If one is to become serious about designing and making their own clothes, one should invest in a dress form. However, that is not an option for most. So I suggest make your own. I honestly think this is better not only because of price but also because of the customization you can do on them. Here is a video that gave me the inspiration.
Once you make that you need a dress-form stand. You can use the one on the video or for a more professional looking one here is an exploded diagram.
Some homemade dress forms that were googled.
Stay tuned for Design Sketches and my own dress-form. :D