Aesthetics and Styles

Well, I have a really varied doll aesthetic.

Firstly, I absolutely adore Dollzone (and some dollleaves), Dream Valley and DollChateau body sculpt aesthetics. The realistic-stylized look makes them really unique and expressive to me. I really like realistic faceup with these kind of dolls.

Another kind of them that I like are 1/6 mature BJDS because of the size. It's a shame that finding decent clothing for them are quite hard.

Sometimes I like these full coloured faceups but... a few of them. Only in fantasy-looking dolls like fairies or mermaids.

 

I prefer semi-stylized to more realistic dolls. Nearly half are tan or fantasy colored, and half are elves, fairies, or fantasy creatures. Only the two in fantasy colored resin have fantasy hair colors. They all live in a modern world, so they mostly dress in modern everyday clothes. Though the fantasy race dolls some times dress a bit more old-fashioned or formal. I'm trying to give each of them their own style, but that's a bit challenging given they're mostly mature tinies and I sew most of their clothes myself.

 

I don’t have them as dolls yet, but I think that Riley, Candice and Skai would love to dress in pastels ^ ^.
As for Momoko, she would dress in traditional Japanese clothes at home and would wear large hoodies to school to hide her identity.

 

I like semi-realism sculpt-wise, faceups I like dark or natural, clothing dark or natural, earthy colours.Things will turn out interesting once I get the first girl in my crew because I have no idea where to go with her looks!

 

I've been focusing on more realistic dolls for the past seven years. Stylistically, even the ones I got after I started going realistic have vastly different styles. I got a girl with a witchy rocker vibe, one that, as someone aptly put in a comment on DoA, looks like she should be in a Hallmark Movie, and one that is very much a Texan barista from Austin. They're very different characters from different places at it reflects in their styles.

 

I'm really big on more realistic-style dolls, but every now and again, a super stylized sculpt will catch my eye. Highly prefer more mature/adult-aged sculpts above basically all else, and I love detailed/realistic faceups. Still, sometimes I'll go for fantasy-style or less hyper-realistic faceups depending on the sculpt I've got!
As for the rest of it, it's basically whatever suits the character I have in mind--right now, I'm working on a sort of unified setting with a lot of different characters, so that's currently holding sway over the aesthetic I'm hunting after. It's basically Victorian era with supernatural/eldritch horror elements, and maybe a touch steampunk here and there. Right now, there's a vampire almost done, a Dr. Frankenstein-type character on the way, and the start of a werewolf coming in, too. At least I can pass clothes and stuff around to the others if it doesn't work for one of them!

 

My dolls are all based on my OC's, so I pick sculpts based on how I imagine them to look. Style wise, my story has them set in a near-future NYC so its pretty modern but a bit more sleek in clothing designs. Many of my characters are detectives, so they have work uniforms as well as everyday outfits.

 

I really enjoy the whimsical fairytale aesthetic for my tinies because they’re so fun! I think it fits really well for their sizing as well, so that’s my preference for them. That being said, my aesthetic for my SD dolls is a lot more dark and grungy. I think the polar opposites of the two aesthetics is a lot of fun because it gives different options depending on what mood I’m in.

 

Hmm, aesthetic....

Well, for the most part—my crew is either based off of OCs, or existing characters. What exactly determines which sculpts I'll pick? I tend to go with what best matches up with the way I envision the character, or how they look in their original media version.

As for what I'm particularly drawn to? I veer more towards either mature sculpts, or at least late teens/early twenties. I also have a preference for the more realistic side. I grew up surrounded by either cutesy wide-eyed baby dolls or Barbies, so I just never really developed an interest in the more child-like, stylistic types.

Delving into their style aesthetics—it's dependent on the character. I've got a range from a gothic fashionista, a couple of pretty boys with their own versions of swaggish flair, my more casual dressers preferring comfort and practicality over style, and a couple that either tend to dress more reserved or professional.

Really—it driven by whatever their story dictates, and their personalities. I'm just here navigating their character designs and picking what suits them best.

Also—realistic cats. I'd have a horde of jointed kitties around if I could (someday I'll get at least one, maybe more)

 

I tend to prefer semi-realistic sculpts that lean more towards the cutesy side of the spectrum. I've found lately that I'm really drawn towards sculpts with a lot of personality in their expressions, as well.

As for clothing/general styling choices, I like for my dolls to all have their own distinct styles! Luna (my dollzone Lola) has a grunge/punk aesthetic, while Maho (my myou Carr) dresses in more formal/princely attire. The dream valley Vine I have an order placed for will wear mostly pastels (pinks especially). I'm also going to be ordering a 2D Doll Light tomorrow, and I've decided he'll wear mostly vintage clothing (stuff from the 90s especially) because a vampire holding onto all of his old clothing is an interesting concept to me.

I have pretty eclectic tastes in terms of fashion, and getting to sew different styles has been fun so far!

 

It's definitely a mix of intent and serendipity, when it comes to my collection...

My first doll, Vince, wasn't intended to have one aesthetic, but just to be a doll with which I could explore any kind of fashion/costume that appealed to me but that I didn't want to necessarily explore through my own wardrobe. And since he's a childlike MSD I can easily put him in clothes that suit any kind of gender presentation. But I have discovered that he looks best in things that are on the cute end of the scale. While some of his things are pink and more femme-cutesy, most of his wardrobe now is... well, a lot like what I'd have worn or wanted to wear when I was a child-- things that a kid would tromp around the woods exploring in, with a lot of superhero and dinosaur motifs, but the occasional hint of pink.

Pete currently has the MOST defined aesthetic-- his wardrobe is almost entirely pink and white, though there are small bits of other color-- pastels or rainbow touches, a pair of galaxy leggings that lean a little into pinks. He wears things that are fitted or that show a lot of skin, more often than not, and his sense of style is very, like... casual femme, but with just a couple accessories that lean into a HIGHLY pastel pastel goth territory.

Marigold is ideally going to have a mori vibe most of the time, but in the meantime she's wearing a Barbie Hello Kitty shirt because it fits her and I don't want her wandering around topless while I try to work out the things I want for her.

And Jack's on his way and is going to be my high fantasy boy-- I've already got some props on hand and am starting to pull together everything else I need for him. He's a spy-turned-adventurer and my D&D rogue, so I have a pretty detailed idea of what his daily wardrobe and his equipment is like, but I've also got some random treasure for him and I'll just be open to anything that seems like he'd want it-- or the things that he'd have in his eventual post-retirement home.

 

My crew is stylistically pretty diverse these days... But in general, I'm drawn most strongly to 1/3-scale, fairly stylized "old school" sculpts. Not what I'd call the 'Extreme Anime' types, exactly, but not at all realistic either. (Think: Classic Volks and Cerberus Project, with a side-order of Soom, Iple and Lati.)

I'd rather my dolls look like dolls than like real miniature people, I guess.
That preference drives who I end up liking enough to add to the line-up.

As for how I style them once they're here... That ultimately comes down to what I feel best suits the individual doll, honestly. I still have a strong preference for putting a lot of the gang in pseudo-historical Asian-inspired outfits, but that just doesn't work for everyone. So, the collection as a whole really is all over the place. Some stick with the Asian look. Some go questionably-historical European. There are others that definitely skew more Modern. Those tend to be on the more formal side... business suits and such... but there ARE a couple of dedicated Casuals in the crew, as well as a few real eccentrics. I have a pair of lace-loving Sweet Lolita girls. One Mori fancier. A very Elegant gothic zephir. A superhero's kid brother in sneakers, jeans and a tee-shirt... Dakwa, my mermaid, doesn't wear anything but a string of pearls... Like I said. All over the place.

 

All my dolls (current and incoming) are fantasy-themed! I have a lion, mermaid, and demon now, and have an angel incoming!
I love going all out and extra on them!!

My favorite brands are LUTS and Iplehouse; LUTS captures the youthful and delicate spirit so well in their KDFs, and Iplehouse just has gorgeous semi-realistic sculpts!!

 

I have a weakness for larger eyes, pointy noses, and edgy visual kei, goth, and punk styles. Dark/dramatic makeup, wild hair, (faux) leather, studs, chains... I might've fit into the hobby a lot better like 15 years ago, haha. Don't really see a lot of that style on social media these days.