How to Style a Tabletop Bust Form For Christmas

Bring festive charm to your holiday decor this season with a thrifted vintage Christmas twist!

Styling a tabletop bust form is the perfect way to showcase your creativity while adding a unique, nostalgic touch to your seasonal decor or displays.

So today, for our second to last Thrifting with the Gals of this year, I thought I would share my thrifted tabletop bust form, which I styled and decorated in my craft room for the holidays.

All About Tabletop Bust Forms

History and Original Use

Tabletop bust forms have a rich history. Originally crafted for the fashion and tailoring industry, these smaller-scale forms were essential tools used by dressmakers, seamstresses, and fashion designers to drape fabrics, fit garments, and display clothing.

Unlike full-sized mannequins, half body forms showcase the upper body, making them perfect for fitting tops, jackets, and accessories like scarves and jewelry.

Modern-Day Uses

Today, standard-size bust forms are no longer limited to the fashion industry. While they remain popular for their original purpose in sewing and design, they’ve also found new life as chic home decor pieces.

Displaying a bust form on a table allows for unique styling opportunities: they can serve as creative jewelry stands, statement decor pieces for seasonal displays, or even personalized art projects.

In many homes, they’re used as a touch of vintage charm that seamlessly blends into a room’s character.

Why Collect Vintage Bust Forms

Collecting vintage full body form mannequins is a passion for many decor enthusiasts. These forms often have intricate details, unique materials, and a patina that tells a story of their past lives in tailoring shops or fashion houses. Their worn finishes and craftsmanship make them stand out as conversation pieces and add a layer of history and charm to any display.

Why Look for Thrifted Bust Forms

Thrift stores, flea markets, and antique shops are often treasure troves for finding bust forms with character and history. Thrifted bust forms often come with a budget-friendly price tag and a dose of nostalgia. These forms are perfect for DIY projects, as you can transform them with paint, fabric, or seasonal decorations while preserving their vintage appeal.

My Craftroom’s Thrifted Tabletop Bust Form

I found this old tabletop bust form for just $40 while Thrifting with the Gals in Maine last summer. As you may know, vintage mannequins and old bust forms can be pricey, at least around here.

So when I found this one for just $40, I snagged it. It was in such great shape, and I loved the blue.

It would also inspire me to clean up this area! See more about how this craft room was transformed in this Vintage Eclectic Decor Meets Craft Room Design post.

Step-by-Step Christmas Tree Mannequin Guide

There are many ways to style vintage mannequins or tabletop bust forms for the holidays. For all the ideas, visit and follow my Dress Form Mannequins board on Pinterest.

Assembly Instructions

The adjustable bust form is the easiest to decorate because it has adjustable gaps, allowing room to place evergreen branches or similar decorations. If you do not have an adjustable bust form, the second easiest way is to add chicken wire around the bottom of the mannequin and add your evergreens that way.

But today, I’m sharing how I styled my adjustable tabletop bust form for Christmas.

What you will need:

This post may contain affiliate links, which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Bust Form evergreens

I purchased five packages of these faux evergreen branches with pine cones from Amazon. They are the ideal size to decorate a bust of this size. And five packages is just the right amount. I like the contrast of the evergreens with the pine cones, too.

Pink Ribbon

I chose this beautiful, high quality pink ribbon to match the pink accents in my craft room. It’s also available in 19 other gorgeous colors. It’s sturdy and ideal for bows and wrapping. You’ll also need two safety pins or similar to attach the ribbon and the bow.

Vintage Bust Form

As mentioned above, an adjustable bust form is the easiest mannequin to decorate with evergreens for the holiday season. You can find adjustable dress forms at your thrift stores, vintage shops, second-hand shops, antique stores, or online at Etsy or eBay.

Navy Blue Vintage Christmas Ornaments

For my Christmas bust form, I chose extra-small vintage navy blue Christmas tree ornaments that I found from The Collected.

Placing Evergreen Branches

Position your bust form on a table where you want to display it. Open and lay out all of your faux evergreen bunches. Relax and poof the evergreen branches for styling. Opening the branches up before styling is easier than poofing them all up after attaching them to the bust form.

You will use every evergreen branch except two. Set two faux evergreen branches aside, as you will need those later for a perfect fit.

Begin by bending the faux evergreen branch. Then, insert it into the inner core, resting it on the dressmaker form’s waist gap.

Keep adding the branches all the way around the bust form’s waist.

I used every branch in the five packages except for the two set aside.

Sometimes, layering branches for a fuller effect.

Wrapping the Bust Form Ribbon

Next, we’ll add the bust form’s decorative ribbon.

Wrap your ribbon around the top of the evergreen branches resting around the adjustable standard size waist.

Cut the ribbon in the back and secure it with a safety pin or the like. You could even glue it if you like.

Straighten the ribbon so there aren’t any gaps, and it’s even all the way around the waist.

Now, using the two extra faux evergreen branches that you set aside, pull the evergreen ends off their branches. They should easily pull right off.

Use these small evergreens to fill in the outer layers by inserting them into the gaps around the waist, like the gap in the above photo.

Christmas Bow

I initially thought a bow on the back of the vintage bust form would be the cutest addition to this Christmas dressmaker form. Now, that’s one idea for adding a Christmas bow.

However, I later decided that, since my vintage tabletop bust form would have its back to the wall, adding the Christmas bow to the front of this display would make for a prettier Christmas decoration.

I created my pink bow and attached it to the wrapped pink ribbon with the second safety pin. There are many ways to make a Christmas bow. I find YouTube videos helpful with the simple search “How to make an easy Christmas bow.”

Bust Form Vintage Christmas Ornaments

Decorate your finished Christmas bust form with your favorite Christmas ornaments.

I added 36 extra small vintage navy blue ornaments to my dress form that I found at The Collected.

Jewelry

Style your Christmas bust form further with costume jewelry, neck ribbon, scarf, or hat.

I added strands of costume jewelry pearls that I found at a local thrift shop.

What do you think? Would you decorate a vintage bust form for the holidays?

Incorporating vintage dressmaker forms, sewing mannequins, tailor dress forms, and display forms of different sizes into your Christmas decor can bring a charming and sophisticated twist to your holiday styling.

High-quality display dress forms are versatile and allow for creative expression—whether adorned with festive garlands, twinkling lights, or classic ornaments. Their unique shapes and timeless appeal add an artistic and personalized touch to any room.

By dressing up these vintage pieces for the season, you transform them into statement decorations that celebrate the holidays with elegance and a nostalgic nod to the artistry of days gone by.

Embrace the beauty of your display forms this Christmas, and let their history and craftsmanship bring festive warmth to your home.

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This post may contain affiliate links, which won’t change your price but will share some commission.