Creating Your Doll's Look

Honestly for outfits: dress up games, even just making casual outfits that aren’t t shirt and jeans. You might not want to completely replicate an outfit, but it helps getting a general vibe.

 

I tend to have a character, or set of traits kind of figured out for each doll when I pick a sculpt, and like to come up with little back stories for each of them. Where do they spend most of their time? What do they do for work? Are they in a hot or cold climate? Etc.

So those things largely inform how I make style decisions for each doll. I like to make Pinterest boards for each character and find a lot of great fashion/makeup/styling inspiration there that helps me plan what outfit pieces to purchase or try to make!

 

I'm the same as dolleigh, all my dolls have personality traits. I've also given a bit of thought to colour schemes - what colours suit their personality types, and look good against their skin, hair and eye colour. I use all of this to inform their clothing choice.

I also clothe my dolls by thematic style. Right now my crew has a "kimono theme" where they all wear traditional Japanese kimono, and a "casual theme" where they all wear smart casual modern clothes. I want to eventually develop new themes for my crew. (Currently thinking up a futuristic "cyberpunk/Matrix theme" for them.)

Within each theme, I style each doll based on their personality and colour scheme, but sometimes I just play dressup on them and see what looks good.

For example one of my dolls has a colour scheme of mostly dark colours. So whether he's dressed in kimono or casual, he tends to wear mostly dark clothes and collared shirts. Another doll has a blue/cool colour scheme and tends to dress feminine, so her kimono is blue with a wave pattern, and her casual clothes are largely patterned skirts and blouses (but never pants). She surprisingly looks good in pastels even though that wasn't part of her colour scheme.

Sometimes it takes time to develop a doll's style. And there's no one way to do it either. Some people (like me) enjoy planning a doll's style based on its personality, other people just play dressup and see what looks good. Often it's a mix of both methods!

 

In my case I think I am constantly inspired by everything. I'm a long time figurative/portrait painter so I'm naturally interested and observant of people in the real world. I am also a long time lover of street fashion. I follow some good accounts on instagram about fashion, like Tokyo fashion which posts tons of images of cool people in the fashion district there. I'm interested in the sustainable/slow fashion movement and I am always following people who make and source their own colorful wacky clothes, as well as vintage enthusiasts and maximalists in general. So I am sort of immersed in looking at all those images a lot and since it's what I organically like I often see things I would want to make (be it in color combos or silhouettes or types of prints) or it sparks new ideas. I also just look at lots of art in general, and journalist and travel photography and all that inspires me too. Truthfully I am just a very passionate person who finds an endless array of things to be fascinating
If you really don't have a jumping off point yet my advice is to try to free associate yourself to that starting point. That is how I navigate. I come upon my ideas organically and accidentally most of the time by looking up one random thing and following a train of ideas that interest me via different media. Pinterest, instagram, plain old google, or even just going to the half price bookstore and looking at old magazines. These are all visual sources for me but doll ideas can come from all kinds of places. For example recently I've been feeling inspired to create new types of outfits because I've come to live in a very hot climate. And so I think about the hot places of the world and the people who live there and what can I learn from them? Sometimes I think about my favorite character archetypes from fiction and reinvent one for myself in a slightly different way, or I think about the atmospheric world of my favorite poet and work with interpreting that.
I'm sorry my post was so long but I hope you feel encouraged that there are so many ways to do it. I'm sure you will figure out what makes sense to you.

 

Sometimes I just let the doll "tell" me who they are. I do my own faceups, so sometimes I start painting with no plan and just see what happens. (If you commission faceups instead of doing your own, some people do "artist's choice" where the faceup artist just paints whatever they feel for the head without customer input. Sometimes these faceups are actually cheaper than specific instructions.) I have a box of spare wigs from previous dolls and wigs I bought just because I liked them with no plan, same with eyes, so sometimes I'll just try all those spares on a doll and see what looks good. After the wig, eyes and faceup, I just kind of study the doll and see what they feel like to me. Rocker guy? Goth girl? Instagram influencer? Pop star? Sporty type? Sometimes I'll go through baby name websites and see what names I like and if any sort of personality comes to mind from it. Other times, I'll look through doll clothes and accessories and just pick something I really like and build around that. Since I do own other dolls, sometimes I think about if they might have a sibling or cousin, or if I'd like them to have a partner, friend, roommate, coworker, bandmate or some other connection.

 

I also am in the "personality traits" camp. It is easier for me.

But think of the doll as a mannequin. If you were a stylist, what would you like to see? Try to think of a style before of the outfit. Is it an historical outfit? A modern one? Casual or for an event? Is it for someone who likes to move or for someone who would sacrifices function for form? Would that be for a moderate, hot or cold climate?

Or try to go from the doll. What is the doll best traits? What colors compliment their skin tone and the eyes and wig you chose? What vibe does it give? Is it an elegant vibe? Try for something classic. Is it a youthful, whimsical vibe? Try for something more casual or more colorful. Is it a sexy vibe? Show off the goods (lol)! What kind of outfit would make your doll stand out?

 

In a way I pick a season. If they strike me as a summer girl, I think about summery styles. For example: boho, coastal, sundresses, etc. And then colors and pieces that go with the look. Like if she's a beachy kinda girl, maybe sandals, jean shorts, and a crochet top.

(Most of my dolls are summer girls lol)

 

My approach is quite hit and miss, I buy stuff that appeals to me, and if it’s a) cheap enough b) will fit someone! When I try it on, if I don’t like it on one of my sculpts, I usually just sell it on. Luckily, I have a number of dolls of different sizes, characters, looks etc, so somebody usually takes it

 

For me it's usually a mix of using one or two elements as a jumping off point, and employing parts of my own personality/ style and the idealized extensions of those.
When I'm doing a faceup, I will base it around the styles and color schemes that emerge when I've already chosen a certain eye color or wig style. This can then inform the outfit in color and style if I don't have a piece in mind already. If I do have a clothing piece that ends up "sticking" to a doll (like a shirt, or a pair of tights) it becomes even easier to build the rest of the outfit around it. If a pair of tights is what "stuck" to a doll, I know I'll probably want a skirt, a fancy and feminine top, and a nice semiformal pair of shoes. This outfit building often emerges from my own personal style & style inspirations as well. For example, I have a doll that expresses my more emo/ goth idealized style, with a shirt very similar to one I own but a skirt that I would ideally love to own for myself!

 

I'm making a welcome package for my first doll. In Latvian the set of clothes that are prepared for a baby beforehand is called "baby dowry" so I'm making a doll dowry now. Mostly knitting because my sewing machine is in a different country from me.
The doll will have a ballet dancer body. That alone defines some character traits that translate into choice of clothing. All dancers that I have known treated their bodies as valuable work tools and were fine with most fancy clothing styles. You know, they wear gold embroidered baroque style prince clothing with jewels for work. So there will be lots of functional clothing like leg warmers, cosy socks, cable knit sweater, shawl and hat with pompon, knitted vest that looks like sheepskin, etc.
Haven't found nice looking pointe shoes for about 10 cm feet, doll ones are way smaller and ugly, real ones start with twice that size. Will have to make them myself. Or maybe you have seen them somewhere? Would be grateful for a hint.
It will be a male doll but will have some dresses too. What's good for Harry Styles is good for a doll. My favourite hair colour defines the skin and eye colours and those in turn - clothing colours. Shades of green, blue, teal, gold, white.

 

Honestly? It depends on the character! My dolls that aren't based on known characters are based on original characters (and even the ones that are based on pre existing characters have my own spin on them anyway) so it varies wildly. For example Keiichi's style is basically his office wear. Lots of button-downs (very rarely colourful), slacks and dress shoes. Durga on the other hand is -also- into smart casual... but in his case his choices would be the most obnoxiously loud and patterned button-downs he could get his hands on. Burgundy and gold? Check. Gaudy decorative florals on black. Check check. You get the idea. Shirou's style is (mostly) all black, all formal. And on the other tail-end of the spectrum Naoya is all for pastel colours, street fashion and as short shorts as his parents will reasonably allow him given he's only 17 years old.

So my advice is... come out with a personality for your dolls, even just a loose one (most of my dollfie dreams are rather relaxed characters in that sense without a very tightly wound story), make up a little scenario in your head of them dressing up to go to work in the morning (you will instantly have to answer questions like... what work do they do? are they even working? are they maybe going to school instead?) or going shopping. Imagine what this person would like or dislike, what kind of items or accessories would they gravitate towards? That sort of thing. That definitely helps in my case!

 

I often find that my looks are variations of things I have seen. Like for example I have a few characters that are from the Lost City of Atlantis. I was obsessed with “Atlantis: The Lost Empire”, the Disney movie. So all of my Atlanteans have white hair and blue eyes. But mine almost all have blue inhuman looking eyes and their clothing is usually some mix of sky blue and silver and white. I get the cut and design concepts from various role playing games and such like final fantasy or D&D. So I mix several things together including runway fashion. And as far as names I use a host of name generators. I also work in retail and see unique names from customers all the time lol. I’ve been known to steal unique names from people I’ve met in the retail business. Lol

 

I do a combination of going in with a general plan and letting the doll "tell me" who it is.
The few times where I had absolutely no idea I usually start by giving the doll a super neutral face up just to get them look a bit more alive and then I try every pair of eyes, every wig ande every garment that fits from my collection and see what fits.
Even if I don't have something that works right away, I usually get enough to work with to know what to make and look for.

When I let the charachter lead the way I usually start with one ot two main personality traits and go from there. Then I start asking questions. What enviroment do they live in? (Modern/historical, real world/fantasy. wealthy/poor etc.) and I ask what a person growing up in that situation with the personality I've chosen would be like. That usually get's the ball rolling.

 

I’ve always based my fashion decisions for each doll on their individual character. But I’ve often gone about it in a rather backwards way…where the fashion style came first and I then built a character up from there before searching out a doll to embody it. And my #1 rule has always been “no character, no doll” as a way to control my purchases. This has worked out well for me because I’ve always been fascinated by fashion. In fact, the very reason I got into this hobby was to be able to explore fashion to my heart’s content (once I had reached an age where I no longer wanted to wear it myself.) So BJDs became my models and my muses. And what a great ride it’s been! I have everything from harajuku street fashions to country lolita to goth to cyber to steampunk to historic and everything in between, always based exclusively on character.

 

I didn't really have a specific method for styling my doll. I first found the sculpt I wanted and grew some inspiration for the character. Her sculpt is a child with elf ears so I wanted something cutesy but could still be incorporated into a fantasy outfit. I browsed wigs her head size before I saw one that really just spoke to me. So I guess my advice is first figure out a basic concept you like for your doll (for example mine is cute/fantasy) and browse different doll/clothing sites to see what sparks your interest. When you find things you like, you can save it all to a folder and take bits and pieces of each design to create your own. Also if you like drawing, you can sketch out a couple designs too. I hope this helps!

 

All of mine are loosely based on anime or game characters. I just see color combinations I like for wig/eyes and put something together. This is fun because I make all my own wigs so I can do any style I can imagine. For clothes. Everyone is just pastel and cute

 

I think of the character's background and personality, and also just styles I think are cute. One of my girl's grew up on a farm, so she wears practical clothing and still likes overalls and flannels, but she also currently lives in a big city, so her clothes have shifted to a more rockstar/goth kind of a look. She also doesn't make a lot of money, so a lot of her clothes are thrifted, too, so I try to keep in mind stuff I see in thrift stores that I think would look cute on her. I also think girls in coveralls are cute, too, so she wears those.

In addition, looking at stuff like pinterest or lookbook for fashion ideas, too? It can help see different styles and items of clothing that look good together, even if you can't get the exact patterns and colors. I also do dress-up games like Lily Diary or whatever that phone app is called, and while it can be difficult to find stuff that looks the way you want it that you can find in doll clothes, I can get the basic idea down.

I struggle to not put my dolls in jeans and t-shirts, though, so I definitely understand the sort of defaulting that happens.

 

I went with things I know...I live in the Southwest so that theme is easy. My older dolls are just my idea of my grandkids in doll form from when they were smaller, now they are giant teens. I love Egyptian themes but can't afford the really expensive Ringdoll, Fairyland, etc., so I got my Amun with Egyptian tattoos and faceup. I don't have terribly complicated back stories for these dolls, but I really like how they come together in different scenarios and clothes and props. In all honesty, I do searches online for something that I like and sometimes do a theme around that outfit. I looked all over for regency outfits and finally found 2 sets that fit my Iplehouse big boys and felt vintage suits me as well as modern.