They were mannequins, but I thought of them as BIG DOLLS. I got to play around dressing and styling them so. The purpose was for the mannequins to be used in a clothing store my husband and I were going to open. It never happened, but boy did I have fun with my dolls. I miss them. Sold them all on ebay now.
I will be adding more to this list as I collect the photos.
Weeks before any of the mannequins arrived I had a fun trip shopping for new outfits for them because we ordered the mannequins before ordering our clothing stock. The cute little outfits (not in my size, grrll!) ranged from size 2-8. I purchased some cheap shoes from second hand shops for the mannequins as well. All accessories are from my own jewellery box, I'm so kind.
I had a few wigs ready for their bald peanut heads as well.
This BIG DOLL is Nicole, the very first one purchased. When the Parcel Force dude rang my bell I couldn't believe the size of box he was delivering. It was very small for this long limbed lady. My husband and I took about an hour carefully opening the box, unwrapping her and putting her together, right there in the foyer of the house. We were twisting her legs, snap-turning arms, steadying her hips, checking her for cracks or marks, and when she was finally done the first thing I thought:
She has to get OUT of my house!!
She was making me look bad in front of my husband!!! Here she was all tall, lean, perky, etc. and I'm sweaty, tired, and looking like chopped liver! Oh heck no! Don't you know we kept Nicole in our livingroom for about 2 weeks!! A few times I caught the postman looking at her through our windows, but if looking at Nicole meant our mail was never late again, I didn't complain. Teenaged boys delivering the weekly village news always made sure our paper was properly put through our mail slot, not thrown on the Welcome mat as usual. And the man come round a few times to check our boiler, forget it. You don't want to know. After a while I decided I had had enough of miss perfect bottom modelling in my living room. Changes were due. It was either going to be flawless her - or chopped liver me.
Then the Parcel Force dude rang the bell and delivered Vic... and my thinking changed just a little bit.
Whoa! His box was much bigger than Nicole's. We'd found him on Ebay for dirt cheap, looking great in a suit and tie but standing lopsided, sporting a lopsided dirty blonde wig and listed as having "Cracks." No biggy, we thought. We'll put this mannequin on the straight and narrow. We thought. Well, Vic arrived dusty and dirty! Full of marks and scratches from head to toe. And he was soooooo difficult to put together. Plus he smelled a bit like, like... like, there's no name for it. Similar to wet wood and smokey mildew.
Yup, you guessed it, he went up in the living room as well. No, we are not nuts, and yes, we are from planet Earth. After assembling the mannequins we just wanted to keep them out. Like buying a new car and wanting to look at it from your bedroom window. Admiration of a new purchased product. Testing them for their stability. Keeping the mail coming early... and all the rest of the excuses 
"Ding Daaaang" (dying battery in our doorbell). The Parcel Force dude was starting to become a regular visitor. He was looking hot and tired, so I offered him a cold can of Pepsi, and he was very happy. I just wanted him to deliver our BIG DOLLS carefully. We had a good bunch more on the way. e This is Stacey and Wow was she Alien like. No matter what I clothed her in she looked LIKE AN ALIEN. Is it just me? I couldn't find any space in the living room so I moved her to the sun room. Stacey might have been our first mistake. Two good dolls out of three wasn't bad.So this is how my BIG DOLL collection started with these three family members. Nicole, Vic and Stacey. Stay tuned because there's more to come. This was just the beginning of the BIG DOLL INVASION.
