Can dolls be too pretty?

I thin that it depends on your personal taste. Some people like their dolls pretty and flawless. Others like them with all their flaws. I tend to think of my dolls as their own character, so if that character has scars or a missing limb or warts or a blemish--I'd want that part of the doll. Oddly enough, one of the dolls I find 'perfect' for my character Roary is a doll that I initially rejected because at first I didn't feel she was "pretty enough" (the doll mentioned is here: http://mintoncardinc.com/dolls/item_details.php?BJD=1671&name=Vivian&cat=26&DOLL=YES). Then I stopped myself and went "did you really just /say/ that?" and really thought the process through. (In my defense, super pale dolls or open mouth dolls normally aren't my style and she was both in the pictures.) And when I reexamined the issue, I thought of my character. The nose on that doll is /perfect/ for the character and is one of the few dolls to have a sort of 'beaky' nose. The nice thing is, I can get her in a different skin tone and with slightly darker make-up, which ultimately what swayed me. I also found that the longer I looked at her, the prettier she got to me. She grew on me--and that was the defining moment. Roary, the character, isn't very pretty. She's attractive, but she's sort of... odd looking (long limbs, fuller middle, beaky nose, but shapely eyes and lips) and she's the type of beauty that grows on you as you get to know her because she's beautiful on the inside. (If that makes sense.) And that's why I liked this doll for her. It's the imperfections in the doll that made her the girl I wanted.

I also think that marks on a doll give character. My first doll has a tiny tiny beauty mark because my friend who was doing the face up found a tiny chip. She apologized profusely for the mark but I got excited. I thought it added to the character and made it canon to the appearance. Sadly, the full and curly wig often covers said beauty mark. :/

 

I don't mind dolls with blemishes as long as it suits the character. I got Soom's scar-faced Hyperon coz I thought he was way more attractive than normal Hyperon. I also like it when faceup artists give their dolls moles, shadows or bags under their eyes.

However, I think I draw the line when it comes really long philtrums like most of the sculpts of IOS, or button noses, really pointy noses, or flat-bridged noses. I guess I'm just picky with my noses.

At the end of the day, it's really all in the eye of the beholder. People have different tastes.

 

I think that dolls can be too pretty and perfect for me. My dolls are all my characters, and they all have flaws (both inside and outside). I find that I prefer slightly quirky sculpts for my guys and not 100% conventionally pretty girls. For the longest time I didn't have an older female character (I had only two teenage girls), because I couldn't find adult female sculpts that suited me. Now I have three that I love.

I wouldn't want a teenage character with spots on its face (life is difficult enough already!), and I'm not even sure if I would want a freckled character, but I don't think any of my dolls are perfectly beautiful in the conventional sense. Some have long faces, beaky noses, weak chins, narrow eyes. They're all perfect for me, though.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I don't think I would be in the hobby if the dolls weren't beautiful. I don't have any interest in gazing at or constructing ugly for recreation. When I was very young, pretty was considered below the level of beautiful. You could be naturally pretty, but to be beautiful almost always required extra work. Now the word "beautiful" is used more commonly than "pretty", and I believe it has lost it's descriptive punch for having become everyday. I don't know what word could be used to replace "beautiful" that would sufficiently convey a superior appearance. I believe true beauty should induce an element of awe in the beholder.

The word "pretty" might now be carrying nuances of gaudy or tacky with connotations of pretentious extravagance and ostentatious ornamentation: in other words, tasteless bling. If that is the question, then I certainly believe a doll can be considered "too pretty". But it is still a subjective evaluation, and it really doesn't matter what I or anyone else thinks if your desired or owned doll is pleasing to you!

 

Generally, to each her own, but personally I don't mind if dolls have extra 'imperfections' on them. It has to look realistic though. I was on a photo site and the dolls looked like they had brown dots on them, with the apparent intention of being moles. In contrast, the post you linked to that had the doll with the acne scars looked so real and cool! If all dolls looked the same, how boring that would be.

 

Each of us are unique in some way, and like us, so are the dolls. What some call pretty, others recoil from and the dolls we think are ugly, are heaven sent to others.

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder."

 

Completely agree with Princess, I'm fairly new and only have 2 dolls so far, one new and one second hand. I find it hard to 'play' with the new one, I'm worried about damaging her, she's just too perfect and beautiful. My second hand boy has flaws, he's got little marks and I find him more relatable because of it, he gets more attention lol. I love the pretty, but I prefer the flawed dolls I think, if that makes sense

 

I think dolls are removed from us. But then, I think that's what I find so beautiful about them.
They have no flaws and you can make them into whatever you want. They don't talk or move or grow up or have a heart beat. When we see perfect, skinny, airbrush-perfect models on tv or in magazines, we know it's not real. But on a doll, it is.
I know what you mean about a doll being more interesting when it isn't perfect pretty pretty. Especially because I would LOVE to have a larger bodied doll to be a pin-up/burlesque/rockabilly girl one day.
But I personally wouldn't go that far with making a doll so human because part of the appeal of dolls for me is that they aren't remotely close to human.

 

I really, really like this topic. A lot. As much as I love the beauty of some of the dolls, it can be really disheartening to some of the other people who have skin blemishes, acne or stretch marks or other 'ugly' traits. I think that adding these to dolls enhances them and makes them more realistic, and easier to associate with. ...Am I alone in this?

 

The dolls that are made with cut lips, bruising are interesting to look at, gives them a bit of a battle story and a hey whats that kind of thing

 

I myself do think dolls can look "too" pretty. Some bjd customizers have very distinct styles, and although I very much like the face-ups, the face-ups seem too uniform to me. As in, they're done in the same style but different ways. I'm not trying to insult customizers who have a distinct style; I just like variety. ^_^
One "imperfection" I like seeing on dolls is scars: They look cool! Although, that is just my opinion. :3

 

A lot of my dolls have unconventional faces actually not what I'd consider "pretty" in the normal sense. I chose them because they appealed on some level to me. I like beautiful dolls but I also like odd dolls. I would not deliberately make a doll ugly though because that would not appeal to me. I don't get anything emotionally from seeing anything on a doll that disfigures it. I don't particularly like dolls with wounds, scars, and I did not like the one doll I've seen actually made up to look like he has a bad case of acne. I can admire the skill it takes to make a doll look like that, but it's just not something I'd want on one of my dolls.

 

Not at all! I actually find that I love the 'prettier' dolls. I prefer idealism to reality in a world where we witness so much reality already, it's nice to have art that represents fantasy a bit more.

 

Since "pretty" is really a subjective term, my answer to the question is no. A doll can never be "too pretty" because what's pretty to me (or too pretty, as the case may be) could be unattractive or unappealing to somebody else.

For some of my characters, I like what might be considered as conventionally pretty faceups, but that isn't because I have an overall preference for that, but rather because it works for the character. I think scars, freckles blemishes, asymmetry, bold colours, tattoos, dramatic makeup and all that are great...in their proper place. Some of my dolls have imperfections in their faces and some have unusual colours. I like it for those dolls, but it doesn't work for every doll. Even though each of my dolls are different, I think they are all pretty.

I've seen several dolls out there that I think aren't pretty, that other people fawn all over for the beauty they perceive, and I've seen dolls that I fawn all over that other people kind of go "meh..." about. I don't think it's logical to say a doll in general is "too pretty" becuase what I see as unrealistic perfection may be the absolute best thing in someone else's mind.

 

This is an interesting topic. I agree with what many said about everyone having different taste and finding beauty in different things. Some people find flaws beautiful. I do not necessarily think a doll can be too beautiful, but I do think that to me, to a certain extent, dolls that are conventionally gorgeous can be boring after so long. I think flaws and imperfections give dolls character. However, even the conventionally beautiful dolls can have character. I think a lot of what is beauty to me lies in the stories and characters we create with our dolls.

 

I do not think there is a such thing as too pretty for a doll. All the dolls I own are way too pretty to be "realistic" but if I wanted realistic I would not be going after a doll. There is definitely beauty in giving a doll character but I do not see why that character would have to be expressed in a way that would make a doll "less pretty". Things like freckles and beauty marks can easily make a doll even more beautiful and I love seeing that on bjds.

 

This is a very good topic! Even though it's an old one and Im finding it years later. I cant post a super intensive reply right now cause Im using my tab, but I will say that I cant stand self appointed critics flashing their opinions at me lol. Also some people seek out intelligent debates, but Im not like that lol. Just do what you want to do with your own doll and be happy in your personal expressions. Strangers with opinions are annoying. And its actually cool to show flaws on the dolls too. My guy has painted side burns and i purposefully drew some hair longer than others to show that he missed a spot while trimming. But my doll still looks super pretty and people often let me know that when i take my doll out. Actually they tell me he looks like a girl. Strangers annoy me lol.

 

I think it's the "too pretty" part that really made me want to get into the hobby in the first place. I've seen some of the scarred dolls that are out there, and I can understand why some would want that, but I really enjoy the perfection that comes with a well-sculpted, unblemished doll.
Call me shallow if ya like.

 

I agree, Kita. I mean, like I said earlier--I think it's cool that other people want to do imperfections, but yeah, the super perfection looked amazing when I discovered the dolls and made me want one too lol.

 

There is definitely a too pretty/too perfect threshold for me(though this didn't used to be the case). I now like my dolls with human-like quirks rather than perfect symmetry and proportion of each feature, smooth, flawless, featureless skin, etc... This bores me and I can't tell such dolls apart from each other.

A too perfect doll to me would be:http://dec712241.gdreamweb.com/shop/step1.php?number=6317&b_code=B20101202056360 or http://dollsoom.com/eng/shop/item.php?it_id=1264139227
An interesting doll that appeals to me would be: http://www.angelden.net/volks/sd13/irvin2nd.php or http://dollshecraft.com/shop/step1.php?number=701&b_code=B20100805033011&c_code=C20100806012645