"I'm in the minority..."

Honestly, I would argue that unless you like <commonly enjoyed style> for <size and gender you collect> it tends to be difficult
For example, the smaller the dolls get, the harder it is to find masculine clothes. That's partly because at really small sizes the easiest you can sew is probably a simple spaghetti strap dress. I realized that when I had 1/4 guys, but it got even worse with 1/6. The smaller the dolls get, the more they lean towards girls anyway though. Female MNF and all those female artist dolls dominate the 1/4 scale, while guys heavily dominate 1/3+. Hell, it's so bad that some sizes are pretty much male only (70cm women? 75cm ones? Yeah good luck finding those).

I personally would say that the amount of styles that are available is extremely limited anyway though.
Sure, we came far since the days of frilly dresses OR Visual Kei with platform boots, but still. I mean, what is available? Modern casual, modern street fashion, chic/luxury for both. Frills, but heavily leaning towards girls/dresses.
Asian fantasy (like all those long silky outfits one knows from those Chinese dramas), vague "other" fantasy (what Soom does, but nothing that looks like Lord of the Rings for example).

Everything else is either a) somewhat rare or b) non-existent, especially from bigger companies vs that lone seamstress who decided it's time to finally offer the people what they want
That's especially true for other alternative styles (like the mentioned goth stuff), realistic clothes for other time/fashion periods (anything from modern history back to rococo, medieval etc.), traditional garb (even Asian ones are not that wide-spread), other fantasy styles than the ones already mentioned, military garb (combat and chic) and so on. And even if there is the lone limited outfit a company releases, it's probably only available in one size

About the topic at hand: don't think there is anything I'm a minority in...there are a couple things that are not up my alley that are crazily popular, but I know enough like-minded people to not feel too much of an outsider

 

For me, Anime faceups are sort of like this. A lot of other faceup artists I've spoken to seem frustrated or intimidated by them, but I find them to be easier, quicker, and more relaxing compared to the "standard" faceup type. Though this likely doesn't reflect the quality of the faceups Just how much I enjoy doing them.

Also, I see people complaining that they have a hard time finding anything but "slim msd"/minifee clothes in 1/4 scale, but I struggle to find any! Maybe people are just looking on etsy or somewhere (where I don't shop), but the standard on taobao is MDD/MSD size. I've been so desperate to find tops in between standard MSD and YoSD that I've resorted to buying 1/6 action figure tops.

 

I've always heard that eyebrows are the hardest part of a faceup, mostly due to getting them even and in the right spot, not too high or low. I think that's one of the easiest parts of the faceup--the linework is much, much more difficult to me! I don't get the eyebrows exactly symmetrical--eyebrows "should be sisters, not twins" for realism, but I think they're pretty easy to get close. Brush them on heavy, use an eraser to "carve" them out, turn the head every which way to be sure they're even, and you're done! But don't ask my advice for fine linework, I can't get that even to save my life, and no matter what tools I use or how thin my paint is, it's never delicate enough. I've asked advice, I've watched tutorials, I've bought high quality materials and tools...can't do it.

 

Stringing.

So may people seem to be scared of restringing their doll like it's some advanced-level-takes-years-to-master skill, when for the most part it's really very straight-forward and easy. I've never had an issue with it and never been daunted by having a go at it.

I am, however one of those people who has huge problems finging clothes for my boys - I don't dress most of them modern and even if I did I wouldn'twant ot put them in low-slung trousers which seems to be the only option available. I don't like them for myself, so I'm not about to put my boys in them. It's called a "waist"band for a reason - it's meant to sit around the wiast, not half way down to the hips, damnit! My one modern-styled SD boy is in a rare pair of jeans I've found that aren't horribly low slung in the waist, and is seriously short of alternative clothing options if I want to change him. My other SD boys are Victorian children so it's REALLY hard to find clothes to buy for them, it's a case of make-my-own, or commissioning custom-made (which cna be a minefield of it's own), and occasionaly adapt something bought. Since I don't like making boy clothes nerl as much as I like making girl clothes, my boys are the "poor" relations when it comes to wrdrobe size and clothing options compared to my girls

Teddy

 

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Shipping. Just that. I like to ship things, I enjoy packing and I'm rather good at it. Plus the feeling of finally getting rid of some clutter at home. Why are people scared of shipping? I get it that sometimes you hear horror stories about things getting damaged or lost, but it has never happened to me on either the receiving or the shipping side. The worst thing that has happened to me just recently was losing some 40 bucks since I mis-estimated the shipping quote... I took it "on me," so to say and just paid on my own. I was glad the doll was to be sold, shipped and fine a new owner. I didn't die, you know? And that ha sbeen the worst. A lesson for the future: go to the post office first and see if htey ship to a particular country. if not - contact the courier before you give a quote to the buyer. Not a big deal.

As for the things which I *am* scared of... buying accessories second-hand and buying from places other than Alice's Collections and Etsy. As for the 2nd hand, I've had bad experiences and I'll rather buy new or nothing. I'm taling accessories. When it comes to dolls - I actually prefer second hand And as for the dealers... I like to return to shops. I don't like the extra hipping quotes. I love free shipping even if it's hidden in the original price... Particularly if it says 'free shipping' beyond some certain amount - I'm in

 

stringing/re-stringing is mine. it seems like a lot of people find it anywhere from intimidating to terrifying to just an awful chore they don't want to do. I actually like doing it and prefer to get dolls unstrung so that I can string them myself as soon as they arrive. when i do get a doll that comes to me already strung, it's pretty much a guarantee i'll end up taking them apart and restringing them as soon as they're out of the box.

 

What's hard for me is finding traditional clothing from different cultures for my dolls. I like traditional clothing, but find that it's easier to find kimonos and Chinese traditional clothing (I like these clothes too, but want a variety from different cultures as well) over other traditional clothings such as hanboks or ancient civilization western clothing. I like clothing items that aren't really everyday wear for my dolls, but I find that these types of clothing are more pricier. I do like idol style clothing as well, but I keep missing the sales for the clothing that I want for my kpop idol inspired dolls.

Sometimes I want clothing thatis distressed looking like it's been passed down throughout hundreds of years, but I can't find anything like that so far.

I noticed people in the hobby seem to enjoy dolls with large eyes. I don't mind large eyes if it doesn't look so cartoonish then I'm fine with large eyes. I do have exceptions such as Peakswoods because I see my Peakswoods as more of stylized version of people and see them more as a unique interpretation of a face, but I prefer smaller eyes. I haven't found a female doll where her eyes were thr perfect size or look. Sartoria comes close, but their dolls are too western looking for my personal preference in dolls.

I find finding a female doll I absolutely love the face one hundred percent is hard for me. Others in the hobby seem to not have a hard time finding female dolls they adore. I have male dolls I absolutely love their faces. It's easier for me to find male dolls I really adore.

I have a lot of wigs for my female dolls though because I find it's easier for me to find wigs I like for my female dolls, but I have a hard time finding wigs I like for my male dolls.

 

i love company faceups!! i think theyre beautiful and are what really make me want the doll lol

 

Buying items like wigs, shoes, clothes, etc from somewhere that's not on a doll website. I've always found it so very amusing talking to other collectors saying that they need some sort of accessory but that they can't find it or don't want to deal with X company. And then they're amazed or shocked that I could find it for them or link it to them from somewhere else so easily. Between websites like eBay, Amazon, taobao, AliExpress and DOA marketplace, I pretty much can always find whatever I want or need.

What I struggle with that other people seem to do fine with, however, is having to wait so long for things in general. Perhaps with getting most of my non doll stuff pretty promptly, I've been spoiled but I never have gotten used to waiting over a month for something, just to ship.

 

Addressing the clothing question, I have no trouble finding clothing for my boys, but I have a terrible time finding clothes I like for my girls. I dress my dolls in everyday people style clothing, and it is so easy to find a good selection of jeans and shirts for the guys, but I find it difficult to find girl clothing which isn't frilly and girlie.
I took an inventory of my SD clothing and sorted them into separate storage drawers, one for boys and one for girls. I was shocked to find that I had very little selection for my girls, but the boy drawer was crammed full.
HOWEVER . . . it is the opposite for my MSD size dolls. I have found lots of cute girl clothing on Etsy for my minifees, but almost nothing for my minifee boys. Thank goodness for Alice Collectios. Most of their clothing comes in all sizes.

 

I second the opinion about company faceups. I like most of them so much I don't even feel the need to do my own faceup. Apart from the fact that I wouldn't have any talent for it either