How do you build your doll's wardrobe?

I get one outfit for each doll, including shoes (if the character requires them). I've tried sewing, and so far it hasn't been that great of a success.
Once I get each character dressed and they look good, I feel they are ok, so I move on to the next needy doll. This is mostly due to how hard it is for me to dress them. I seem to be attracted to the hard to dress dolls (like DC 's msd k-02 body, DC Fiona 40cm but only because of her long legs and ears, FL Chicline 40cm fashion doll, Obitsu 48cm -you get the idea). Occasionally I upgrade little parts of the outfit as I find them. Lately I've been finding more outfits at Alice's Collections, which has been helping get the crew dressed.

 

How you build your wardrobe will depend on how you want your doll to look like and what kind of fashion styles you are after. Also, I don't own a lot of dolls (3-4) and I always plan the look for them before they arrive so shopping and building wardrobes for them is quite straight forward for me. I am not a seamstress so I will just speak about how I buy things.

Wigs: Usually my dolls only wear one wig that I designated to them. Lately, I plan to give some of my dolls more wigs (same/similar style but in different colors) to share among themselves in order to match the outfits that I planned for them. Probably 3-4 more wigs in addition to their default color since I want give them a k-pop look (colourful hair and edgy clothes, yeah).

Eyes: I don't know if eyes count towards building a wardrobe for dolls but I am just going to say it anyways. Again same with the wigs, most of my dolls only use one pair of eyes. But for dolls that have multiple wigs, I have multiple eyes that go with the hair colors, usually just acrylic eyes.

Clothes (shoes included): I have very specific looks for my dolls, so I usually commission clothes for my dolls rather than buying the from shops. My dolls each have a default look, which is usually formal commissioned clothes and casual look clothes which I buy from shops. There is also some random items from impulsive purchases haha. But yeah, basically my dolls have two looks, their default look can not be shared with others but the casual clothing can be shared I rarely change clothes for my doll so most of the time they are on default look and I find casual clothes a little bit boring since I wear them all the time so I don't want my dolls to wear like me lol.

Commission clothes are expensive so I don't update them at all. But for clothes purchased from shop, I only buy them if I think they look nice so season is not a factor for updating their wardrobe.

Accessories: My dolls stay at home all the time and I don't plan them to bring them on outings so things like phones, backpacks, skates, etc. are not needed so I don't buy them. What I do buy is some earrings and piercings and that is basically it.

 

I have a lot of dolls, but not a ton of clothes for them despite collecting for over a decade now. But when I get extra funds I scour eBay for deals.
I had lots of dreams of sewing for all my dolls, but time and my skill set just aren't up to the task.
Shoes, especially, are troublesome for me, so lots of my dolls run around barefoot for quite a while, until I score a good pair of neutral shoes that actually fit them right.
I knit, though, so my dolls all have hand knit sweaters, which pair nicely when I find a nice pair of blue jeans for them. And they have plenty of scarves, cowls, and hats to choose from.

 

I LOVE sewing. Need a new shirt? Guess I'll pattern it and make it in different colors for the others. Need overalls? How cute. I can make extra with the pattern and sell them on etsy. I love being diverse with my clothes, it makes my dolls feel all the more special.

 

I start my dolly wardrobes by hoarding fabric. I slowly collect the necessary parts for a garment, and when I have all the pieces, I can start sewing it together.

This allows me to have more personalized clothing for each character, with more detail than most commercially sold doll clothes. Right now, I'm waiting on permanent pleat polyester satin for a lacey pink dress for one of my dolls, and then I can start! It's super exciting to be able to put together a wardrobe myself.

 

I buy clothes I like and try to see who they belong to. Biggest problem is that I actually don't have the dolls yet. I just have the stories to the characters I want.

 

I tend to buy the clothes that I love and I know will fit at least one of my dolls. I don't worry too much about whether or not its part of the doll's style or if they have enough outfits as long as they're all dressed. I will admit that I adore costumes and fantasy like outfits, so there is definitely a theme going on.

 

I make all my dolls clothes so their style seems to change to whatever I've been influenced by at each time.
Currently I bought a tonne of Japanese cottons so my visions for them went toward a modern twist of Japanese traditional clothing.
Their previous style was that of a Victorian vampire look and next I'm going to be working on an almost rocker/ grunge style and a couple of cosplay for them.
So overall, I build their wardrobes on fabrics I have or my current inspirations!

 

For most of my time in the hobby I've been haphazard about building wardrobes. My first doll has a shirt my mother made and a pair of pants. However, some newer dolls have several complete outfits only they wear. I have tended to be more interested in one doll over others resulting in uneven wardrobes. I also dress them according to character, so some dolls will always have more clothes than others.
Regardless, I do put together a basic outfit for each doll after I get them. At this point I can usually use some old pieces to make a new outfit.
Most of the dolls have their own clothes that no other wears, but some of them share because they are related, friends, live together, etc.

I like the OP's idea of seasonal clothes. My goal for doll outfits right now is to have mix and match clothes to make 2-4 basic, everyday outfits, one or two "tea" or "church" outfits, an additional formal set for some, holiday sets for most of them, and a vocationally specific outfit for some.
If I can prevent myself buying any more dolls, I should have that done within a year. Heh

 

I tend to buy clothes (usually clothing sets, rarely separates) randomly throughout the year but everything I buy is with a specific doll in mind, if it doesn't work for them then the other doll gets it though. And if it really doesn't work for either one I'll offer it to my doll collecting friends but I may keep it for future dolls.
My dolls do share clothes sometimes but Nadeko's wardrobe generally doesn't suit Hitagi so it's not often that they share. They do share shoes though, I strongly dislike shoe shopping (be it for people or dolls) and cannot be bothered to buy more shoes when the ones I have fit both dolls.
I really love dolly clothes so I don't really have a specific goal in mind for my dolls's wardrobes, just collecting more cute things I guess

 

Some of my doll clothes are purchased through BJD stores, and I made good use of Friends2BMade when it was open for modern MSD clothes. As I enjoy sewing, I suffer from an endless fabric and notions stash. Like @Teddy, I have a soft spot for historical clothing and a tendency for ambitious projects that get abandoned. I'm trying to get better.

While many of my dolls have distinctive styles, there's enough overlap they can share clothes if it fits.

 

Are any of y'all familiar with Johnny Cash's song "One Piece at a Time"? That's how I build my dolls' wardrobes: one piece at a time. I find a piece that I like, match it to one of my dolls' personalities, and buy it. Chloe is the smallest of the bunch, being the only Yo-SD, so she doesn't have to share her clothes, and my three MSD girls have such different personalities that I only rarely make them share clothes. Johnny and Alistair do have to share clothes sometimes, because it's harder to find clothes for MSD boys than it is the girls, but they don't share a ton.

 

Hrmm due to lack of skill on my part I mostly try to put together one suitable bought outfit per doll either a full-up set or individual bought pieces - though of course certain characters in my extended group have ended up claiming multiple pieces as their own.

However in the aftermath of the Triathlon I've been seriously contemplating picking up my own sewing machine with an eye to getting into making clothes for my guys (I attempted to sew a certain very specific coat for the doll I entered, and whilst I know that both the pattern and fit are otherwise correct, my choice of fabric meant that it's bulky/doesn't quite hang right... That off-ness is making me want to try again!)

 

Sounds like a plan

Teddy

 

Hah - yeah I've been eyeing up starter Singers.

Though I am aware that straight up going for a tailored Georgian frock-coat using a pattern that's so ancient as to have none of the modern stuff such as facings/bag lining etc. as my first attempt at a sewing project may have been a mite ambitious. Ended up using so many technical methods on this thing that I'd never heard of until the Trathlon week such as interlining, understitching etc... It probably doesn't help that the pattern categorically isn't designed to shut like modern coats do - but hover awkwardly ajar held in place with hidden fasteners to a nonexistent waistcoat. (Ended up copying the method of the RL guy who wore the original, and used a safety pin) I really wish I knew people into sewing in the tailoring sense IRL - I'm sure in hand to someone who know's what they're looking at the problems with this thing are screamingly obvious.

However the main issue is definitely the thickness of the cotton with the lining sewn in - without the lining the coat hung correctly, with the lining it's too bulky. But it needs the strength/added bulk of the lining in places... Especially where the skirts of the coat meet the bodice section and urgh sorry I'll stop talking about the issues with this project of mine!

 

I don't, heh. But I have been grabbing pictures that seem to suit each doll's style so when I start buying/making clothes, I have something to reference. I want to have multiple pieces I can mix and match. like with clothes in real life, and then at least one wigs and eyes for each with maybe a few more similar wigs to swap out in the same way a real life person changes their hair, though they'll mostly stick with one.

 

Difficult, sometimes they come with wig and clothing, and i end up changing an other doll to wear this outfit..
Most times I have an idea for a charakter, and you see it appear by an other wig or dress..
I try to make most clothing, but at this moment i am in fantasy style...
You know i start something, and then i got a new idea....so i got like 3 dresses not finished...

 

I usually buy lots of pieces individually that fit the doll's style to mix and match I don't worry so much about having a certain number of outfits as I do having lots of different things I can combine in different ways. Fullset outfits are never really my thing because most of the time the individual pieces are too specific to combine with anything else and I've never been a huge fan of perfectly matching outfits. I allow myself to buy doll clothes every few paychecks or so, sometimes ordering a bunch of stuff from one dealer/store and sometimes splurging on one specific item that's a little more expensive and higher quality. I've actually amassed a pretty good collection of clothes considering I've only been back in the hobby for about 9 months!

My MSD girl is pretty well spoiled clothes-wise and I have at least 2-3 outfits worth of stuff ready to go for her girlfriend when she gets here (hopefully) this month, but my 1/6 mature girl really doesn't have much ! Her size has been challenging to shop for (mostly because I was really set on her wearing one specific style of clothing that isn't too popular) but I'm finally starting to get a solid look ready for her.

 

I like dolls that can share outfits, at least the basics. So I have plenty of wigs, tights and shoes that are worn by two dolls at least And that's what I always start with - the doll must have a couple pairs of shoes, a couple well-matched wigs and some tights, underpants and basic tops that can be matched with denims or skirts. SOme fur coats/collars and hats too. And then I design my own outfits: trousers, dresses, corsets and such