Does clothing or shoe availability affect your doll purchasing decisions?

I think when I first started it was more of a concern. I was definitely worried about some of my dolls constantly being nudie and getting cold lol.

Now with my MIL teaching me to sew, I don't mind nearly as much at all.
I'm determined to make lots of clothes for my gals!

 

Most of my dolls fall into size ranges which are very common, so I have no trouble buying clothing for them. But recently I bought an Iplehouse K.I.D. which is a size I had not owned before, and she falls half way between an MSD and a YOSD. I have had no luck finding clothing to fit her, so she has been naked ever since I got her. I lost interest in her because of that.

 

I sew, and even draft my own patterns. I can at least make the dolls a basic outfit for when they get home. I don't want my dolls naked, and my basic sewing level keeps them decently clothed at least.

My big boys, 70cm+ can be really difficult to purchase clothing for, especially when it seems that every single one of them have a different body type, and can barely share clothing, even when they are from the same company... side eyeing my Ringdoll boys.
I found out I really like the big dolls though, and despite the clothing shortage it's not going to stop me from buying them.

My tiny dolls 1/8-1/10 don't have shoes. I really wish I could find small good shoes for them, I knew this would be a problem but I bought them anyway. I only have three small dolls without shoes, so it doesn't bother me that much.

 

The idea that there are dolls out in the world that don't have a ton of people making clothing for their sizes never crosses my mind. The thing that usually gets me is if there is anything in the style I would want them to wear. Now I'm sitting here debating with myself if I should have thought things through more when planning for the two boys I have now before I got them.

 

I can't sew - at all. I learned the hard way that I should avoid dolls if it's hard to find clothes/shoes that will fit them. There are a few dolls I'm really tempted to get, but this factor is making me hesitate.

 

I voted that I can sew my own clothes but truth be told, all the clothes I make are poor quality lol My doll isn't super hard to clothe but she does have a pear shaped body so bottoms have to be stretchy or skirts and dresses it is! It's not too much of an issue for clothing not being readily available to buy though. If a sculpt speaks to me and gives me inspiration, then it doesn't matter to me if it's easy to clothe or not!

 

I want to one day have the time to sew. But between work and my other hobbies, I just can't. Especially when the clothes I love are already available to buy.

But yes, most of my mini dolls are minifees because they are easy to find clothes for and they can share.

 

it should have affected me, but i wanted an 80cm doll so badly, that its actually gotten me watching sewing videos so i can make clothes for him myself because i cannot find, for the life of me, the outfits that i love that you can find for 60cm dolls ;_;

 

Sometimes I wish I liked the most popular size(s) and companies like Fairyland. It just feels like there are infinite possibilities for these dolls...
But no, I had to fall in love with the big boys of 70+cm.
On top of that, I'm not into female dolls either so that's another, like, 70% of the market that doesn't interest me.
That shoesn't be a problem, right? Just sew the clothes yourself!
Ha! Ha...
For some reason, whatever I try to make, it has a tendency to fall apart instantly after I finish it. Or I lose motivation because I can't put my vision into reality...
So, I can't really count on that.
Luckily, I like most fullsets so clothing hasn't really been a problem yet, but for some reason, every doll I've had my eye on did not wear shoes.
There is no way I'll let these rascals lounge around barefoot!
But finding the right size of shoe is a pain.
So unfortunately, clothing/shoe availability does not affect me when I decide on a doll, but I suffer for it later when I try to find footwear or clothing.

 

I can sew, so don't really worry about it. Which is good, since I have some very oddly sized dolls in my crew, like the Dream Valley gang, an Island Doll Seven and an Angel Region Warrick. I'd never be able to dress any of them if I had to rely on ready-made.

 

For me, it really depends on the doll.

If the doll I want has a style which I think will be pretty “normal” but i haven;’t found the shoes or clothing items that fits just as I want it to, I’ll probably just purchase it with head and body, and leave it nude for a while, and look for items or commission someone.
If the doll has a very specific, unique style that I want it to have and I cannot find anyone to commission, then I will most probably not buy it; unless I like the doll so much, in which case I’ll just purchase the head of the doll and keep it in a box until I stumble upon someone who can make it for me.

I also do not usually consider dolls that are an “unusual” size- i don’t want to deal with the hassle lol.
And for shoes, I just.. I don’t really mind anymore, i can usually find good ones, but i do try to find specific themed shoes when the doll needs it. If i can’t, i leave them barefoot, or with a subtitute that somewhat fits the theme so the feet don’t get dirty or whatever.

I also do not own any “non-human” dolls though.

 

I've got some odd sizes in the bunch... but for me, it's okay if it takes time to outfit a doll. It's just part of the journey, and I love them even when they're bald and naked. I'm not the best sewist-- I can hand-stitch a seam and I'm good with decorative stuff, but draping and drafting patterns is outside my skill set. Luckily, my sister is good at that, so if I can make a proper dress form, she likes getting to design for new bodies. But if she doesn't have the time, or when it comes to shoes, sometimes I just have to search and hope.

 

If my doll has a strange size, it doesn't affect me since I can just make my own, even if the results are....less than satisfactory. But I'm very picky with my doll clothes in general, so nothing really changes. Shoe sizes may cause some issues since making shoes are quite the hassle, but it's not a deal breaker.

 

I got myself a DDP which doesn’t really have much clothes dedicated to it. It is designed fit MDD clothing but MDD clothing is shorter.
I don’t really mind since I can dress her in longer skirts and it looks fine.
Otherwise I probably wouldn’t get a doll where I could never find available clothes for it but waiting isn’t a problem for me.

 

I'm now at the point where the body sculpt is as important as the head, and just be something I don't have, so I can design clothes for her... This is how I ended up moving from msd to SD size. Oops!

 

Having shoes & clothing available, especially stuff that looks like present day, current fashions is a must for me. I don’t mind having to hunt a bit for them though. One doll I would love to own, but have not purchased, is Iplehouse FID, and it is because there just is not enough clothing options available for my liking.

 

i used to be worried about this aalot. I dislike seeing a nekkid doll without eyes and hair. But with Etsy and friends, a little storage of spares i'm less worried Currently trying to get intos sewing myself. Noone seems to have exactly what i have in mind.

 

Shoes are hard. Finding shoes I can afford these days that fit that can drive me crazy. Wigs are a lot easier though still pretty dear. Fortunately I still have some and don't have to go there. Clothes are no big deal as I am a limited seamstress and used to improvising that way, especially when it comes to bigger dolls. I can't afford too much by way of professional clothes so I often have to think outside the box when it comes to that. If I am going to be in the hobby at all it means focusing on what I can do vs what I can't. Getting jealous of people with a lot more $$$ for "extras" that accomplishes nothing except making me frustrated and that's not healthy.

 

I think not being able to buy shoes is more of a pain point for me than clothes now--I can make some basics pretty reliably, but shoemaking is beyond me still so far. I have a bunch of oddballs, but it is MUCH nicer when I can sew for them because I want to, not because I lack any other choice. I don't know if it always 100% turns me off of a doll, but it is a pretty big check in the minus column so it does weigh into my decision... I have still charged forward and gotten a bunch of oddball sizes anyway though. I just gripe about it.

 

It used to not bother me, but over the years, I've definitely started to care more about ease of finding stuff for the doll, and ALSO how good that stuff typically looks. For example, a lot of the big, muscular boy dolls just look... lumpy in clothes from different makers. They're trying to accommodate a range of sizes of the big men, since they're not all the same measurements everywhere, but as a result what used to be an elegant body ends up looking like it's wearing its father's suit. Or maybe you have an MSD that's more slight than the "default", so even if there's technically lots of MSD clothing options, most of them just look oversized (and not in a cute way!)

I do know how to sew, and in my younger years I enjoyed crafting and such, but I just... I can't find enjoyment in it anymore. It just hurts to slouch over the sewing machine and hurts to carefully cut fabric pieces (I have a neck injury, so I know WHY it hurts, but it's just not fun enough for me to want to deal with the pain). I've started 3-4 doll sewing projects over the years and abandoned pretty much all of them. I'd much rather buy stuff for my dolls and spend my energy writing or drawing. So, now I'm waaaay more picky about what dolls I buy, and if I can buy things for them to wear.