When you’re selling clothing, you want to display garments in the best way. With the right apparel displays, you can assemble garments and accessories to give customers ideas about how to create outfits while showing them how your wares might look on a body.

Of course, you also have to think about the bottom line. You can’t necessarily put every garment on a full-size mannequin, nor should you. The question is: how can you pick the perfect apparel displays for your store? Here are a few different types of clothing displays and tips on how to choose what will work best for you.

Hangers for Apparel Displays

Most of your inventory will end up either folded on store shelves or hanging on racks. Hangers are, of course, a much more affordable option than mannequins or even half forms, but that doesn’t mean you have to choose the cheapest option.

You still want clothing on hangers to look good, so your choice of hangers is important. You have many options to explore, including different sizes; materials like wood, metal, or plastic; and extras like padding, clips, notches, hooks, loops, and more. You could also get hangers in a variety of colors.

Choosing the right hangers depends on both the garments you sell and the aesthetic of your store. For example, children’s clothing needn’t be displayed on expensive wooden hangers. However, if you’re selling high-end suits, you’ll need sturdy hangers to support their weight.

Foam Forms for Clothes Displays

Clothing forms come in different shapes and sizes for women, men, and children, and they are generally comprised of only a torso. You can get upright floor models or counter models on which to create mini clothing retail displays of tops, scarves, jewelry, and more. Unlike hangers, these forms allow you to show customers how garments might appear when worn.

Molded Half Forms

Upright forms can take up a lot of space, even though they allow you additional opportunities to display your garments to the best advantage. If you don’t have a lot of extra space, molded half forms present a solution that lies between hangers and upright forms.

With the front half of a torso connected to a hook, you’ll get the space-saving utility of a hanger that can go on a rack, along with the clothing display advantages associated with a form, which lends the shape of a torso to fill out tops. These partial forms are also more affordable than upright options, and they may be freestanding, as well as hanging, in some cases.

Mannequins to Showcase Apparel

The most attractive form of apparel display is a mannequin, which features a full-sized body on which to display both tops and bottoms, giving you the greatest number of options when it comes to pairing garments and creating outfits to entice shoppers, suggest style combinations, and generally encourage walk-ins and sales (depending on where you place displays).

Mannequins are likely to be your most expensive clothing retail display options, but there are different products and price points to consider. Will blank mannequins do the trick, or are more realistic mannequins more suitable for the aesthetic of your store and/or your demographic? You’ll have to decide. The good news is that you won’t need nearly as many mannequins as hangers.

Head Displays

Are hats, glasses, scarves, and other accessories an important element of your business? Head forms can be placed on counters and shelves to display these items rather than hanging them on hooks or racks, where they might not gain as much notice. This could be a great way to convince shoppers to add accessories to the outfits they purchase before they complete transactions.

If you are interested in finding out more information on Apparel Displays, you can shop for them on our website, Specialty Store Services, and if you want to have questions answered immediately, you can Live Chat or phone us at 800-999-0771.

 

Updated on September 9, 2022.