as a buyer, I DON’T want to see the item that I am considering purchasing on a human! Especially pierced earrings! OH MY! =O

So, laying flat, on a hanger or even a mannequin is a better option.

My pet peeve is not having the adequate dimensions in the description…if I’m REALLY interested, I will ask the Seller – OR – I’ll just move on.

Kim ♥

Selling clothing is quite different then selling electronics or other types of products

Use a half hanging mannequin as it is fast and easy. Full size mannequins are time consuming and although your garment may look better on. Time is money! The hanging mannequin still does a good job of showing off your product.

You should try to take the photo with a neutral background. You want your garment to be the focal point with no distractions.

Good Lighting is also a key to a great photo. I find natural sunlight seems to work best. However, you may wish to use external sources for lighting. Some colors such as red and purple are very hard to capture the color – so experiment with your lighting.

Personally…use the manni if it fits the clothes. I hate to see a manni or model stretching the clothes or otherwise making the clothes ill-fitting. (And I dislike a model with ‘attitude’…I want to see the clothes instead of a fashion shot).

Otherwise, you can do some nice things with a hanger, safety pins and fish line i.e., full skirt with fishing line pinned to the skirt and the other end of the line tacked to the wall to display the fullness.

A lot is going to depend on your background and lighting. You’ll learn as you go but try to get a light, dark and a medium background in neutral shades to start with. Then you can experiment :) Same with lighting. And, sometimes, if I don’t like my clothing photos, I toss in a scan of the actual fabric to get a truer color for my customer.

Good luck!

I have only really sold baby clothes and they are always layed out flat on a throw covered large ottoman in my computer room / office , probably i would use a mannaquin for clothes other than baby clothes .

I picked up the upper torso we currently use from another Bonz seller. Although we have already started building the real person catelogue with real models (Gesh $22.50 an hour good thing I am already a photographer.) If I remember right I bought it from Junk when he first started here.

I used everything but depends how you feel better to show

I lay flat, hang them, all different ways – whatever works best for you and how it looks in the picture

I have a set of hanging half-mannequins for man, woman, and two sizes of children. Easy to hang on a wall hook and gives the clothes shape. Got them really cheap at [URL removed] from $4.50 for the toddler form up to $11.95 for a maternity. They run a little small in sizing, but work pretty well for most things.

I also have a local fixture supplier that I found a torso for a plus size woman mounted on a pole that works awesome for dresses and such, they gave me deal and I got it for about $20.

I try to use a solid light background (sometimes dark if the clothes are too light)for the clothes so it is a consistent “look” for my booth.

hey i have tried a little of all check my booth. bu i think that the Mannequins are the best.

I had sold a wedding dress…had No mannequin at the time to do so. I used a formal hanger for it & hung it from like a very simple hanging lamp I had in the corner of our living room. I hung it up the chain a little bit, took off the glass cover, and you did not see anything behind the dress. There was no added bump, or any kind of unusual form to the dress. The height was just right, and it hung rather nicely. The hanger I used could easily be turned at the top so that I could turn the dress around, and flair the train no matter how it hung. Many pictures to show all the details of this particular item. It worked for me as it sold within a couple weeks of my listing.

Using a mannequin is good, they also have a cheaper mannequin form you can get…I had gotten 1 from a business that closed & it was a wicker like material, soft formed so any clothes were not misleading in their look on them. They have the half bodies that can be used that can sit with a stand, or can also be hung too.

If the mannequin is not used I think that hanging the clothes is also good. When hanging you can move around with it a bit more, and show different views too.

I sell using a half manni hanging on the wall, couldn’t be any easier to use. Also I model my vintage items, as that is what vintage buyers prefer, to see how the dresses fit an actual person. I don’t mind stuff on the floor, though it might turn some people off.

Thanks for the tip kaycee! Personally, I don’t just put clothes on a bed or floor directly…I pull out a clean white blanket/sheet and put it down first.

I think stuff looks droopy and you can’t see the full shape when it’s hanging, but I guess I should hang stuff anyway, according to the responses here. But I definitely don’t have time to tack up the item, or use mannequins, at this point.

I think a mannequin can be good in some situations, but laying the clothes ususally out works fine.

Just don’t take pictures directly on the floor. Use a bed or at least lay a blanket out on the floor and then snap the pics, crop them if necessary.

I use a hanging body form to take my photos. I use a white cotton fabric to hang behind the form so I won’t get clutter in the background and then edit the photos through PictureIt

A mannequin or body form looks more professional against a white or solid color background. Your items will also look more appealing to a prospective buyer when they are ironed or wrinkle free.
You can try to lay flat against a solid background to make your item stand out better, if you are going to be selling clothing it is worth the investment to have one. I noticed my sales increase when I did.

You can check around your area to see if there are any boutiques or stores going out of business or order online.

When I first started selling, I went to Costco with a friend and noticed the woman in the checkout line in front of us was buying a swimsuit and it was on a clear plastic form – I asked if I could have it and they were nice and gave it to me. I used that temporarily and it worked great.