Mannequins 197 Maintenance Mannequins should be well cared for and kept clean. A simple felt body bag can be used to cover them when they are in storage. Dirty, chipped mannequins will not help sell any clothes. Once a mannequin has been purchased it can be resprayed and have new makeup applied; in the trade this is referred to as a "reno." Kevin Arpino describes the process: "Mannequins come back to us. We start by stripping the face of the makeup. We then take off layers of the base paint, fill any cracks, and respray them. Finally, we create and apply new makeup. A full renovation face and makeup costs around $130 (£80), whereas a new mannequin would cost between $1,125 and $1,600 (£700 and £1,000). "Wigs are also an economical way of changing the mannequin's appearance. We offer two wig options: hard and soft hair. Both options will cost between $120 and $200 (£60 and £100). A hard wig is styled and set so that it will keep its shape and not move. They can be extremely dramatic but not very versatile. Soft hair resembles a more conventional wig that can be styled by the visual merchandiser." Mannequin dressing is an art that many take very seriously. Visual merchandisers take a lot of pride in styling their muses. Often they use their experience to leap into the fashion world as stylists. Kevin Arpino, an advocate of mannequin dressing, believes it is a dying skill that should be studied and practiced. "Those fashion dressers that aspire to dressing the world's top models for an eight-page shoot in Vogue should remember they are only as good as their address book," he says. "Their first job as a stylist may be to dress someone to resemble a grandma for a dishwashing-soap commercial. Styling a mannequin can be more rewarding. At least they don't question what you are putting them in." Above A dramatically posed mannequin supports this elaborate couture coat, which has been wired through the hem to give the impression of movement.