Do you take your dolls out ?

I take mine out if the world doesn't feel like a volcano- I live in Florida. I seriously think some of my dolls would melt.

 

I do! These days only in the comfort of a doll friend or two, but we have public "doll outings" at nice/appropriate places and it's been really fun. Recently we went to a popular/trendy cafe, and met a few/made friends with other BJD owners who were there without dolls. I also like doll photoshoots, so it's been fun to take a few pics with a background other than my own apt or yard when we do go out. Last year a friend and I brought our dolls out on the town on a sunny afternoon, and older adults were so thrilled and curious to see something so "different" and stopped us many times to talk and ask questions. It was actually really positive.

 

I take my dolls out pretty frequently for taking doll photos, but I don't necessarily take them out to more "public" places unless I'm meeting with a friend or a group. It's not that I'm ashamed of the hobby or anything like that, but I don't like the attention it brings. I really enjoy taking dolls to con though, since you can see dolls/doll owners that aren't usually in the area, which is really fun!

 

Nah, I don't even take myself out. I used one of my dolls in a Halloween display at work a few years ago, but that's about it.

 

I have, a few times. Once I went to an antique store to buy myself a doll cabinet, and I took my 63 cm girl with me to act as a shopping assistant. I needed her to stand inside the cabinets to help me see how a SD would look in them and how many dolls they would fit. We did not find a cabinet that time, but found a cute little cupboard to store my doll crafting supplies!

I am okay to take my dolls everywhere without natural daylight as long as it's not for long, because SDs are quite limiting to carry around. Dolls sometimes accompany me to fabric store when I need pieces for their outfits. We've been to Ikea too. I've even taken my dolls to grocery stores a few times because it happened to be on my way and I did not want to leave the doll in the car (if someone were to steal my car, I would really grieve more for the doll than the car lol because while insurance covers both, I have spent years making my dolls just like I want them and will probably not be able to get a replacement doll just like that.)

I carry my doll on my arm wearing a long sleeve and gloves (to protect the doll from skin oils, because if you hold the doll for 30 minutes, your hands can sweat quite a lot during that time) or sometimes in a Reisenthel basket. I never put on easy to lose items such as earrings, the types of shoes that could fall off, magnetic parts, or in the case of my Iples, hand rings. The only things I fear are yellowing and leaving my dolls in the car in public parking lots, honestly. We currently have quite an old car that is easy to break into. Hence, I always keep dolls away from any light during a drive, and I never leave them in the car for longer than a bathroom break.

I don't stress about other people's thoughts or reactions, but my spouse does even if he's not even the one walking with the doll. He always goes "do you have to bring it to the supermarket" but in the end he'll just live with it. I have never had a person comment or come to talk to me about my dolls. Some stare for a while, especially children, but no one has ever said anything. Though, where I live, the Finn stereotypes are real, people don't tend to do small talk or comment on other people's stuff (neither praise nor negative). If I go to a fabric store with my doll, a place where they know me, I can slap my doll on the counter in front of them while they measure me the fabrics, and they will act like they do not even see it. XD

Bonus: my girl riding a dino in Ikea (and of course we had to adopt that dino in mini size!)

Spoiler: Elyon in Ikea

 

Definitely! I travel a lot for work and since getting into dolls I‘ve wished to take them with me not only in my private time but also for work but I don‘t have much space to carry them at work. So now I even got myself a tiny BJD (Brownie BjD) to take with me at work and I‘m taking my bigger dolls if I‘m going out during private time and know I‘ll have chances to make pictures of them.
Though I‘m pretty aware of what others might think, so I still need to get used to taking dolls out with me, but it helps a lot to have friends with dolls with me!

 

I'll take one (or, very rarely, two) out with me when I go hiking. The woods make for great photos without interruption from strangers, and it's nice to have a little friend with me on the adventure. I use my over-the-shoulder carrying bag (it fits all sizes if I bend the larger dolls) which is fairly padded, but I'll usually put some towels or something in there with them to keep them safe. I kind of wish I had a backpack carrier, tbh, since switching shoulders every once in a while gets irritating.

I don't tend to take them out when there are other people around, and I'll shove them back in their bag if someone comes close. I guess I just don't want to deal with the weird looks and questions, especially on the trail where the person is just awkwardly forced to walk past you. People don't question the bag itself despite its weird shape, I think they just assume it's camera equipment.

There was one (1) time I went out in public (not counting conventions) with dolls, and that was to a restaurant meetup. It felt like safety in numbers, since no one was going to openly mock our whole group of 15-ish people. It also feels like more of a "legitimate" reason to have them out and about. Meetups in general and convention spaces don't bother me, I'll bring multiple dolls to those and carry them openly.

I don't know, I wish I was braver, since there are some places I'd really love to get photos with my dolls, but for now, I'll stick to hiding in the forest.

As an aside, I see doll safety being mentioned a lot, and I don't know why, but that factor never bothers me. I've literally almost dropped a doll into a river 10 feet below a concrete wall (decided to drop my camera instead- it was fine) and yet I don't really worry about them. I guess in my mind, so long as I don't lose them, I can clean or fix anything that goes wrong. Most of the reason I buy dolls in the first place is to enjoy them, and this is a way I do that. I absolutely do not blame other people for worrying, though, there is indeed a lot that can go wrong. I've definitely had times where I've had to clean off dirt and grass stains, wash parts that were submerged in creek water, buff out scuffs from rocks, stuff like that, not to mention the almost-fell-in-a-river incident.

My advice if you take dolls out into the woods for photos is do not trust them. Make sure they're 100% stable before you let go.

 

I haven't taken many photos of my dolls because my space at home is too cramped and there isn't any good background. We do have a really nice park in town, but it is very popular with families and children.. Every time I've gone there, it is full of people. I'm too afraid to risk something happening.

 

Same thing here! what sucks is that the prettiest part is literally right next to the play ground.

 

I want to go out, maybe café or park some day. But I haven’t been able to do so because I don’t have time and energy for preparation even if I have time just to hangout. (I have two little kids and a baby. And two cats. And three dolls)

so far I take them mainly to my studio on my work days. I’ve joined doll meet only once so far. When I carry my dolls I use picking baskets or flat plastic storage container with standard pillows as futon. I choose a basket or box depends on size of the doll I’ll be carrying. On picking baskets, I put futon and lacy ribbons as “belts” and cover with polyester scarf for extra protection from UV rays. My doll even made it to a local tv after I introduced my doll as one of models during the interview. I bring my dolls when I have open studio too. they get a sort public exposure though I haven’t really taken them to anywhere open and public.

 

I used to love taking a BJD with me for outdoor photoshoots in the woods. I'd keep them in my backpack with a faceguard and lots of bubblewrap

When Covid hit, the UK like many other countries had several lockdowns, we were restricted from going outside for only essential things. I stopped taking my dolls out. Things are slowly going back to normal here but I've lost my confidence with taking them out, I'm worried they'll get damaged. But I'm sure I'll start doing again soon as it used to be really fun!

 

Sometimes. I'm not used to being able to take dolls out, since my antiques don't really have that option, but it's been fun the few times I've done it.

I do worry somewhat about getting in other people's way. I don't want to develop what The Youths seem to call "main character syndrome" and inconvenience those around me for the sake of doll photos. Fortunately both of my BJDs are tinies, but it's still something I try to be conscious of. (Eg. holding my doll in my lap when I took her out to a tea room, and only sitting her on the table after the waitress had set down our teapot and cookies. I didn't want to make her stressed about where to put things vis a vis the doll.)

 

I have taken them outside even though I'm terrified of being judged . So far I have been only judged by my family and friend, my spouse is super supportive.

I'm super selective where I take my dolls though, no people infested places if I can avoid them all though sometimes I don't give a ***** if someone sees me with my dolls, I wish I had that confidence all the time.

 

Leon, the Fairyland Puki Puki in my avatar, is my travel doll. He travels in an umbrella sleeve in an inner pocket of my purse. I like taking photos of him various places since he's easy to plop down nearly anywhere. He's been with me on multiple vacations and to restaurants, art museums, and stores. I do tend to pick quieter spots to pull him out for a photo though. I don't take the bigger ones out much, since I worry something might happen to them and feel more awkward about strangers seeing them. I haven't taken any of my MSDs out of house since I got them in the past year, and I don't plan to take them anywhere but my backyard and hopefully to meet-ups.
BTW here's where Leon rides-
Leon's Pocket

 

I've taken my dolls outside for photos and they're some of my favorite ones! When I was in college, I would take my MSD boy around with me to clubs sometimes, but I don't really take any of them out anymore, unless there's a doll meet. The last time I took a doll out was Taras, my DFH Su Sha. I wanted to have him with me when I was selecting beads for a series of hair clips I was making for him so I could hold them up and see what they looked like with the doll.

 

Leo Phoenix I LOVE that. I don't take my dolls out because they are mostly SDs or MSDs. If I had one that tiny, I would definitely be tempted to take it with me places. You've inspired me to consider getting a "tiny" as a purse companion.

 

I only takes mine out for photoshoot! I'm a little bit nervous thinking that the sunlight will yellow my dolls but once in a while wouldn't hurt much

 

I used to take my dolls out more when I had more tinies/YoSDs. I'd just bring them around with me for little impromptu photoshoots. My bigger dolls, I have to have a plan for them to be out like a set photoshoot idea or something, not spur of the moment. Though I do typically always bring one over to my doll friend's house

 

I try to take my dolls out every week for outdoor photo shoot, or when I'm traveling around places I try to bring at least one with me.
There's just something precious about documenting the trips with dolls in there!

 

Never, they remain on display in an Ikea Pax wardrobe.