Living vicariously through your dolls?

I 100% do this. And I'm sure I'm not alone in it, in fact I think it's a great thing that the dolls can do that for us.


1) A LOT of my dolls wear pink, cute, frilly, and lacy dresses and clothes. I dress extremely plainly in real life, and I only wear pants (I have a lot of discoloration on my legs from my skin disease, so I don't like displaying my legs in public. I always get stared at.) I desperately wish I could wear pretty dresses, but I can't. And it makes me so happy to see my beautiful girls in these kinds of clothes.


2) Margo is mute. (Without disclosing any personal information) I have a very special mute person in my life. She's very important to me, and I she's quite similar to Margo. I, and she, really enjoys that there is a doll that's kind of "based" on her.


3) I'm not sure why, but I really really like the look of blind eyes (When they are cloudy) I rarely see this in real life (Usually in older people or people with cataracts) so a few of my dolls have those kinds of eyes. I think it looks beautiful, and I'm really happy eyes like those exist in the doll world, so I get to see it.


4) One of my dolls is based on a part of me. But it's probably not forum appropriate so I won't go into details. Basically, it's a part of me that is kept quite secretive, and it's really awesome for me that I can express that through one of my dolls.

 

I definitely live vicariously through my dolls~ Tattoos, clothing, a lot of things! Though, each one of my dolls/characters have a bit of me in them too.

 

Thank you The best part about your doll having that trait, is that you can display it where people can see and feel good about it, but they never know that it actually pertains to you. I definitely think it's therapeutic. Funny, so does my therapist, haha! She loves my dolls, and because of how perceptive she is, she's been able to pick up on certain things I do with them that pertain to my own personality.

And I definitely agree with you on the children thing. I don't care for children in anyway, but I have seen so many situations of parents pushing their ideals and desires on their children, and it makes me very sad. My mother forced me to do gymnastics for many years when I was young. I hated it more than anything, but she wouldn't let me stop. And it's worth it to mention that NONE of my dolls are or will ever be gymnasts, lol. But luckily, dolls don't have feelings, so I would MUCH rather someone do that to a doll than an actual person.

 

My doll ends up having a similar style aesthetically as I do, so unconsciously I think I do this.
Dionne is named after the Greek god Dionysius, who is the god of wine and partying. Obviously I'm not a Greek god (Or am I? >.>) but I do enjoy my glass of wine and a good party here or there.

Actually after typing that and reading it I really think I am living vicariously through my doll. I don't mean to, but what're you going to do?

 

ALL the time! This explains why I have 27 boys....

But aside from that, they also have body types I can never attain, hair I can never grow, wear clothing that would never look right on me, and live out my dreams in RP where possibilities are endless. I can never be in a famous teen boyband (for several reasons) but Parker can!

 

Hah! Probably a little bit. I used to be a big club kid and do crazy make up and clothing. Calmed down with it all though but my dolls still rock the looks. They all have fun steampunk and fetish and gothy clothing that I just won't be bothered to wear these days. They keep it alive!

 

Absolutely. My dolls all have extremely detailed histories and like many things that I wouldn't seem to be interested in if you met me. My professional position at work doesn't allow me to really share a lot of personal things with co-workers, so my dollies get all the fun stuff I'd like to have, or clothes I'd like to wear because I can't do/wear those things. It's fun fantasy that makes the work week bearable.

 

Certainly! One of my girls wears much frillier clothing than I do, mostly because I find those things to be a pain. With my doll though, I can go through the trouble of arranging her outfit and just leave it on her for weeks at a time if I want! I definitely express myself through my dolls.

 

surely this is the main reason people love bjd! I used to go on a lolita fashion forum and dream of wearing lolita clothing, and waste a ton of money on stuff which never saw the light of day - mainly because I am TOO OLD to wear that style! Thankfully the doll in my avatar is forever young - and forever forced to wear frills LOL So for me it's a fashion outlet - I wear old baggy pants and sweaters 100% of the time in real life, and my son's old coat if I go out! I live with my teenage son, so my dolls can't express my actual personality, any more than I can - I have to 'behave nicely' or he'll be traumatised, and my dolls must be on their best behaviour too - sooooo boring though LOL

 

I do this too.
My dolls tend to wear clothes I like and I make pretty much the same things for them that I make for myself. But the dolls can pull of the look better than I can. I usually dress in black and in some goth/punk crossover with some lolita thrown in here and there and the dolls mostly wear variations on that. But I have one doll that wears exclusively sweet lolita. It is one of those styles I love to see on others, but that I wouldn't like to wear for myself in real life.
I envy the fact that they don't have to bother with putting on makeup and things like that. They just look good all the time with very little effort. Most of them have some part of my personality, my other hobbies etc. But it is also mixed in with things that I am not. Some of their characters roughly share my world view and some have views I don't agree with, but respect.

Having a few things in common makes it easier to get along, after all.

 

I suppose I do, I only have one doll at the moment but I have plans for my MSD gang (when I get them) to go to a private school for the gifted. I was seriously bored in school because the work was too easy and my parents wanted to put me into a better school but couldn't afford to. So my dolls are going to get the challenges that I didn't.

They will also wear clothing that I wouldn't because I'm an adult and can't go around dressing like a teenager.

 

Sure!
When I was a teenager I dreamed to play in a metal band (and tried), and now two of my dolls are member of a power metal band and dresses consequentially XD I love lolita and gothic attires and I used sometimes to dress in that styles, but now my job doesn't leave me to do that. My MSD will probably get a lot of these fashions XD and many, many jewels... I love them (even costume jewelry) but never wear, I find them unpractical.

 

I dress my MNF Celine how I WANT to dress, but unlike me, everything looks good on her.

 

Upon reflection, I am vaguely surprised that I don't live vicariously through my dolls. Generally speaking, what they do I have done at some point in time. Perhaps I am just lucky enough to be living the life I want to!

 

This is similar to my circumstances, too. My dolls 'share' a lot of my own real-life experiences, thoughts and ideas. A lot of them dress in the same general style as me as well. The ones that dress differently are actually dressed in ways that I wouldn't want to dress myself in real life. Some of my dolls are even having experiences that I don't want to have in my real life (e.g. getting married, having children, working in retail). I am very happy with my real life and I don't think I need to live vicariously through my resin crew. I guess the only vicarious living through my dolls that I can think of is the fact that Beau and Tyler each have their own horse. I would love to know how to ride well and to be able to do so on a regular basis.

 

What's sad is that I want to live vicariously through my dolls but I don't have the money to get the doll that I want so I can do that. Right now I have little semi-human dollies that I can't really do that with. They're more of an artistic outlet. But when I do get a human dolly that's exactly what I'm gonna do with her. She's going to have long pink curly hair and tattoos and piercings and wear crazy things. It's going to be magical. Since the real adult world doesn't like the pink hair I had or crazy clothes or self-expression of any kind. Humph. ):<

 

A lot of people say that when we fall in love with someone else, we're really just seeing parts of ourselves in someone, that we love within our own selves. It's also said that when we love or hate something with any level of passion, it's because we ourselves have that trait and it's something we love or hate within ourselves. So yes, I think it's actually quite impossible to NOT live vicariously through our dolls.

I see dolls as a way of expressing ideals of perfection. I'd like to wear certain cuts or colours in my hair or clothing, but can't because I have nearly black hair, pale, olive skin, this set face shape and the issue of practicality. But with a doll, you can choose the skin colour and hair colour and how the face is painted and you buy the sculpt that I think is the most beautiful. They're the blank canvas that I not-so-secretly wish I could be.
Also, in terms of their character, I can make a storybook character come to life. Or I can grab all my favourite characters, pull out the bits I like best from each and make a new one, with only the best things traits. Not to be a Mary Sue, because some flaws can be super cute in themselves.
I also like how a doll doesn't have to go to school, can be whatever you want it to be, can have hair down to the floor and wear dresses and super high heels... Because it's a doll! Nobody can tell you what to do with this hobby. I like that a lot too.

 

Aside from the dolls I have based on media characters, each of my dolls is an aspect of my own personality expressed in doll form.

Megumi, my oldest BJD, is the assertive, practical, and somewhat avant-garde side of myself. She is totally self-assured and unafraid to express herself in any way she chooses. Nothing ever ruffles her composure, ever. Well, hardly ever. She loves to paint and sketch.

Miyae is a misfit, an outsider, never quite part of the group, yet she is secure with her own identity. She's not afraid of hard work--likes it, in fact. She's brave and strong and oddly shy at times. She likes to sing.

Ashe is the rebel. She doesn't have an attitude problem, but other people have a problem with her attitude and she doesn't give a damn. She's loud, aggressive, pushy, rebellious, and a lot more sensitive than she lets on. She plays guitar.

Isabelle is the mystical one. She's a witch, a psychic, and deeply grounded in her bayou/Cajun heritage. She's spirited and somewhat cynical, but she has a good heart and deeply cares about her friends. She writes poetry.

Chaeri is relentlessly chipper. She's a free spirit, cheerful, perky, and friendly to everyone who will let her be. She likes to help people out and is always willing to lend a hand. She has her own style, but that style changes every ten minutes or so. She's comfortable in her own skin, so she's comfortable in everything she wears--from pink sparkles to black leather to spandex. She loves to dress up, but she's not a show-off. She enjoys dancing, though she doesn't think she's very good at it.

Each of these is me, to an extent. None of them are wholly me, but they're all part of me. Each of their artistic talents is one I personally possess to some degree. Even their weaknesses are mine. Megumi's nearsighted (but too vain to wear glasses), Miyae's afraid of heights, Ashe can't cook, Belle gets sunburned easily, and Chaeri gets lost very easily.