Carved ethafoam bodies made to the measure of the specific garment in
question (taking the correct period silhouette into account)has been a very
successful method for me, and one that I've used for a variety of
institutions. I learned the technique at the Textile Conservation Center in
Lowell, MA; it's an approved, inert display method that allows for
flexibility (forms can easily be reworked as needed) and solid display. The
down side is there are no heads or hands, but there are plenty of views on
the desirability of that!
Basically you measure the torso area of the garment in 2 or 4 inch
increments (depending on the thickness of your ethafoam planks), cut out
rough ovals, hot glue the stack together, and start carving. The final foam
body needs to be a shade too small to allow room for a thin layer of padding
and the fabric covering; you don't want direct contact between the foam and
the garment.

As others have said, I'd be happy to go into more detail off-list.

Astrida

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Astrida Schaeffer, Assistant Director
The Art Gallery
University of New Hampshire
Paul Creative Arts Center
30 College Road
Durham, NH 03824
(603) 862-3712
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