Alice in Wonderland and dolls

There's a lot of fans of Vicoriana (in all its manifestations) in the doll world. It's no coincidence. I think if you like that style you may eventually come along to liking dolls and vice versa because they suit each other. All the doll companies cater to this style. I think many people who like this also like Alice in Wonderland, or just the idea or character of Alice. She and her world can also be "gothed up" and I challenge you to show me a goth who doesn't love Alice! And of course three's lots of gothy types around this fandom too.

What I'd like to know is when and who decided that Alice wears stripey socks? Not that I'm complaining

 

It's strange you should ask this question. I've always had a fasination with Alice in wonderland, from Disney to the original books, I don't know what it is about the story. It just intrigues me and the traditional "alice outfit" is one of my favourites.
It might have something to do with the whole "Girl lost in her own pyschee (Sp?)" I also love the topsy turvey aspect to it.

 

I think it has to do with the fact that it has some wonderful iconic imagery, is true Victoriana and can easily be incorporated into dolls, and is so firmly in the public domain that there is no chance of making someone with lawyers mad. Also, one of the most iconic aspects of Alice in Wonderland is a tea party, and what is more stereotypically doll-play than tea parties?

 

Alice is awesome; a fascinating tale that can be seen and interpreted in many ways depending on the reader - maybe that's why there are so many doll versions of it, the companies are tapping into the popularity and flexibility that go along with it? Everyone can find something they love about it and it's more adaptable for people to play with than snow white or sleeping beauty(which are also lovely in their own right).

I love Alice and prefer to see it as dark and creepy. I have written a novel drawing inspiration from the story but set in modern Japan and with a gay, peroxide blond Harajuku boy as "Alice".

 

I think we'll be seeing more Alice themes over the next months in anticipation of the new Tim Burton movie. I recently made an Alice theme set: Alice, the Queen of Hearts and "card" Dresses for Blythe. They were hugely popular on flickr!

 

For myself, I love the Brothers Grimm story, the American McGees version, and it's very easy thing to twist darkly (which is something I'm horrifically in love with). Also, aesthetically, it's a very pleasing and familiar look, to anyone I think.

I don't have any Alice type dolls yet, but I know I will eventually.

 

As a bit of an Alice in Wonderland nerd... *pokes username* I feel obliged to post my opinion! xD
I have always loved stories about children going to magical places and having wonderful adventures. The Alice's Adventures are classic, and imo are more widely known than the Wizard of Oz books (and there were like 14 of those!) ^^;
Since the story is so eccentric, it can be adapted and warped. So you get the dark, gothic themes, as well as the fluffy, cute Disney themes; so one story can be suited for anyone (or anything).
As for using the story/characters in relation to dolls, since they're so open to customisation, you can pretty much do what you like with it. The characters, the victorian-inspired costumes (steampunk!), gothic-lolita, goth/gore, the story has tapped into many niches because it's so flexible. Not many other stories can do that.

 

Well then, you have explained why she's become such a popular metaphor among those fond of Japanese pop culture. Alice is moe.

She's always a child, but definitely a genius child who understands a lot more about both the real world and the alter worlds she has to navigate than most adults. As such, growing up with this as one of the myths I lived with, it helped me to cope with being a gifted kid who neither adults nor her peer group understands. I mean, think about it, she's constantly solving problems that require knowledge of literature or physics or rules of complex games like Chess. And she has to rescue herself. She gets help from others in Wonderland but most of the time it's her who figures out what's going on.

It's funny, the dress my doll was wearing when my boyfriend let me take care of her is a blue pinafore with a white blouse and white crinoline underneath. And after swapping out her stock "Apricot" Animetic eyes for blue ones (yes, I've been to Volks Tenshi no Sumika recently) and getting a blonde wig for her from a friend (Thanks, Biff!) she now REALLY looks like Alice. Hence NATSUME Yumiko Arisu, her new full name.

 

i completly agree with this person.

 

Very interesting question. )))
One my friend has told: "Alice is not game, Alice is a style of life".
Perhaps we live in the our Wonderland through our dolls...

 

I'm not an expert, but John Tenniel gave Alice striped stockings when he illustrated Through the Looking Glass. She wore plain ones in his illustrations for Alice in Wonderland. Most film versions are combinations of the two stories, and it seems the it's the Looking Glass version that became iconic.

 

Just noting that you're probably thinking of the Kyou Kara Maoh anime. I don't know if that's really much related to Alice, as he's not actively seeking anything when he gets pulled through the water, it seems to be a total accident on his part. He gets 'summoned', half the time time he's annoyed to be there.

Alice was activly seeking the rabbit, going was her own choice, being a curious young girl. Just saying though. ^-^;;;

 

Alice in Wonderland is Victorian fantasy, and with neo Victorian being so popular...*achem*Steampunk*achem* its only natural with our climate of big and little and animal dolls that a story where people shrink and grow and talk to Cats would be adapted. Adopted?

Personally, Alice was my favorite story as a child. I think almost every girl relates to Alice is some way or another, even if you think she's the dumbest, most spoiled child on earth, she's one of the first girls who had an adventure story all her own, with no boy holding her hand. How often does that happen even today?

 

Yeah why is it so much inspiration to doll artists?
I think it's about the fantasy and non-real things...

 

Lol not quite on topic, but I named one of my favorite dolls 'Alice' Because it's a beautiful, short, sweet name, and it includes most of my favorite letters (I know, I know, favorite letters; Weird) but now, everyone WON'T STOP calling her Alice in Wonderland! It's a bit annoying, honestly...

 

Actually the lolita aspect came from Carol Lewis. He was obsessed about the girl Alice the books main heroin was named over. And it pass onto the book and his lost Alice literature

 

Striped stockings were really common in the Victorian era; stripes are fairly easy to do if you're knitting stockings by hand, far easier than other patterns. Many of Carroll's photographs show them, like this one: http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/75/Kitchin__Xie_(Lewis_Carroll__1874).gif

I went to a whole exhibit on Victorian child photography (which included many of Carroll's photographs) and Carroll's weren't any more inappropriate (by modern standards) than any of the others. There was a lot of classical nudity and kids dressed up as adults. The whole thing was a little creepy to me, but Carroll's photographs weren't considered unusual at the time.

I think Alice in Wonderland is appealing because when you use one of those characters, you're really evoking all the versions at once. Those characters are so familiar that when you see them, you flash on all the variations of them you've ever seen. And because they all have a distinct set of visual symbols, it's possible to reference them and have people immediately get it, which is gratifying.

I do think there are other characters, particularly Little Red Riding Hood, that have as many iterations in art and movies and such... but Alice really lends herself to the world of dolls because she can be sweet or scary.

 

Just wondering.

I notice so many companies doing the Alice theme.

I understand it can be very exotic, but so could a lot of other things. So why Alice in Wonderland in particular?

Thank you for your opinions.

 

Hm, I've kind of wondered about this, too.

I'm not entirely into Alice and Wonderland, myself, but it seems like a very popular theme. Cute and everything, but not my cup of tea - so to speak.

 

I think Alice in Wonderland is very well-known, has a very distinct aesthetic (you can easily identify an Alice or a Mad Hatter or a Cheshire Cat), and can be used for a lot of different types of dolls (tinies, male, female, etc.). Also I think Japan has a minor obsession with it, as I've noticed from Lolita fashion, and some of that might carry over.