How has your style of dolls changed from when you started collecting?

I began collecting only MSD size dolls. I also was mainly only interested in artist dolls and my faceups were usually elaborate works of art on their faces rather than plain makeup. It was beautiful but very restricting in terms of what I felt like I could do with them. I experimented with more "basic" sculpts and different companies as well as several different faceup styles and artists- even redoing some faceups sometimes while I found my proffered aesthetic. Turns out I prefer very plan, versatile sculpts with a retro look to them and clean natural faceups!

 

When I first started collecting, when I was 19 years old, I collected only boys. Now, I'm 33 and my collection is mostly all girls! I also wasn't interested in YoSD sized dolls or smaller. I have quite a few of them now. They're so cute and collectable!

When I first started, I only bought Dream of Doll or Luts dolls. I thought I'd never own any Volks since at the time I thought they were very hard to get and exclusive. Now Volks comprises a majority of my collection

 

My first bjd was a 1/3 male doll, and now my collection consists of 1/4 or smaller female dolls.

 

I began collecting only 1/3, because childlike dolls had never interested me... until my GF got her first Lati yellow and I bonded with the baby instantly. Now I have one 1/6 in my collection, wich might not look much, but was a huge change for me and I know it's only the beginning

 

Hmmm...

• "Only 2 MSDs...."
• "Ok a few SDs...."
• "Just SDs now, no mixing sizes..."
• "I know I said no hybrids, but I really like this head...."
  
• "Gosh all these SDs don't really seem to match one another, ok no more eyes bigger than 16mm..."
• "They still don't match! No more heads smaller than 21cm...."
• "I know I said no mixing sizes, but I sort of want a couple tinies...."

Honestly, if you're in the hobby long enough you'll probably change your mind more than a couple times about styles and sizes and likely kick yourself later for decisions you made at various points which made total sense in the moment. There are things I wish I could have stopped past me from doing which I was 100% confident in when I did it. Hindsight etc etc.

 

I started here back in 06-07. I didn’t care very much about aesthetic and everything I did with my dolls was very much candid shots around the house without a care for background, foreground, lighting, etc.
It was more, point and click.
My dolls all had (and still do) more of a goth/punk look to them and I was centered around only specific types of dolls. (Luts Delfs)
Now that I’m older (yikes… so much older) I find that I’ve branched out to other companies and welcome all kinds of different aesthetics and I care a bit more about styling and thinking before I do my photography.

 

My first bjd was a 1/4 slim, as was my second. At first I thought I prefer them, but I got a lot more dolls that were thicker and heavier and now I really prefer them to be like that. I also used to want to try a lot of different companies, and still do to an extent, I find myself heavily leaning towards Peaks Woods dolls. I like that their eyes/eyelids and lips are much more defined, and that they really stand out in my collection.

I also originally swore that I'd only collect 1/4 dolls, but now I have 3 1/3s... and I love the size. I like how detailed sculpts can get on that scale, and how they sort of make a statement in a room with their size.

 

My aesthetic have not changed one bit from when I joined the hobby back in 2006. What it has done is maybe expanded a little to include dolls that weren't available back then. Beyond that, I'm still doing the same themes, still drawn to the same types of faces, etc.

 

My collection felt more disjointed in the beginning. I just wanted to buy dolls and wanted to buy all of them. It feels a lot more focused now. Only two dolls have left me, but my 1/3 resins are the ones that get the most play. Others spend quite a bit of time in boxes.

I think I would have been quite smitten with my current 1/3 collection back when I was a teen! I just didn't have the focus to do it then.

 

I've probably owned more dolls than I can remember since starting the hobby. Like many others, my collection was rather all over the place. It took a lot of trial and error before I settled on the fact that I like to look at everyone else's "cool" and mature dolls but when it comes to my own collection I like very girlie feminine soft looking dolls. All the boy dolls I was determined to love found great homes and there's only one doll ever that I regret getting rid of!

 

Hi there, I am wondering how your taste in dolls has changed over your time in the hobby. Did you start with one scale, and then realize another scale was actually the one for you? Did you have an army of Minifees, then pivot to horror-themed artist dolls? Or have the dolls you wanted for your collection been the same since you started?

I have only been in the hobby for about a year, and here are some things I have learned about my preferences:
- I pre-ordered almost all white or normal skin tone dolls, but have found as they arrive that I vastly prefer tan and fantasy resin colors.
- Poseability is also much more important to me than I originally thought it would be, because I really enjoy posing my dolls naturally.
- I have also discovered that (most of the time), I bond best with the dolls I paint myself, so even though I love the work of many of the professional face-up artists in the community, in the future I think I will stick to buying blanks.

I am curious to hear about all of your experiences!

 

When I first started collecting BJDs in 2019 I only wanted very, very small ones. My upper limit was like, 25 cm. I think I felt shy about them and wanted to be able to hide them easily...?

I've made a complete 180 by now; I like dolls of all sizes but my goal is to one day get one of the huge 100+ cm dolls like Dollmore or Spiritdoll makes. xD

 

i'd say my style has evolved with time thanks to all the new dolls and content creators I discovered.
At the very beginning, I was all about Minifee, I found other companies and types of dolls uninteresting for my tastes. But the more I took information about new types of dolls, the more I extended to new possibilities : especially animal BJDs and tiny matures (in both 1/12 or 1/6th scale that became personal favourites), even though Minifees keep a special place in my heart.

For the rest, not much has changed since I know of BJDs : I am still very selective on the dolls I want , I still love highly-posable dolls, sleeping faces are also a must, I still have a preference for female dolls (I feel more inspired for redressing being a woman myself ahah), and I still prefer a limited amount of dolls over dozens of models, I would quickly feel overwhelmed

 

Well, I think I was into more realistic dolls at the start—I started with a ringdoll, and I veered kind of away from the stylization I’m partial to now. I learned through testing that I like less stylized proportions (like not MSD sized chests, and SD sized hips, like Lillycat), and not large heads, like Asella dolls tends to do a 9/10 head on a body that is really on the edge between SD and MSD. I like stylized faces, especially when Twigling is the one stylizing them—I don’t have them all home, but I officially own all but one head she’s ever released, and don’t worry, I’m making plans for the missing one so everyone is included. I also collect dolls that feel stylized the same way Twiglings are, like my FHSH boy, who passes for Pieta’s handsome brother, and my little rebel and rumple dolls heads. I lean heavily into stylized dolls that can take a 5-6mm Iris, which, luckily for me, is most SD dolls, other than the f60 Chloe I owned once who looked scared in anything smaller than a 14mm. A lesson was learned.

Nowadays, I have one or two more realistic dolls—I own two Iplehouse dolls still, and a DS Dolls head that veers a little more realistic, but they’re well outnumbered by more stylized heads, which doesn’t surprise me.

I’m also learning Soom doesn’t last in my collection. No clue why, but I’ve sold every Soom head or full doll I’ve ever owned. I have three Soom bodies though, so those stick around just fine.

 

Probably the type remained the same, only the way I see them has changed. If at the beginning I just wanted beautiful dolls, now I want to make them in a similar style, something reminiscent of Gothic, punk aesthetics. And the type as there were SD guys, so he remained

 

I tried to look for the more realistic looking dolls back in 2006. I landed on delf Lishe in full size. Now that there are way more sculptors around the world specializing in 45 ish dolls that look more " real", I tend to gravitate towards Popovy, Chimera, Marmite Sue. So, realistic, with a fantasy twist? And smaller. Because it looks more delicate to me, which I prefer.

 

When I first started it was ¼ and smaller and I would by them girl-boy-girl-boy--- on and on you get the picture. They all had to be human too, that was a very important thing. Those just decorate a shelf now. I still love looking at them, but I don't really do anything with them very often. They are just part of my collection.

Now I really only want 58-75 cm dolls. I have mostly male dolls and a few vampires, and dolls with add on fox ears have made their way into the mix. I use these for my photo story. I really like the way the bigger dolls handle, pose, and photograph. I think I'm even building up muscles handling them all the time when shooting my photo story.

I really can't see myself going back to the smaller dolls. They just don't feel right to me when I pick them up and hold them and move them around. They feel awkward to me compared to the bigger dolls. A part of me wishes I would have just started with the bigger dolls, but I was really intimated by their size at first. Now if I don't feel that heavier weight when I pick up a doll it feels weird.

 

I feel like when I first began collecting, I didn’t really know what kind of aesthetic I was going for because I more so just limited by funds. I was actually kind of unhappy at first because I couldn’t reach the aesthetic I wanted due to financial reasons. Now after being in the hobby for so many years, I don’t care as much about being frugal anymore and kind of just buy whatever makes me happy, looks good, and is a quality piece.

I have always been heavily inspired by the over-the-top feminine but dark “mori” sort of style as well as old school/classic lolita. I love dolls that look like modern takes on your traditional French/German antique bisque doll.
I also looooove the Pink House inspired sets that have been popular more recently. I am very drawn to and love the combination of creepy, cute, romantic, and elegant.