Most popular doll sizes currently?

I've been in the hobby since 2008, and it seems like a big shift, to me. It used to be all SD and MSD, but now it seems more like 70-75cm boys, and a lot of slim mini girls. Minifee seems to still be popular, but a lot of independent artist dolls are in the 1/4 height range, and everywhere from super skinny to pear shaped to plus size.

 

1/3 boys have gotten bigger, and 1/4 girls have gotten shorter. It's normal for larger boys to be 70+cm, even 75+ (where that used to be the exception), and it's much more common to find "slim minis" instead of the old standard MSD size. Of course, with artist dolls becoming hugely popular, "slim mini" isn't always consistent. As the previous poster said, they vary from super skinny to very pear shaped (huge hips) to plus sized. They're almost always short for a 1/4 though.

There are of course exceptions- there always will be. But these are the trends I've noticed as someone consistently in the hobby since 2012. I think overall the trend has been toward more human-like proportions, rather than the large-headed shapes we're used to (again, there are exceptions).

 

I had a similar lapse that I only came back from a couple years ago, so I'm in a similar boat to you. From hanging around this forum, I've noticed the same shift everyone else has - from SD and MSD to 75 boys and slim minis, that are much shorter and wispier than I remember. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the wide range of sizes that are available now compared to ten (or even 20 ) years ago, but it's been an adventure learning how incredibly different the hobby's become and how to temper your expectations for the current market, rather than the market back then. This being said, I recently picked up a 15 year old Lati Yellow and I'm completely in love - such a sturdy little thing, with a good amount of weight to them so you can really feel the doll in your hand. My other tinies feel flimsy in comparison, and they're only a few years old.

Edit to Add: I've also noticed some things have all but disappeared from the hobby - entire doll lines have ceased production, many companies have shuttered (a good chunk didn't survive the Panini), and others have shifted their focus, sometimes completely off of dolls and more towards clothing and wigs.

Tinies, for example, are much more niche, and several companies no longer create them. Pukipuki is exceedingly rare, only rereleased briefly and then promptly discontinued again. Crobi T-Line is the same. LaTi is one of the only companies still making dolls smaller than 1/6 consistently, but good ol reliable Resinsoul/Bobobie still has more or less the exact same catalogue they've had for as long as I can recall.

The most recent example I can think of is LeekeWorld - they very recently (within the past six months even) completely discontinued all dolls, and their wigs are now only available through dealers. It's unclear whether they're simply redesigning and plan to re-open, or have completely stepped out of the dollmaking space.

 

Most of my collection is old-school and it can be tricky to find stuff for them. It is hard to find clothes/shoes for 1/3 dolls who are not "uncle" size (ca 75cm beefcakes) sometimes, and it seems like SD-sized girls have also stretched out to 68cm or so, with slim bodies and much wider shoulders. 9-10 wigs or 18mm+ eyes are not serviced that often any more.

I would argue with the above that slim minies have not gotten smaller, but bigger. There are many of 1/4 boys released in the 50cm category (kind of as an equivalent to the "uncle" sized dolls) and 45cm+ girls with slim features and wide shoulders has been an ongoing trend the last few years as well.

On the opposite mini scale are Puyoo or "bear girls" as you encounter stuff for them on TaoBao. They are a bit chonkier than the old volks MSD and have pear shaped bodies with slightly larger feet (their shoes are too large for msd).

I think the new standard sizes are largely dictated by what Chinese makers are offering as clothing/shoes/wigs etc, as the majority of accessories is coming from there and they list sizing often after specific body sculpts, like "id75" or "cd2" (charmdoll mini boy), "bear girl" (Puyoo), "dfh" (mostly for mini girls) etc. Unfortunately, trend cycles have also been speeding up with dolls it seems, so this changes a lot as something specific gains a lot traction again. Should your doll be labubu-sized, you'll have a field day rn lol

 

I remember in the 2010s there were more yo sd and msd sculpts back then. I personally see a lot more 60+ cm sculpts nowadays.

 

That covers pretty much exactly what I was going to say, except there are some taller MSD size trends for both boys and girls too, so that scale seems to have spread in all directions with less representation in the old "standard" MSD sizes, as far as I've seen

Teddy

 

I think it would be less confusing for everyone in the hobby if each was labeled differently ie: slim mini is a good example. Collecting older dolls it would be nice to see *true MSD* which reference VOLKS MSD size or even if it said VOLKS MSD size. Definitely makes searches difficult. I made the mistake of custom ordering an outfit even giving exact sizing and the artist sent what would fit *slim mini* not *true MSD* I even explained in the pre-comission stage that MSD size was a brand specific term. But I guess nothing has caught on like those old VOLKS terms.

 

It is very hard to find any 1/3 scale doll under 68cm these days.

 

I've been aware of the hobby since ~2009 and an active participant since 2012 or so, and I concur with a lot of what has been said here. The most popular sizes seem to be big "Uncle" beefcakes, the 50cm sized down equivalents, petite/ultra-slim MSDs, Puyoo dolls, and MDDs. That said, as with most other hobbies with heavy social media presences, the cycle of what is popular has been speeding up, so it's harder to keep track if you're not actively buying/selling. Artist casting has also gained a lot of interest/momentum in recent years, so even if a size isn't typically considered "popular," it may go through brief renaissances in accordance with preorder announcements and deliveries.

Traditional SD sizes have fallen out of favor by a lot, though, and as someone who generally prefers the 58-62cm range, it's a bit sad!

I think you nailed it with regards to the Uncle size -- there's a lot of room for detail and engineering, which is especially important when you're looking for "cosdolls," or dolls to cosplay specific beloved characters from other media (looking at you, Love and Deep Space).

You are also correct, what is "popular/on trend" in the hobby right now is basically synonymous with whatever is popular in the Chinese BJD community at the moment. I cannot read/speak Chinese, but from my secondhand understanding, the community over there has exploded in recent years, so most clothing/accessories brands are servicing what's popular in their native region at the moment.

 

Tangentially related, I've noticed that the clothing/accessories styles available for the popular sizes are also very different. With large dolls being so popular, there's lots of very elaborate fantasy outfits. I kind of miss the more simple punky lolita-esque style that was already outdated by the time I started the hobby ~10 years ago. Cute lolita dresses are still around of course but even those are more aligned with current fashion trends and are also a lot more detailed. Streetwear is also more common I think, which suits the larger male dolls which are proportioned more maturely. Years ago I really would have never guessed that China would be the epicenter of BJD trends given the prevalence of Korean dollmakers, but a large community and relative ease of access to manufacturing would do that I suppose!

What I want to know is if 75cm will really be the limit and if girls will keep getting smaller! Maybe every dollmaker will soon have their own 1/2 boy and the standard girl will be Barbie sized!

 

I completely agree that 70+ is the new size range for 1/3 boys! I'm in the process of upgrading my oldest boy to a 70cm as he looks out of place with my newer tall boys.

I think the biggest gap from the hobby at the moment though, is the dissappearance of "Big Baby" dolls. There don't appear to be many companies left that sell them. I think the most recent loss was Luts discontinuing their Baby Delf line...

 

Different sizes of dolls are popular in some regions over others.

The most popular size in South Korea are tinies apparently. They are also especially popular with children (I think the equivalent of our late grade school and middle school). I think MSDs are second most popular — they get less popular the larger they go over there.

In the west, it’s MSDs, especially slim MSDs. Apparently there are a few companies, including Fairyland, who only sell from an English page for instance. I found out from a South Korean wiki on BJDs that a lot of hobbyists there aren’t even aware that Fairyland is a domestic company for them.

Then there’s the big dolls, 70cm, especially male dolls that are popular in China. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is also the driving force behind female dolls trending on the larger side as well, 65cm seems to be more popular than 60cm used to be.

Not sure which size is most popular in Japan — I just know that Volks is by far the most popular. If I had to guess it would still be 60cm girls, but I am not totally sure about that!

Anyway I definitely fit the trend of the west lol. I love MSDs, though I really like taller MSDs! Most of my dolls are MSDs as is the majority of what tends to be on my wishlist. No Fairyland for me though.

 

For the male sculpts, it's definitely the uncle sizes (70+cm's). In fact, it is sooo popular that it frustrates me to no end that most of the dorrie clothes I want to buy only cater to the these big bois.