At what point do Bjds become mannequins?

A mannequin has always been traditionally used to model clothing be it made of plastic, wood, flesh and bones, real or fake.

If a life-sized BJD were to be used to model clothes, it would be both a BJD and a mannequin.

The criteria for a mannequin is not quite so strict as what describes a BJD for this forum. The key thing about mannequins is that they model clothes.

 

I'm pretty sure the 'toddler size' BJD you're thinking of is probably the 90cm boys from AOD.

http://www.aoddoll.net/ProListByClass.asp?bid=35&sid=126

Personally while I think that is a insanely HUGE size for a doll........ I don't think it really counts as a mannequin. If it were something you were only going to be dressing and un-dressing for show, I would see it more as a mannequin; however if you're treating it just like your other BJDs and doing more with it, I don't think people would think "Why is this person playing with a mannequin? Did they take that from a store?". ^-^;

 

It probably depends a good bit on what the owner uses the doll for and how movable it is.

 

Not much difference between mannequins & dolls, except in their traditional 'occupations'; a mannequin usually sells things by standing still inside clothing, a doll is usually admired in its entirety. But they're similar, when you boil it down. I know several people who have store-mannequins in their homes, dressed up and painted and customized all funky to match their personal tastes... and you can change the poses, in some cases... so you could call them dolls. (Some don't like to, though, especially men; if I tease them about having dolls that're even bigger than mine, they get all bristly about it. XD)

 

I suppose to me a mannequin is life size with relatively basic joints, and interchangable limbs. Probably the only moving parts would be the shoulders and different attachments for the lower limbs from the waist down, generally made of a much lighter material. They would probably also have some kind of fixtures to keep them in place. Hmmmmm, interesting question tho.

 

umm also to Aichan, i don't know if this would help. But another toddler sized doll out there are the Lusion dolls from Dollmore. just in case you didn't know that already................

 

o.0 that's a good question. i'm glad other users had some answers/opinions. i never knew bjd's reached 90cm! that's insane!

I always considered a mannequin to be more of an 'object' with basic detail vs a work of art that dolls are. I don't think height has much to do with it, you could have a 6 foot bjd and i'd never call it a mannequin. Same with if I saw a mannequin with lots of movable joints and soft hair in a store, I'd probably point and say 'omg its like a giant doll!!'

 

when theyre 150 cm talll and above. but, then again, i guess they never will be , because they really are skinnier than your "average" human, im not trying to offend anyone, i mean, theyre feet are smalller, therye bodies are slimmer and have more curves, so now if u wanna dress them in american girl clothes, you gotta stuff stuff stuff or trim da clothing down to make it fit a bjd. it would be wierd if bjd was like that, though

 

In my op,bjd&mannequin r pretty similar.. Both of them can be used for customising.. Although bjd is smaller..
The only thing that is different as far as i know is their owner's attitude toward them..
A bjd owner will treasure their dolls and treat it as their precious and important things,while a mannequin owners don't really bother about their mannequins as long as it can still be used for modelling the clothes..

 

It really is the intent of the object, not the size, that counts. If they make a 5 foot BJD that is meant to be a doll, it's still a doll.

 

This pretty much summs it up.

In my opinion, Mannequins were always more commercial, where as BDJ ultimately become a very personal thing. The owners take them and personalize every last one.

Mannequins on the other hand are used simply to display, to advertise. There is time put into dressing them, but limited posability aside, they are mass produced generic models.

I think that BDJ, no matter how large they get, will always be more dolls then Mannequins simply due to the fact that you can and most likely willl, interact with them more.

 

Yep size doesn't matter. It's just a word that depend on how you use them. If you call it a doll it's a doll. If you call it a mannequin it's a mannequin, if you call it a dummy it's a dummy.

Everyone associates mannequin with those that used to sell clothing, etc. However, those little wood stick figures that's sold in the artists store are often referred as mannequins as well. Many other thing that are a representation of human bodies are also called mannequins. However, it seems typically doll will be more of a play things and mannequin typically is not use to refer to play things and mostly on tools. So I guess if you make a BJD that's huge is still a doll as long as the intent was people will play with it and enjoy it, while the smallest artists' stick figure is a mannequin because well it's a tool.

 

I think for a bjd (or any doll) to be considered a mannequin it would have to be used solely for the purpose of displaying clothing and accessories, and that would most likely be for the purpose of advertising, like in a store or whatever. I do use my bjds to show off clothing, both that I've made and bought. But I also play with them and make up stories about them, so to me that makes them more than a mannequin. Size doesn't really matter, mannequins can be small, it's how they are used that determines whether they are classified as mannequins or dolls

 

Well... It would be fun if companies start making huge BJDs... LOL~! There are human-sized dolls that resembles BJDs already, and they're not mannequins. If anyone's interested, I can post a link. As far as I know, mannequins are cheaper than our resin babies! But if companies such as IpleHouse or Soom start to make human-sized dolls, it will be fun to watch how much they will charge for them! And... it's probably be better for our wallets, too. ^^ At least we can stop spending money on BJD's clothes and dress them in our clothes instead!~*

 

I know that in the November 2007 Issue of Vogue Nippon there was a photoshoot with Volks BJDS modelling current designer fashion. It was an amazing spread!!!

Link: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167806&highlight=vogue

 

Actually, the closest to "toddler-size" BJD I can think of is the Dollmore Lusion girl. However, she is not really to scale as a toddler mannequin. There's actually a post in the photo request thread that compares the Lusion Dahlia sculpt with a real toddler: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5051696&postcount=8

 

The interesting and wonderful thing about BJD is that they cross so many borders on the definition of "doll". They may be collected like art pieces. Their price certainly lends to this "definition" of the dolls. However, they are also used like fasion dolls, with large name brands that design for them. Finally, they are used for pure play, being dressed up and interacting with other people via their dolls. Of course, the art thing comes in once again as the dolls make the most (unles you have some tight elastic/kicky dolls) compliant models.

In the early days of BJD, in fact, there are stories of (I believe) Volks dolls appearing in stores, (see this thread) and displaying the outfits in minature. They were also used by designers to work out the outfits before going full scale, since they were much more representatie of a human shape than the fasion dolls of the time (Momoko).

So maybe the question is, when did BJD stop being maniquins and start having a definition all of their own? Not a simple plaything, not a simple art piece, not a simple fashion doll, but the possibility to be any/all of the above?

 

One of the Junkyspot crew just honeymooned in Japan and showed us pictures of 1:1 scale "BJDs", that is, mannequins with ball joints being used to display clothing. Jointed fingers too.

It is still possible to get a pattern for a 5' tall Victorian (adult female) cloth doll.