Can dolls be too pretty?

You know, I never thought about it, but now you got me thinking.

I probably wouldn't be 100% okay if I gave my own doll something like zits, warts, etc. I like how beautiful she is, but for amusment, if I had to pick some physical flaw for my girl, it'd be a scar. I think scars are kinda hot. Its the whole "battle weary" thing going for me.

Now if I were to encounter someone that had blemishes or pimples, or what have you. I'd be curious to ask, albeit being nervous.

 

Nope, I don't think dolls can be too pretty! The rest of you can have all the fat zitty warty unshaven cellulite-raddled dolls you want, but it's not for me. I have & see quite enough flaws out here in the real world. Human friends are loved no matter what their physical glitches are, but for dolls, I want the pretty. I love my pretty bishonen and my beautiful musclemen and my cute mini tough-guys just as they are.

With that being said, I dig scars. What can I say-- I'm a chick. Chicks dig scars. I don't make the rules around here, that's just how Nature rolls. Sue me.

 

Thanks for that post. I totally agree. Plus your post made me laugh really hard. I prefer pretty and perfect, like a doll should be IMO. Plus I like my girl bubblegum sweet enough to rot your teeth.

 

I have come to the conclusion that for me, yes, dolls can be too pretty! The dolls need to have more than that for me, they need to have 'personality'......

I look at my list of 'adopted out' dolls and there are so many beauties on there that people have said to me "OMG Why on earth did you sell her/him????" but as beautiful as they are, sometimes I can't get past that and they have to go!

I'm also the same with 'over cute' dolls.....I guess for me there just has to be something 'more' than just a beautiful or cute face!!

EDIT: having said all of the above, I still want 'perfection'....it just has to go with personality!!

 

JennyNemesis and Tsukidoll, I agree with you. I accept real, live human beings with whatever flaws they have, but when it comes to my dolls I like them to be as pretty and perfect as possible. My Babette by Marti has a scar on her face which I love, but that's the only flaw on any of my dolls.

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder and for some that involves dolls with burns, missing limbs, bad scars, etc and that is fine but I personally prefer my dolls to be as flawlessly perfect as they can be.

 

Whatever works for you I guess, for me I'm perfectly happy to have a beautiful doll, never being beautiful myself, it's something I can create clothes in miniature for that I'd never consider making for myself.

Maybe that's too idealistic but that's just me! There's enough imperfections in the world, I like pretty things ;-)

 

Personally, one of the draws of dolls is the lack of realism. I collect dolls with big eyes and beautiful faces. However, I am intrigued by the imperfections I see in some of them. Like there are some dolls that are deliberately made to look like they had freckles and pimples, I thought it brought an interesting level of realism. I prefer super unrealistic looking dolls but if someone would like a very realistic looking doll than it is up to them. I have seen some beautiful realistic dolls that have chapped lips and scars, however, I do prefer the too beautiful thing or something extremely edgy.

 

I think the guys dolls are a bit too pretty for my tastes. Even the ones that are sculpted on the more masculine side seem too pretty for me ( I love my men rugged I suppose) This is why I rarely buy a male sculpt but I digress. I think there is a level of beauty that cannot be attained by a human in dolls. And it would probably look creepy if a human did try to attain such beauty. I recall some time ago reading an article on a girl who had lots of plastic surgery to become like barbie. I prefer my dolls to be pretty, yes. Just like I'd want my pvc models and action figures I buy to have a level of aestheticism that I enjoy. Though when it comes to a human being, I can find beauty even in flaws. I suppose its different because they aren't real.

 

Though you do bring up a point with the male dolls. I prefer men to be rugged. I could only stand a "perfect" male doll if it was Mr. Spock or an elf.

 

Yes, definately! Most of the stunningly gorgeous dolls (who I fell in love with from pics) left here very soon after- I don't know, a high level of pretty-ness doesn't equal interesting for me

 

i belive dolls can never be to pretty

 

I love making beautiful dolls out of my BJDs, but I also do lots of barbie/monster high repaints and I, for some reason, adore making them beautiful with hideous features; Buckteeth, bug-eyed, freckly/pimply, and all around weird looking. I don't know why it appeals to me;; I REALLY don't, but I love it all the same. So... Meh, I can't really answer your question, lol nevermind.

 

As far as scars and other 'flaws', it depends on the character and reason for them. They usually serve a purpose for that particular character, but might devalue the doll if it is later being sold and someone wants to give the doll their own story.

My only concern sometimes is that because I like to collect pretty male dolls, I'll end up finding one prettier than Ash, who is my first and favorite doll. I would feel guilty towards him if I ever bought a doll that I found to be prettier than he is. But I think he's so beautiful, that's not really likely. ^^; I hope!

 

I kind of find really symmetrical western idealized doll bodies (Big boobs and a tiny waist) to be dull, mostly because I see them everywhere on magazine covers and in ads.. I don't need any more "perfection" because it's all around me, and tbh I don't think it is so great.

To whoever it was who said that if someone is insecure over doll boobs they have problems.. Yeah. I do have problems. I get insecure over all kinds of stuff, it's not the dolls fault or the sculptors fault, but idealized bodies - no matter the medium - can make women feel insecure. If you already doubt yourself, anything can be a trigger for making you feel worse.

It just came off as a bit gung-ho, like anyone who would feel insecure about an inanimate object has severe mental illness, when in reality, I work with and talk to women who have these exact insecurities every day, and it's not that they are crazy, it's just tonnes of altered images and doubts and internalization.

On male dolls, for me it depends on the character. It bothers me that on "Mature" or muscly bodies you can see ribs. That's not right. Also, I find chubby men attractive, but I've never found a male doll like that. It's all very hollywood, and it's sad when you can't find a sculpt that is exactly what you want.

 

most of my dolls are conventionally pretty but i have avoided buying certain dolls that i found to be "so pretty that they are boring" - to me.

i chose the most recent doll i got because her facial sculpt was not immaculately smooth - she has very faint bags under her eyes and it almost looks as if she has the beginnings of laugh lines. but her overall appearance is still that of a young girl - she's just a little bit flawed. and i really like that, because it gives her a personality. minor flaws can bring out the beauty of a doll by underlining it by comparison. it's like mixing a little bit of salt into something sweet.

also, some 'flaws' are more glamorous than others. i see plenty of dolls with scars or wounds, but i can't think of ever seeing a doll that had acne.

edit: and to outline my feelings on this, have a quote:

“The absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw.”
- Havelock Ellis, psychologist, (1859 - 1939)

 

The concept of a doll with pimples actually sounds kind of intriguing, mostly because I have some issues with adult acne myself. It would definitely make the doll easier to relate to, but I think it's important to not go over-the-top- i.e. a doll that has horribly bad acne (as in, doesn't seem to have a clear spot on its whole face) would probably look grotesque to most people, and would hit the other side of being unrelatable- i.e. it would look so nasty that people would doubt the realism of it, which would defeat the purpose of having such a doll in the first place.

As for whether or not dolls can be "too" pretty, I personally don't think so in most cases. Now there are some that you see them (general "you") and think "Aw c'mon, there's no way someone could really look like that" but these are few and far between from what I've noticed. I think that most sculpts have enough realism to them that they don't seem like some unattainable standard.

 

No, I don't think dolls can be too pretty. As much as I can understand wanting the doll to be more relatable, I just don't look at them that way. My dolls are in a world of their own, one where they do not have to worry about flaws and their bodies do not have the same limits as ours do, and I would like to keep it that way.

 

I don't want my dolls to have signs of "normal life". I count acne to those signs.
I want things that I have to add to the doll after it comes to me have to do with how I imagine the doll. Things that express the story, the background and the "way of life" I made up for it. I see people giving their dolls scars and for me that expresses the kind of "life" the doll has/had.
That doesn't mean that I have dolls that I don't consider "normal" but their bodies are still not flawed, only their imagined personality can be. I prefer this, since that doesn't lead to weird looks. Also I myself don't put a stop on developing those dolls, which I constantly do. I probably would, since their looks limits their actions in a certain way for me.

 

Yes they can~ but then again, they are dolls exist in the preference of their owners. I think beauty is more of a show of the artists' skill. Even the most gore looking dolls can look beautiful with skill. At this point your reaction is on the craftsmanship itself, not the doll. Even eyebrows, thick lashes, lush lips~ If not done right, then it definitely could look ugly. I like putting a bit of asymmetry to make my drawings alive so shall I do with my dolls.

 

Agreed. I love scars. Someday, I'll get a sexy, scarred up dollie based on one of my warrior charas. :'D