Has your doll "aged" since you first got them?

It's only been a few years so I can't say with certainty that anyone has really grown up that much. I'll give it a bit more time and maybe indeed there will be a difference. I know that when I meet a doll I've bought, sometimes they easily tell me their age and preference. Other times, you have to eek it out of them before hand.

 

For me, a lot of it is how their characters have grown, looking at them now! The faceups have made a huge difference too! One of my friends has recently painted virtually every doll I own, and they’ve all become so beautiful, and so different from how they looked when I got them. Seeing Ness, for example, blank in old photos is such a strange experience, because they look so distinct now. Vidania’s head has been through 3 different characters, so her “baby” photos are of all the other people I guess she’s tried to be (ironically all in some capacity self-inserts)

 

Lol oh yeah. My first girl changed style and so many faces over the years. But she also aged as in yellowing to the point she had to have an oxibath real bad. I had no clue about how to take care of her at first and she sat near a window in the Texas heat.

 

I perceive their age as changing. Faceup is changing, their style is becoming more advanced, their interests have crystallized.

 

With Vince, I feel that way a little bit-- though of course how 'young' he looks depends a lot on what wig I have him in and all. I'm sure some of it is just that I'm used to his face now so it doesn't seem quite as childlike, and he's been through a couple face-ups... but some of it is definitely coming out of my hyperempathy for objects, and how long I've had him. It's interesting, because his character is a bit Peter Pan-ish, he's never going to 'grow up', but... I think he's settled into himself.

 

Yes, story wise, and faceup wise. The main cast started as sophomores in high school. They will be going on their senior year soon. In between I find myself changing the faceup, or the wig styles of some of them, they have changed their dress style as well. As they move on with college and careers in the future, they just have that older feel to me.

Even in the story their speech has become more mature and calm, less the excitable teens that they started off as. While they will never in reality be as tall as the uncle/senior dolls that I have, I feel fine with them going into their future as young adults of soon to be indefinite age.

 

I got Caius Levi 9 years ago, and he still pretty much looks the same but there is a sense of maturity into him now. The sculpt, the make-up, and physical attributes still look the same (the resin yellowing of course comes with time, but so far he hasn't gotten much that makes it obvious), but this air to him just feels mature if that makes sense!

 

They are older now, so I would not be surprised if the elastic might need to be replaced but I also keep mine in their boxes, so they are protected

 

Maryse is the newer of my two resin ladies, but she survived a house fire two years ago, and despite being very kindly and thoroughly restored by an incredibly generous person, I feel like it's given her an air of maturity somehow (her new faceup is also much, much nicer than the one she came to me with). Whereas Celandine is probably almost 20 years old and feels like she has stories to tell that I'll never know about- but she probably hasn't "been through" as much as her sister. It's a really interesting feeling, as you say!

 

Totally! Their sculpt may be the same, but as I've grown myself and my tastes have shifted, their characters also got older in age (from their 20s to their 30-40s)and that reflects on their face-ups, wigs, clothes, stories... It's amazing how those things can change think the way the same sculpt looks, and I believe that being able to have them grow old the same as me is a fun part of this hobby too!

 

I joined the hobby in late 00s and was active for a few years, then went on a hiatus for about 10 years, then came back to the hobby in late 2022. I still have two dolls from my "newbie days" - Syr and Justinian have been home for 15 and 14 years now. (They're the pair in my profile pic.) They definitely feel more mature now than when I first got them.

I think it mostly has to do with their characters (I shell OCs). Before my hiatus, I struggled to establish these two OCs. I loved these dolls a lot, but I had less means and ability to realize my visions for them, and I also couldn't quite define what their characters were and what story/world they inhabited. So they had a sense of being not quite "fully formed" -- undefined, a bit blurry around the edges, not really whole. That was their state when I went on hiatus from the BJD hobby.

After I came back from hiatus, I had a much stronger idea of their characters and what they were meant to be, and also had the means and ability to realize this. When I look at Syr and Justinian now (in person and at my photos), they no longer feel vaguely formed - I feel that their personalities are a lot stronger and definitive, their characters have come into themselves and feel settled like fully-formed personalities. Whereas in 2011-2013 their characters weren't fully formed, so when I look at those old photos now, they have a kind of vague, blank slate appearance to me, which I guess makes them seem "young".

This is how these two dolls have "aged". Maybe it's perception? Nowadays I'm a lot more settled as a person than I was as a BJD newbie, and I also know better what I want from the hobby, and what I want my doll collection to be (I struggled a lot with this as a newbie). So that's probably why Syr and Justinian feel like they've "matured" since I first got them.

They're the "old couple" in my crew There are times when they feel very settled (even settled in their ways) that's different from the newer (younger) dolls. All my other dolls were bought in the last 3 years, after I came back from hiatus. I'm curious to know whether they too will also "age", how my perception of them is going to change over time.

 

My oldest doll, Darby, has always aged with me. She was in her early 20s in my early 20s, now mid-30s in my mid-30s! Her style has also changed; she used to have a much more alternative/punk look, but now is pretty lowkey and mainstream. She's just a lot softer overall, in way that definitely feels like aging!

 

Definitely! For example, you can absolutely tell Ravi has aged from when he was with his first owner (I've known him since his original box opening!), to when I first got him, to now, all these years later. There is more 'presence' to him, more 'weight' if you will. It's not just about resin age, or anything like that (to me). The way I see it, a doll arrives to you 'blank', almost 'empty' from the company, and then, as you pour your creativity and love into them, they begin to become 'full'. It's not just attachment either, as I've had numerous people not in the doll hobby recognise the difference between the 'feeling' of a brand new doll versus an 'aged' one...