Of Barbies and BJDs

Well I think I took a turn for them worse D8 I remember not even liking Barbies when I was 4 not too sure why I remember that but I had been torturing them quite a while after that. Till I was about 8. But then I got into Bratz dolls and got a million of them xD Sitting somewhere.

But I think when I get BJD's more of what I've done in art classes and textiles will take place. I prey that what I've done to my barbies doesn't D;

 

I've played with barbie dolls since I can remember. Every summer I used to go to Korea and stay with my cousins and used to play with paper dolls and Korea's version of Barbie called Mimi (she looks more like Japan's Jenny dolls) until we were 14. I took up Takara Jenny dolls and then got into collecting anime related dolls. Then I got into Bratz dolls. Then one summer in Korea my cousin took me to Volks Korea and introduced me to BJD's and the smaller Obitsu dolls. I feel in love with the 1/6th scale Obitsu dolls and LOVED the notion that they were customizable! Then I moved onto the 60cm Obitsus and the Volks Dollfie Dream. I was later invited to fanime con where I saw an Elfdoll Soah in person I fell in love. My husband (boyfriend at the time) transferred me money via paypal and bought her for me!

I still love looking at Barbie dolls whenever I go to Walmart, Target, and ToysrUs. I still like collecting 1/6th dolls but I do focus a little more on BJD's now.

 

I suppose I'm a bit different....I wasn't entirely your "typical" girl...
Does attaching fireworks to barbies count as playing? (lol)

I never played with dolls as a child since I found them creepy. I preferred plastic dinosaur toys and action figures. I think it was mostly because the aesthetic of the usual North American toy doll didn't appeal to me at all. For me, BJDs are totally different because their aesthetic is much different, and thus far more appealing to me.

My mom is amused at how I hated dolls as a child, but now spend money and effort on them as an adult...

 

This will be fun to answer!
How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time? I was probably 12 when I stopped playing with Barbies. I remember that I really ruined them badly. I cut one of my girl dolls hair and pretended she was a boy because I didn't have one (until the next Christmas came along). I also cut the clothes up (made a long prom dress into a mini skirt), and destroyed my Barbie house by "remodeling" it.

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs? Oh, a lot has carried over but I treat my BJD's much better. I would say my love for customization and building has carried over because I'm a sculptor. I like challenging myself to sewing the clothes, making my own doll wigs, and building furniture and settings around them. It's much better than it was when I was a kid.

 

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?
I stopped playing with them actively when I was fourteen. However I still pull mine out sometimes and play with them, dress them up, set them up, play with their hair. I gave up playing with them actively since none of my friends were anymore and I didn't have others to play with, and I found myself wanting to dress them up more and make them "look nice" rather then playing with them actively.

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?
I treat my BJD's exactly the same as I do my barbies now, except that I put them on display more. Also they are more personal then barbies, as they look more like my characters then my barbies did. Strangely though, most of my barbies are female whereas most of my bjd's are male.

 

One thing that drove me to the idea of customs and BJDs is the individuality of the dolls. Of my hoard no two are the exact same doll, head sculpt, skin tone, body type. I have a pair of same mold twins but one has blue eyes and one brown, their face ups are different too. Making the exact face I want, along with the exact hair etc, is the biggest draw.

 

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?
I must have been about 13 or 14 when I stopped playing with barbies. I've always loved them (even now) and the only reason I stopped playing with them is because it became boring and just wasn't the same as when I was younger. I wish I could still play with them though, it was fun.

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?
Yes! I used to come up with stories and characters for my dolls, even though either of those things wouldn't always stick, and I think that's what I find appealing about BJD's, because they're far more customizable and posable.

 

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?
I was 13 but that was definitely considered a bad thing in the community that I knew. Me and a girl that lived close to my Gran adored them still at 10, and told each other we would stop when we got to 13. Where I'm from, you should stop playing with dolls at about 7 or 8 latest, so we had to keep it a secret. Around 13 we started maturing so were less interested in them at that point.

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?
Not really. Well maybe... We used to set all the clothes/props/dolls/shoes out and take turns choosing which we wanted and then ages setting our area up which was a lot of fun but doesn't really apply to BJDs at all. But what I really liked about dolls was the roleplaying and creating stories with them. All of my dolls have stories and I've never roleplayed with them, but that's not because I don't want to - I've just never RP'd on the internet before and find it a bit daunting. So I suppose the essense is similar.

 

I was never much of a girly-girl growing up. I had Barbies, and I had one or two that were my favorites, but I didn't really play with them. I preferred playing with action figures, army men, toy dinosaurs and my large collection of Hot Wheels. That's not to say I never played with my Barbies, I did from time to time, but they were never my favorites. Barbies were less practical because you had to worry about things getting in their hair, or mud staining their outfits. They were mostly for playing with in the house, and I didn't really play indoors very much unless it was raining.

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?
I'm actually a little embarrassed to be saying this. But...
I stopped playing with my toys as a whole when I was 16 or 17. It was something I never told my friends, but of course my younger siblings knew, because I often played with them. I think a part of it is because I'm from a big family - I'm five years older than the next sister down. I have five younger siblings, and the youngest was born when I was 14. Because of that, there was always someone who needed a playmate. It never felt forced, though - I was as into it when I was in high school as I was when I was a small child. I had all these voices for my different toys, and we had all sorts of 'storylines' worked out that we played at continuously.

The biggest reason that I stopped playing was simply because I had to. Once I was 16, my Dad started riding me to get a job and start pulling my weight in the family. I needed to work harder and do more odd jobs trying to save up for my first car, and I just really never had time to play after that.

I still have a box full of my favorite toys, though, and it's a bigger box than I'm willing to tell you Sometimes I really wish I could find the time to pull them all out, set it all up, and play with them. I don't think I've ever really outgrown my toys. I have to go through the toy aisle every time my husband and I go shopping, and my desk is covered in toys that I fiddle with while I'm working on things at the computer, so I'm beginning to think I'll never really outgrow them or playing with them - I just won't have the time to do it.

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?
Well, I was always pretty big into customizing my Barbies when I did play with them. I didn't really make clothes for them, but I did modify clothes by adding to them. I also cut their hair and re-styled it a lot, or wiped off their faces and repainted them because I hated the dumb, vacant expressions they all seemed to have. Now that I've gotten older, I have a few dolls I've taken apart, that I plan to redo entirely (Rerooting hair or repainting faces) when I have time... So I suppose a lot of that carries over to my BJD. I love customization, and I've had a total blast playing with shaping my boy into what I want him to be.

 

I didn't really play with barbies. I had a couple because some of my relatives sent them to me but I didn't like them so I didn't play with them. I preferred Transformers, Voltron, trucks and animal toys. I had a younger brother I used to play with and most of my other friends, when I chose to interact with other people, were either boys or one tomboy girl. I did have toy horses that I liked and even my little ponies but I never could get in to barbies. I think that is one of the reasons my collecting these dolls is so strange for my mother. I even play with these dolls at least as much as I did with my toys as a child I think. I was never one to play very rough with my toys. I was more one to set up elaborate scenes and then imagine what the characters might be doing or saying. Same with my dolls now. My favorite games were pretend play without toys and my favorite possessions have always been books.

 

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?


I stopped playing with dolls around 14 or so. Never really paid much attention to Barbie even though I had a few but I had plenty of my sisters Dawn Doll hand me downs ( Dawn was like a smaller version of Barbie with tons of fashionable wear) and my brothers GI Joe and Johnny West. It wasn't until I was 35 that I got into Blythe and then came across Den of Angels then got into BJD's. I decided BJD's were the perfect fit, so I sold all my Blythes.


Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?


Since I never liked Barbie so much she was always the slutty character, or the mean girl, or the one who got sat in the corner. Now I have all boy dolls and I treat them like I used to treat GI Joe, always with respect. I do see a lot of the fashion part cross over. I used to spend hours dressing my dolls and toys and coming up with outfits and such, and with these guys it's the same thing.

 

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?
Sometime during elementary school. I got bored with my Barbies and got into Pokemon.

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?
...I tried to sew for my Barbies, but being like... 8 didn't really give me sewing capabilities worth speaking of and that darned Barbie Fashion Designer program didn't really help. Though I treated my Barbies pretty badly. If there was anything I hated about dolls, it was brushing their darned hair.... I suppose that's why my dolls wear fur wigs most of the time.

 

I stopped playing with Barbies sometime in middle school, right around the time I got my first game console. And then I gave most of them away to cousins, but I do still have the 'collectable' ones, just because I always thought they were prettier. But I treat my dolls much differently than I ever treated Barbies--none of my Barbies ever had a set personality, and all of my dolls have definite names and characters.

 

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?
That's difficult to say. I had been rather 'old' to stop playing. I would say something around 17. This may sound odd- but later I played more adult themes. Had been the time of Beverly Hills 90210 for Germany- some years later than in the US. So I played Highschool and musical. As I had no interest in boys or other teenage stuff at that time I had a quite lonely teenage time. So I guess playing with Barbie gives me some company. My sister started to play again with Barbie with her best friend at that time as well- she had been 20/21 at that time- so I guess it didn't feel odd for me to play with Barbie towards my family. Of course I hid the fact in front of my mocking classmates.

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?
Once my sister told me about the Collectors Barbies I got quite maniac about them- especially the historic and fantasy dolls. Some years later I started to write and I dreamt of make my characters alive. Unfortunately there had been no Kens who would have been suitable. Especially as in Germany we have a smaller assortment than USA. As I had grew up with dolls- the only child of my mother who inherited the doll gene ^^- I always wished for long haired handsome guys. There had been quite beauitful Barbies, but most of the Ken dolls had been well... not my type of men. I dreamt about an adult doll in the size of a traditional doll since teenage time. I came to this hobby quite late- in 2009- thanks to a friend and it had been like- my dream had come true. BJDs now gave me the chance to do what Barbie could not give me- the make my characters alive. I never sewn for Barbie- far too tiny, but I was fascinated by the Star Wars customized Barbie Dolls of one of my best friends. Whenever I saw them it was like sighing- I wish I had a doll I can sew all I like for....

So I would say that Barbie carried me to BJD in a way. Although I treat them quite differently. I sew for my BJD and make some photosessions with them. Such things I never did with Barbie

 

1. I was still playing with Barbies in High school ( we called it CARDS ) LOL

2. I still play with Barbies and Dawn dolls, and my BDJ's.

 

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?
I don't remember but I got a few Barbies and things as gifts. I got bored of them pretty fast and also because they kept turning up in pieces...uh, don't know how that happened. >_>;;

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?
Taking off their heads.

And strangely enough I kept all of my Barbie's cutlery, food and miniature kitchen, yet threw away the Barbie... most of the things can't be used for BJD-scale but currently I'm still trying to find little BJD-scaled props, and someday make a nice scene for photos..

 

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?
I never really stopped playing with them so much as the *way* I played with them changed. When I was younger I was hard on my Barbies. I would color over her make up with markers and once I discovered nail polish remover took it off entirely I was estatic. I think I even wiped eyes off and redid them. I had my first Barbies in the early 90s when the hair had curls at the ends and the clothes had thick velcro that would just turn the beautiful curls into a nightmare tangle. So...I cut it. XD And sometimes I'd try to cut the hair into a bob or some other short style that struck me as cute only to wonder why the hair wouldn't lay right. I really didn't mean to be wicked; I was just trying to make my dolls better. I think I finally stopped haircutting and attempting make-overs once the Princesses of the World line came out. So that made me...wow, either about to graduate high school or early college. I suddenly decided that I liked playing gently with them. By the time the LotR dolls came out I'd started leaving the really special Barbies in the box or setting them out on display for a short time. Sometimes I would take them out of the box but not off the cardboard, fix something (Galadriel's hair static clinging to the plastic), and then put them back in. I had a few MyScenes and some of the newer ones on my desk throughout college, and I think the last one I bought was one of the Little Black Dress series.

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?
Basic customizing and making up stories. I actually made more things (clothes, props, food, etc.)for my barbies than I do for my bjds. I also carried over a hesitancy to alter hair in any way as well as no desire for curl wigs! XD

 

How Old were you when you stopped playing with barbies? Was it young due to needing to feel older or was it because you just felt it was time?


I think I was twelve? I don't know, I stopped getting interested in them as I got up to that point. I think I was just bored with them after a while and went more into drawing, sob.

Was there anything that you did with barbies, that carried over to how you treat your BJDs?

Since I used to make clothing for barbies (a very poor attempt) that's the only thing that's rolled over with my BJDS.

 

I only had a couple Barbies when I was young. I usually played with my friend's dolls. I stopped "playing with friends" at 12 because it was uncool, but always loved that kind of thing even past that. Now I don't care about being cool to other people.