In November 2022 Mannequin Madness sponsored a Dress Form Christmas Tree contest on Facebook which ended in December 2022

In case you are not familiar with what a Dress Form Christmas tree is, here is a little background. They are also referred to as Diva Trees, Mannequin Trees, or Dress Form Holiday Trees. But they are not really trees at all.

: The Winners of the 2022 Dress Form Christmas Tree Contest

They are a Christmas tree alternative with a fashion component. The bottom half is like a “skirt” and is usually decorated like a traditional Christmas tree with ornaments, lights, garland etc. The upper part is decorated like an outfit ranging from corsets, jackets, draped fabric and accented with jewelry and other embellishments. The vast majority of people make their own dress form trees from scratch, but some people buy pre-made ones from Etsy or places like Home Goods.

Dress Form Christmas trees are also an eco-friendly holiday decor because it does not involve the cutting down of a live tree. And, after the holidays are over, the dress form can be repurposed for other uses – something you can’t do even if you buy a fake Christmas tree.

Although Dress Form Christmas trees have been trending on Pinterest for years, Mannequin Madness hosted the first annual contest for them to encourage more people to display one in their home or workplace.

Back to the contest results. The first and second place winners were decided by a panel of 8 judges and the third place winner was a fan favorite determined by votes by members of THIS FACEBOOK GROUP.

The first-place winner was Tisa Alston who designed this winter wonderland theme. She won a $300 Amazon gift card and a $50 gift card from PAPERMART.

Tisa’s ability to make a monochromatic design look interesting, versus repetitive, really impressed the judges. And she it had a cohesive feel despite using so many different textures and layers. She got bonus points for details like decorating the neck cap and adding the crown on top. This is the type of design that could be repurposed to display at a wedding, debutante ball or white party.

The second-place winners were a tie. (Next year, there will be an odd number of judges on the panel instead of the 8 we had this year.) As the owner of Mannequin Madness (me), I did not want to break the tie, so I decided to award both of them the prize of a $275 Amazon gift card. Note: this contest was entirely self-funded by Mannequin Madness except for the $50 Paper Mart gift certificate. We are looking for more sponsors for next year’s contest so, if you are interested or know of someone else, please send us an email at sales@mannequinmadness.com.

One of the second-place winners, Janine Jones Edmonds, designed this tree which is a total Cinderella style transformation of dress form tree she purchased at Home Goods. You can watch the before/after makeover on this YOUTUBE VIDEO.

The fur collar and jewelry on the bodice belonged to her deceased grandmother. But 1/2 of the judges had an aversion to seeing fur, regardless of the historical or sentimental value.

The other second-place winner, Johncie Rhodes-Kanney, designed her tree using this DIGITAL TUTORIAL Mannequin Madness produces.

The judges who voted for this one were amazed that she could combine so many different elements – lace bodice, pearls, plaid ribbon and ornaments of various shapes, textures and colors – and not look overwhelming. However, this was the exact reason why 1/2 of the judges disliked it. Truly beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Johncie has made several different versions of Dress Form Christmas trees over the years using our tutorial as her template and her signature element of strands of pearls. Here are two examples.

The fan favorite winner was created by Laura Arsena Hamner who designed this Dickens-themed dress form Christmas tree. She won a $250 Amazon gift card.

Laurie wrote to us to say “my Dickens girl was inspired by the red jacket found hanging on the end on the aisle at Goodwill. I watched videos from your FB page on how to do the skirt then I found the silver decorations in my attic among my Christmas decorations.  I had decorated the hat to wear for a Christmas festival and it ended up being just the right touch to finish her off.

So, as you can see, the winners had a very diverse design aesthetic. Dress Form Christmas trees are like snowflakes, no two are just alike but they are all beautiful. You can see all the contest entries on THIS PINTEREST board.

If you want to make a Dress Form Holiday tree, we have all the resources needed for making one on this PAGE. It has everything from tutorials, guides, videos and resources for supplies. And of course, since we are Mannequin Madness, we have new and used dress forms for sale.

At the last minute the judges convinced me to add a new category to the contest: Honorable Mention. The winners in this category received a $100 Mannequin Madness gift certificate.

The first honorable mention went to Tiffany Boone who designed this tree. She told us that initially she wasn’t going to enter the contest because she was a beginner, this was her first attempt at making one. She was a little intimidated by all the other entries she saw on the FACEBOOK GROUP

The judges wanted to send a message that you don’t have to be an experienced crafter to make a beautiful dress form Christmas tree. Just like “less is more” – simple can be showstopper. All but one of the judges had Tiffany’s tree on their short list. While she did not win the top prize, it was a huge validation of her talents.

The second honorable mention went to Charlene Thompson, who submitted this “mannequin wreath.”

Charlene created this as an option for people who like the concept of a dress form holiday tree but may not have the floor space to display one. This can hang on a door or wall at a home or office.  The judges really liked her “think outside of the box” approach to make the idea of fashion-meets-holiday decorating accessible to more people.

Here are a few other examples of Charlene’s designs which will soon be available on Etsy.

We hope the entrants had as much fun creating their entries as we had admiring and judging them. We hope to see your entry in our 2023 contest!

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