Gertrude (or, as Dad called her, Gertie) arrived with my folks over the weekend. She had belonged to my grandmother, and had resided in the basement at my folks for the past 5 years or so. I don't remember Gertie; so I'm assuming Grandma got her after I moved away in 1980. She has a label scotch-taped to her shoulder that states that she is a "Tru-Shape Dress Form by Singer", Size B. I haven't had time to play with Gertie much yet, other than to tighten the nut in the base so that she was standing up straight instead of leaning over. Her front...assuming I can, er, get things to level up, so to speak...is roughly my shape, but her back is waaaayyy more curved than I am. She has a system of sliding bars and wing nuts to adjust and support her shape; don't know if a little WD-40 will make them moveable or if they're wopperjawed out of shape so badly that she's more or less what she'll be.
And, she's a little short; a good height to use while sitting in a chair, actually, which may have been what Grandma did. There appears to be a height adjustment in the support bar; I'll have to get some WD-40 on that, too, before I know if it really is an adjustment spot or just an assembly joint.
Her panels are muti-ply cardboard, and have de-laminated a little in places. I'm not sure whether the tube knit is supposed to cover the whole thing or just the lower portion...or even if it came with her originally; it doesn't quite match the fabric that covers the top panels.
But, even if I can't get her adjusted to my size and shape, if she stands up straight she could easily be the inner support for a future Duct Tape Double...hmmmm....
Hi, Gerdi! (waving madly) We had "Dummy Betty" when I was a child. She rusted to solidity beyond WD-40 years ago.
ReplyDeleteShe looks suspiciously like my dress form. It was given to me several years ago by a friend moving to Oregon. The label on mine says "Acme" (yep, just like Wile E. Coyote).
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