American women have broader, flatter figures compared to her European sisters.

Hence, the need for a different mannequin was apparent to both European and American manufacturers.

It was during the 1930s when American manufacturers developed their identity under the hallmark of realism. Thanks to Lester Gaba and Cora Scovil, the American mannequin sculptors were put on the world map.

Cora Scovil manufactured the first plaster figures, decreasing the weight of a typical mannequin from 200 lbs to 25 lbs.

Working with mannequins became relatively easier and more manageable. Durability was improved, preparation time shortened, maintenance was easier and most of all, moving mannequins were not a big chore. Portability was the name of the game.

"Scovil's mannequins were modeled after famous movie stars; Lester Gaba's were lighthearted caricatures of New York Socialites of the day. Both were modeled after real and recognizable people, and were marked contrasts to the 'stay-at-home types' the new mannequins replaced." (Source: Vital Mummies: Performance Design for the Show Window Mannequin by Sara K. Schneider, published by: Yale University Press)

Ray Dumont is a mannequin sculptor from the 1930s who specialized in children mannequins and made realistic children mannequins, not in terms of the face, but in their actions and posture. She did most of her work in wood.

Writers and historians view mannequins differently. Marsha Bentley Hale, a historian and collector of mannequins is basically interested in the "beauty ideal" that mannequins reflect for the era that it was manufactured and its historical impact.

Nicole Parrot, book author observed the socio-economic reality of the time. The "elegant and snooty" look of the 1920s were replaced with the "pert and gamine" look in a mannequin during the Depression of the 1930s.