Do you aim to create a cohesive collection?

I've always grouped my dolls together based on the "stories" I've created for them, and normally, they're all within the same size range. I'm currently in the process of installing a shelf behind my desk that will be for my three FID Iplehouse dolls and also have a separate shelf for my vinyl dolls. So, I guess, in that sense, I separate them to keep them cohesive? However, I've seen great collections that look phenomenal with a mix of different sizes. If I didn't have the space, I'd be fine putting mine all together.

 

Hi,
I don't really think about how they look as a group. If something catches my eye I'll buy it
Having a diverse group is not a bad thin

 

@kimlouiseb I personally only group them together based on the story or clothing style I want them to wear.

I think that if your goal is to display dolls of all different types together, they might look more cohesive if you style them similarly?
I’ve seen that on some people’s shelves, like all shabby chic or romantic frills etc.

Hope that helps.

 

All of my dolls are stylistically similar - mostly Luts and Daydream. I try to keep my dolls that are shells of my characters in similar sizes and styles but if I saw a doll I liked that didn’t match the others that wouldn’t stop me from getting it.

 

I have my BJDs on the same shelf as a small group of Barbies and a pair of Monster High Dolls.
The shelf above them is a Gunpla display.

I think that as long as I like the look of my dolls, the size/scale/style doesn't matter all that much when it comes to the shelf display. But, when I start thinking of relative ages and instances where characters might interact, things like scale and sculpt style start to matter a lot more.

I do tend to go for similarly proportioned sculpts and styles when it comes to dolls.
So, a very stylized doll head or body may never even make it into my collection just based on my preferences.

I think the important questions for me when considering a doll I like are "Do I just like looking at this particular person's version of the doll?", "Do I actually want to own this sculpt?", and "What am I planning to do with this sculpt?".

 

When I started collecting, I bought whatever visually appealed to me. I've owned dolls in ever major category size and ones from multiple companies. Then Soom started releasing dolls with fantasy parts, and once their Teenie Gem (YOsd) size came out I really fell in love with the combination of that size and aesthetic. Now I pretty much own only Soom TGs, and am selling off the last few dolls of my old collection.

So I didn't set out to have such a cohesive collection, but now it's definitely what I do! The downside is that I'm so particular about clothing style that finding what I want is very difficult. Especially for my boys.

 

All but one in my current crew are related by blood one way or another. It's more for that reason that I want them to be stylistically similar. (Oh, and an additional criterion for me personally is the doll has to be engineered at least decently -- if a doll cannot even pose their arms properly without a ton of cursing and praying and fiddling, they're bound to be reshelled sooner or later.)

Even then, there is one doll who does not fit in, style- or size-wise. She's one of those "I simply thought she was lovely" purchases, and I currently have no plans to let her go even though I'm upgrading my other smaller-sized doll into a 65cm.

 

Not really, but I am aware that I have certain stylistic preferences when it comes to dolls I want to own which have become more pronounced over time, and because of this I recently rehomed a few dolls and will likely be rehoming a few more. I guess its a good thing as it helps to keep the resident doll population numbers from exploding XD
I will always enjoy looking at other styles and sculpts, even though I know I will not buy one.

 

My collection isn't cohesive per se, I do have certain traits that I like for sculpts. Dreaming eyes, open or parted lips, elf ears. I do stick to the SD or larger sizes with few MSD's since i feel they suit my OC's better.
Most of the dolls that don't really fit into the aesthetic I have a really hard time bonding with. So now I have a few floating heads that I may decide to sell XD.

 

I've only just bought my first BJD but all the dolls i'm planning are either from different stories or simply because i like them, whether they fit stylistically together or not is pretty irrelevant to me, i think not buying a doll you love because it doesn't fit in with your other dolls style wise is a bit silly tbh

 

Yes I am a mathcing freak... And that's just the top of it... I am super picky in the details...I still don't have my next two dollies, but I choose them to fit my only doll... In details too...

 

I mean, I try, but apparently not well. The bulk of my dolls go together, but it seems I'm doomed to have Breakaways, Chiwoos and a couple Volks boys and a couple other dolls in the big eyes huge head style that match nothing but each other. They do not go well with my more realistically styled dolls. But oh well. I've given up on trying to dictate my collection, I like my stylized dolls and won't give them up.

For the most part I do manage to make sure that dolls that are together a lot look good together. Or at least not terrible.

 

My collection is eclectic by design...a delightful hodgepodge of mystical beings that inhabit an urban fairytale in my mind. This is what makes it fun for me, and has allowed me to explore different sculpts, styles, and companies to my hearts content. I’m afraid I would grow bored if I did it any other way. I display them all in small groupings in specialized artistic displays throughout my home. It’s like they’re living their lives with their own friends and families, and I’m just enjoying wandering through their world taking it all in as a friendly bystander. This also gives me free reign to be creative with exploring and sewing all sorts of fashion styles, which is something that truly fascinates me. This is what has kept me engaged and active in this hobby for the past 14 years.

 

When I first started with BJDs, I just got the dolls I liked and didn't worry about it. But now all of my BJDs are in the same universe/storyline, except for 4 who are specifically dollhouse dolls and are each in their own "world". The universe most of them are in is a fantasy one with multiple species, so the sizes and body types can be whatever I want, but I try to make sure they're all a similar level of realism so they look like they belong in the same world.

 

Mine are somewhat cohesive. I have two (mostly) desperate groups of dolls, the teens and the adults.

the teen crew are 54-63cm, adults are 64-71cm and for the most part, there’s no overlap. They all tend to fall somewhere in the middle between stylized and realistic.

my only outcast is Amir, who is MSD. I don’t care for dolls smaller than SD but he was my first and though he doesn’t fit in now, I can’t bear to sell him. He hangs out in a display case with my off topic dolls and stuffed animals.

 

I used to have a less cohesive collection, but right now (and this is where I want to stay), I have only SD girls. So, I need one box for wigs, one for shoes and one for clothes and it's awesome I used to have 3 per each size I used to own and it was too much.

It's not just the aesthetics - I guess that if I had all the money and time in the world, I'd have at least twice as many dolls. I move very often (once in every 9 months on average), so it's not a comfortable environment for collecting anything larger than a tiny bjd... Alas, I only like big girls (and barbies, but that's a diff topic).

So out of practical reasons, I had to set some parameters regarding my collection - their being cohesive was one of them. I decided to keep the size that has the faces and shoes and bodies I like best.

However, I have two distinc groups: the idealised realistic Supia & Zaoll girls and my two Volks Nanas that - with their huge eyes and heart-shaped heads are probably the least realistic dolls in the size (aside from obvious fantasy dolls). Both groups can still share styles and clothes though, so it's a brilliant solution to my moving/minimalist problem xD

The ultimate plan, however, is to downsize to 2-3 dolls and choose only one of the two groups.

 

I really do. This way everyone photographs well together, and shares clothes (or, some clothes). In my d&d universe, everyone has to be very specific heights to be in scale (10.71 cm to a foot is that magic number—this is bigger than standard 1:3, to give me room for the shorter dolls to work). In the 4 worlds, they need to be in proportion. No one is broader than Dia (iple eid) or shorter than Aura (f60) but they only have to be vaguely taller/shorter as is canon. There’s no number that I use to scale them.

 

There have already been many good answers. Nevertheless...
For me, the main thing is that the dolls in one size line have commensurate proportions and sizes of heads. That they don’t looks like alien creatures to each other. As for me, this is the main thing that is required in order for them to just look like a good company, the fact that the style is different does not matter, it can be disguised (if you want to write them into some kind of story and photograph together ), if the proportions are OK, then for me everything is in order.