Amazon probably wasn't thinking of this...

In 2015, I held a very small dinner party on Halloween. My best decoration, IMHO, was a headless woman reclining on a lounge chair, surrounded by candles and fingering a long strand of pearls. I achieved the effect by stuffing a knock-off Victorian morning gown with pillows and using stuffed black stockings finished with stuffed black gloves. Unfortunately, she was seated on my screened porch and my guests loved her - after I pointed her out.

In 2016, I wanted to make her more of a showcase, and I knew pillows wouldn't cut it. I started to look for a cheap manikin on line. What I discovered was that Amazon had a deeply discounted headless manikin, as long as you wanted her in white (rather than flesh tone). Perfect.

The pros: the manikin is very tall - 5.5 feet where her neck ends. If she had a head, she would be over 6 feet, and much more formidable than your average Halloween outlet figure. She's well made, and her arms come off so that she is easy to dress. She is also a complete figure, so unlike Halloween figures that are mostly just frame, clothing drapes on her very well.

The cons: other than being able to semi-position, she's pretty much what-you-see-is-what-you-get. She does come apart at the waist for storage, but I found the pieces are already so big that it's easier to leave her standing on her stand. Of course she manages to startle everyone at home, no matter how many times we come across her. Also, she is quite busty. This may be a pro or a con, depending on how you want to dress her.