Does becoming a "crazy doll lady/person" concern you?

This has been a fascinating thread to read! As far as being known as the local Crazy Doll Lady, I'm afraid that ship has sailed, as far as my family and my job are concerned. I don't talk about the dolls much -- the BJD or the rest of them -- but apparently it doesn't take much for people to label you. Since I also used to be very self-conscious about it, like the OP, this was sort of painful, but then I got older and realized that I didn't/don't care. In fact, I'm actually proud of it now, because a lot of the people who want to poke at me for it are people who I know well enough to say that they have no 'inner lives' of their own -- no interests beyond conformity to their image of what society expects of them. And no interest in questioning this expectation, either. So I feel sorry for them, instead of upset by them, now.

But that took a while to get to.

The only thing left that annoys me, about being thought of as the (Crazy) Doll Lady, is that my family and coworkers have the mistaken impression that I'm interested in all dolls, at all times. No, I'm really interested in my dolls, and in the dolls of the people on this board. But I'm not interested in adopting your teenage daughter's well-loved playline knockoff Barbie collection, thanks, coworker. And I'm not interested in the bog-standard baby dolls that you bought at the church's garage sale for me, either, MIL. It's taken a little while to get these people to understand that there really is a difference between a collector, and a hoarder. I'm the former, and they want to see me turn into the latter. I'm sure it's easier for them to pigeonhole me (and all others like me!) that way. But I keep resisting.

 

it doesnt bother me at all, all my friends and family knows my hobby and i like myself for being me.

 

When I was younger, I did worry about it. I had some dolls from my childhood that I felt I had to get rid of because 'I'm grown up now', and I regret that I sold them. Luckily, I didn't get rid of them all, and I still couldn't resist buying a new one now and then. When I started buying bjd's a few years ago, I jumped right in and started shelling all of my favorite original characters.

Counting off-topic dolls and bjd's, there are well over 100 dolls in my home, and the great part is, I'm old enough that I don't care what people think anymore. Most of them are kept in either the bedroom or my workroom/office, and I can easily close doors when people are over. I may not care, but my teenage sons don't want their friends seeing them.

 

I honestly understand this.
I just ordered my first couple of dolls, which in and of itself is me going further than I ever thought I would. I told my roommate I was only getting one, and here I am about to order both my 3rd and 4th dolls with plans to buy even more of them in the future. I want to go out and take pictures of them, but the fear of being judged is there too. Having anxiety doesn't help.
But what I keep trying to tell myself and something I've seen other people say as well is, these dolls are here for you. Not anyone else. For you.
If you enjoy them, go for it!

If you really feel like you're afraid of turning into a crazy doll lady/person, then try thinking of the dolls as investments instead. They're something you love in the now, and if you ever realize you have too many of them or the hobby is getting to be too much, you can sell some of them. It's like having a fun thing that also works as a saving's plan. If that makes sense.
In a weird sort of way, that makes things less scary.
And when you're less scared, you can actually open up and enjoy them even more.

 

My dolls continue to keep me interested and involved in all the things I love to do, like painting, sewing, designing all kinds of things and of course, photography. I am amazed at the artwork and beautiful dolls of others. It's so exciting and fun to share doll images, ideas, etc., too.

 

I guess sometimes I worry because I stepped into the hobby once again but this time with full force which means two dolls already and one on layaway. I feel sill telling people that I have another doll however because I feel they think I'm going overboard. However, now just doing my own faceups I have so much fun, I never felt this happy in hobby until now and I don't think I should be ashamed of that. (I mayyyyy have a spending problem however which I am not happy with myself over)
It also makes me super happy that I found so many like minded people since I don't know anyone in my town who collects!

 

A couple of friends I have talked to about it showed surprise and said they didn’t think I was “the type”. looking through this forum or even just this thread, there is obviously much more than one “type” of crazy doll lady lol!

 

Dolls make me happy,I've loved them all my life. This hobby gives me too much to joy to care if I seem like a crazy doll lady. I've always been weird anyway,and I'm learning it's ok to be different.

 

I actually enjoy the process of slowly becoming a crazy doll lady. I am embracing every bit of it.

 

Honestly I'm not too concerned about becoming a "crazy doll" person, because I don't think its necessarily a bad thing. However, I do worry a bit about pouring too much money into my collection. I'm not sure how the value of dolls changes over time, so it'd be a bit of a bummer if I eventually lose interest and go to sell some of my collection, then find out that my dolls have depreciated over time.

 

Exactly what I think. I'm more worried that I have too many hobbies!

 

I can’t wait to have enough dolls to be considered a crazy doll lady lol!

In all seriousness I’ve been self conscious about owning dolls since I asked for my first one for Christmas years and years ago. I honestly was more worried about what my family would think over what strangers would say. Some people in my family like to tease and can be relentless about it. But my love of dolls is a lot stronger than my fear of being teased by my family. To be honest my friends and other people are easier to deal with. I describe my dolls as customizable art pieces and honestly I’m pretty proud of them.

We’re in a day and age where loads of people embrace and elevate childhood interests. Look at people who are hardcore Star Wars fans or comic book collectors. I think it’s becoming more normalized. I don’t think you have anything to be ashamed of. I believe to be mature, elegant, responsible etc you have to behave maturely/elegantly/responsibly. It really has nothing to do with your hobbies.

The child stand in thing is sort of amusing. Again I think it has to do with how you treat your dolls. If they’re not stand ins then people probably won’t jump to that conclusion. There will always be initial assumptions but those can be dispersed based on what kind of person you actually are. I guess bottom line is you’ll know who you are and you can’t get bogged down in what other people think. In the long run it’s irrelevant anyway.

 

I suspect these will be my grandchildren some day,
Dish Anywhere App TV Commercial, 'Dolls'

 

I'm the old crazy doll lady who my friends ask if they can bring their grandchildren to see my dolls and doll dioramas.
*sweet*
I guess I'll have to get the guys to clean up after themselves.

 

I am ready to become the crazy doll person.
To be honest, as someone who wears lolita fashion on a daily basis, I've needed to become comfortable with being at the fringes of normalcy, and BJDs can hardly make a dent in people's perception of me at this point anyway. If any other people feel deterred by the things I like, it's probably not a bad thing that they're staying away, haha.

 

I'm committed to the role of spinster collector-of-things, and so I just assume that whatever people think of me is probably worse than the reality. Most of my home is full of stuff that would seem weird to anyone on the outside of that particular hobby or interest. But I'd rather be the odd kooky lady with the looms, cats, antique clothing, and yes, dolls, than go without the enjoyment those things bring to me.

Plus, you actually have to have a social life to elicit other people's opinions on your home decor, so I'm probably pretty safe.

 

Becoming a "crazy doll lady", along with "the crazy cat lady", does not scare me. I don't care what strangers say. What really scares me is a reaction of my family. It's been less than a month after they found out about my hobby, and they already say: "You should give a birth and take care of your child, not of your dolls!". I don't want to have children, sadly. I should've been continue hide my hobby from them.

 

I'm already the crazy doll/dog/cat lady. I wouldn't have it any other way. plus its inherited. My mother and aunt collect dolls and my dad collects cars, real and die cast.

 

Life is too short to worry for something like that, I only worry for my next meal, my loved one and stability .What others say of me or what I become regarding this hobby doesn't matter to me. Crazy doll lady, who cares.

 

Nope considering i collect all sorts of dolls im kinda already s crazy doll lady