Whenever possible, real models probably look best, but I think that you can be creative even with a hanger.  It is all in the presentation....

I think seeing people in clothes is always more interesting visually than mannequins - it's just that human element that's appealing. On the other hand, I guess some people would prefer their garment not to have been worn by anyone. I've been wondering about putting my necklaces on someone beautiful, rather than having them just on a flat surface or on a hanger as I do now...does it seem like a good idea?

I only have one child's clothing so far listed on my store. I plan to have more. I chose to use a live model but the dress is a sample and whoever buys the item will get a new outfit sewn with the same design in their specified size. I also purposely chose to cover the child model's face for privacy reasons after I read a horror story of an ebay mom's experience where a child predator abducted her child after buying an item from her store and finding out her address. The predator had bought clothes that were modeled by her son on ebay.

In general, I think a live model helps promote the clothing item. A mannequin is the second best, clothes hanger third, and laying it on the bed/floor last. If clothes hanger is used, make sure there's nothing cluttering up the background.

http://www.sweetjasminedesigns.com