Do you specifically curate your doll's style?

I love the clothes (well, I love the women's and children's clothes - most of the men's fashion of the period is pretty much a better fitting version of the cull, soulless modern suit because by then, men's clothing styles had already started to stagnate), I love the books of E. Nesbitt (most of my SD's look like they've escaped from an E. Nesbitt book, even though I haven't based any of my dolls directly off those characters), and it's not a period I get to play in very much as a historical reenactor and costumer (see previous comment about how mind-numbing doll most of the men's fashions were), so though I can/do/will dress my dolls in other periods, having most of my BJD as Victorians/Edwardians, gives me an easy inroad to play in that period.

Teddy

 

Most of my BJD are based on pre-existing characters with very defined personalities, but most of the ones based on OCs are vampires from the same fictional universe, so they all dress in mostly black the majority of the time. I myself only wear black clothes, so even when I make clothes for other dolls that would normally wear actual color, I still make black clothes for them (because I feel uncomfortable wearing anything else, I feel my dolls would too, because I am a weirdo). I don't feel like they are Gothic in style, but I had been told my dolls were Goth in the past, by many different people (I was told myself that by strangers on the street as well), but I feel that it's just people who don't really know what it means to be Goth, so it's funny to me. I don't really believe myself or my dolls to be Goth in style, most of the OCs styles vary a bit but lean more towards Japanese RPG and Japanese cyber punk.

I do own a few floating heads based on licensed characters from Japanese franchises, which I never intended to be full dolls at any point (with the exception of one of them). Whenever I make clothes for them to wear (on a borrowed body), I try to make it as accurate to their characters as possible. However, I never learned how to sew before getting into BJD, and I still don't really know how. I just try making the clothes, as best as my lack of skill will allow. I don't purchase BJD clothes because I am picky about scale, and realism when it comes to clothes and I don't feel like it's there when it comes to BJD clothes, compared to true to scale 1:6, and 1:12 action figure clothes, or Japanese fashion doll clothes. I do love the traditional Chinese sets for BJD, but I don't own any dolls that could wear them, so I rather not spend a small fortune on something I'll never be able to use. I rather purchase more toys I'll actually "enjoy" (sealed inside their boxes for all eternity). (:

 

Mine tend to have specific time periods, usually determined by their faceups. So my Soom Rosette is a 1920s boudoir doll, my Minifee is a Tudor noblewoman, and my MYou mature tiny is going to be late 17th or early 18th century. But sometimes I have one era in mind and the doll “chooses” another when she arrives. The Minifee was supposed to be the 17th century one, but clearly she had other ideas.

 

It depends on how much I've thought out that character.

I do have one doll who can wear basically whatever eyes, wigs, clothes, and shoes I fancy. She does not have a defined character (other than being cute) and I consider her to be more of a mascot haha.

Another one of my dolls is loosely based on an OC but is going through a character redevelopment (new name, style, personality). Currently he is dressed in a style I think looks nice but that may change once I work on his character lol.

For dolls that are based on my original characters, I am more strict when it comes to choosing items and sculpts because I want my doll to be close to the original design and I want them to have their "signature" outfit and accessories. Wig shopping is honestly a pain for these dolls because I can't get the right looks! Clothing shopping is more flexible since items can be used as long as they work for the character. Eyes are the easiest since most of them have brown eyes =w=

 

Each type of piece (except for the pawns, those are basically just regular citizens) is represented by one doll. So I got a rook, a knight, a king etc., and there are white ones too. Their characterization is partly based on the name of the piece (in German or English), its behavior on the board or its most common design.
The story came to be because my Ex didn't know what to do with her newly acquired white skin doll years ago, and then the idea of a Chess based world was born. She got the white pieces, I got the black ones.

I tried to have a wide range with them. Some are more faux fantasy medieval (like Game of Thrones/Lord of the Rings), one of them is a cowboy, one is more ancient Asian fashion inspired, one is modern chic and so on.

Some examples (going from the Knight to Bishop, Rook and Queen):

 

That's a spot-on description. They do look very professionally put together.

Teddy

 

Actually the hair is probably pretty simple haha.
I think its a combination of getting used to buying wigs, translating a 2D concept into a 3D form, and there just not being an exact cut/style match. The problem with making existing characters into BJDs is that you are trying to make the character the same as what you've drawn. You can cut and style a wig of course but sometimes its hard to know what you need based on a 2D drawing. Its way easier to work with my characterless doll and have them wear anything I feel like.

 

@Facethefake Two were by me and one was an artist faceup on a secondhand doll. I used portraits as my inspiration (and actual dolls from the 17th-18th centuries, in the case of my MYou girl), but they don't always come out looking exactly suited to the era of the inspo picture. It's an interesting surprise!

 

I've planned a look for my new boy, Vovka, but it just not worked out. My first boy Taker get all his clothes, an he looks more good in them. And I Want him with black and ultra marine wig on him, but it's the same. Just not ok. So I making him a blond wig right now. Something similar to Yuri Plisetsky's hair in YOI. That is a fit at last. He is slowly be coming something totally different than my original plans for him. And I like him in blue don't ask me why, I Am not a fan of that color...

 

Most of my dolls all fit within the same world and timeline as modern day, so its easy enough but i have few outfits that each of them wear that doesnt belong to others to make it more their own. or some is just not their style. though i do have a few more coming home in the next few months (or within 2021) and things may change based on that.

One of my dolls dictates what he gets, the others are just fine with what i have already....

 

I typically have an idea of a color palette or style for my dolls but a lot of the time it doesn't suit the doll(s) in question
After that has become obvious, I use the clothing of the other dolls to try and see what will work for them and back in the pre-Corona times I would also go to physical shops from time to time to see if I could find anything new that might suit them.

For the most part, my dolls all have their own clothing and generally refuse to share (or are unable to do so because of size) but I do have a few pieces that get passed around to most of the dolls such as pajamas and socks and shoes.

 

I’m in the category of I need to shop for clothes more because the other day I resorted to putting my girl in a sock to take pictures

 

Creative dressing is the best!
I'm curious how your photos turned out!

 

For my first doll i will be curating her style as she will be based on Audrey Hepburn/her movies so her wardrobe will be dictated by that which gives me scope but also is not too wide.
But as the character will have her own personality and mainly be a ballerina/actress and will be going into a theatre diorama there is opportunity for me to style her in ballet or dance costumes, vintage or antique clothes from other eras or even fantasy inspired outfits. It lets me explore costumes and yet there will be a reason why she is wearing something different.

 

I actually do in fact follow a certain fashion style and color palette for all my dolls! My 5 dolls each dress in different modern styles, all with a unique subtype, and I have specific colors associated with each doll as well.

When clothes shopping, if I see something in a style I like, I have to make sure it comes in a color associated with the doll it would be for. Otherwise, I simply can't buy it.

Right now the only one who truly gives me trouble is my DD, since her main color is lavender, and apparently that is not a common choice for doll clothing o_O

 

Firstly, I wanna thank everyone for their replies and the topic author for brining this up. It's something I struggle with a lot. I have a somewhat defined idea of what I want my BJDs to look like, in my head, but when it comes to reality... yeah, I'm like a kid at a candy shop too. I like different styles that sometimes have nothing in common whatsoever! I thought creating a pinterest board with some fashion/character inspo would help, and it does, but only to an extent. What I'm doing now is saving the pics of the clothes I like and trying to create collages with them. Putting them all in one image gives a better idea of what fits and what doesn't.

 

My dolls are all styled very similarly, dressed in sugary pastel, frilly dresses, sparkly eyes, soft-colored hair (soft pinks, milky blondes, soft browns) and light-colored Mary Janes. I’d describe their style as being very much in that super sweet Lolita aesthetic that’s more popular amongst Asian collectors.

I prefer not to repeat colors or hairstyles to keep them distinct from one another, but the color palette looks cohesive together.