On Doll Carriers: Fit In or Stand Out?

My first cases were from Anemone, so they are made of wacky prints. Lately doll carriers are becoming a new collection of mine. I love finding neat suitcases and unrelated carrying cases with cute, different designs. I figure the weirder the case, the less likely for me to mix it up when I meet up with other doll people.

 

I don't think it would matter to me. I love to carry flamboyant bags so a doll carrier would be no different. My schoolbag is hot pink and purple. ^_^

 

My doll carrier is a bright red yoga mat bag, I wanted it to stand out because I wanted other people to be aware of it in case they sat on it or bashed it accidentally, so red is a nice warning colour.

I am thinking of getting a larger bag to accomodate more dolls, but we shall see. At the moment I only take them out one at a time, so my current bag is just right.

 

I have no 'formal' doll bag, though I use my 30+ year old hand-me-down-hand-me-down (grandma to mom to me) L.L. Bean military style backpack for now, I can fit in my MSD girl easily as well as my tiny dollfie, for the future I feel that i could stick in an SD with them, or 2 msd's, it's pretty roomy in there. It doesn't stick out at all, I also use it for school actually and with military being in now it makes me hip so not really a 'stand out bag' but it has it's place XD

 

I'd probably just get a typical black one and then add a few little odds and ends trimmings like keychains or something. :< I don't like things too bright and colorful.

 

I have several Iplehouse & Luts carriers that I got with dolls along with an MSD one from Impldoll. They're just standard black & white & are fine for me. I pay much less attention to a bag's look than how effective it is to carry dolls in. (Yes dolls with an S. I seldom have just one to a carrier.) Besides, being plain & boring doesn't indicate that anything special is inside.

 

If someone wants to steal your carrying bag they're going to do it whether it's bright or not. If you're really worried about it then you should consider getting a large tote bag or something similar that the doll will fit in.

 

My doll carriers really stand out and I'm not at all shy if it comes to attention. I handmade my coffin case which holds an SD to SD13 sized doll. I've brought it to meet ups, Dolpa's, though college, and several times through the airport and haven't had any trouble with it.

Mostly people who aren't doll owners think it's a musical instrument case that carries a Violin or a cue stick bag. I'm not too worried about it being stolen because I always have my eyes on it and hold on to it if I'm at the airport or any other place not doll related. Also I'm a tough person so if someone did to try to steal it from me... they'd get the case swung hard in their face followed by a couple of punches and kicks (The walls of the case are made of wood)

 

Bright colours, all the way! I'd go with something that has a lot of purple and green in some pretty, abstract design - I'd much rather have something that reflects my personality than a generic bag. As for the thief issue - I can see why that would be aggrivating. Whenever I go on trips I always have my eye on my bag until it gets to to the employees, and I try to be the first one to the luggage belt. Solves that problem!

 

I don't think it would matter for me since my dolls are small and most would assume it's a sort of makeup carrier.

 

I use a colorfully brocaded rolling sewing machine case to transport my SD. It holds a large amount of stuff, it stands out, I don't have to actually carry it, and since everyone assumes it's holding a sewing machine, noone wants to steal it...

 

I had a unique way to comprise...

See, I made my doll carrying case myself, so I could make it exactly the way I wanted. The oustide is dark grey, so it blends in with everything else in existance, basically. However, the inside of the case is lined with this great fabric that is patterned to look life a medieval tapestry in these wonderful reds, blues, greens, and golds. So my personality really is represented by the case, but you can only see that when it's open. ^^

 

I'd like one to stand out if I had the choice, maybe the company logo way more noticeable?
My black MSD Luts carrier, the Luts logo is small and in black. I'd like it to be white and a bit larger.
If I'm walking around with one of my carriers, I'd like other BJD fans to see me! xD

For instance at the Michigan Ren Fest meet last year, I only found one other person. Others said they saw me carrying a black carrier, but didn't know for sure it was a doll carrier.

 

My first carrier was a gift from Dollmore during their birthday event. It's very simple (no pockets or logo) and a kind of beige colour. I can fit 2 MSDs + 1 tiny or 1 SD + 1 MSD in it, so it serves it's function nicely and is pretty discreet. It's not pretty, but it doesn't stand out either. And I like it that way.

I did buy another one at a doll meet once that's a lot larger. It's pink and white checkered, with funky pink circles in different shades in all the squares. It could probably hold most of my dolls in it, however I have yet to actually use it in public xD; It feels bulky, and I feel the odd pink would attract attention. Since I do most of my traveling by subway, I feel the less distracting the bag looks, the better.

I used to use a large backpack lined with doll pillows when I needed to take my SD + a couple MSDs out, but since I no longer have that with me I will probably have to suck it up and use the big, pink LaiDoll bag. At least until I order from Spirit Doll and (hopefully) get one of their nice black bags
I love seeing pretty and/or really interesting bags and would love one of my own if it wasn't for the fact that I dislike attention, haha.
Until I can maybe get up the nerve to buy a nice one in my favourite colour (green, huzzah), I'll stick with discreet colours, like that beige or black.

 

I would like a bag that blends in a bit... Maybe one that's bigger and could fit two dolls... I'm tired of people asking me if my doll carrier is a flute case.....
I like the ones that look like purses.

 

Well, generally speaking, blending is the best option. It atracts less unwanted attention, it's easier to fit with whatever you're wearing, and it's proably also easier to wash. And you can always put some pins on it, or sew some ornament. In my case, though...

Before I even found my first doll, I had already seen the red DZ carrier, the hard cased one. I loved that thing from the first moment. So, now I'm doubting between getting the red one, or the newest black one. And the only reason I'm really doubting is I've been told the red one is pretty uncomfortable to carry. But I'm a terrible klutz. Do you know Tonks, from the HP books? Well, I'm worse. So I'm worried I may trip, or the carrier may fall, and my dolls could break... And it's a cute bag

Bright colors are a must for me, but as long as I like the bag, I don't really care which one is. I'd love a blue one, though, and I may make one for myself in the future. It will have to be a big one, though, because almost all of my dollies are 70 cm, and that alone will stand out enough to not worry about the color. Besides, I want to get the coolcatz coffin one for my Phobos, so...

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Sorry if this question is off-topic, but... Does anyone here have a DZ hard-cased carrier? A friend of mine has one, and she says it's really uncomfortable. But she's got MSD sized dolls, and the carrier is meant to be for SD size. Is a soft bag more comfortable?

 

...I'm not sure I know HOW to blend in... I have a coffin purse, I'm resisting the urge to go buy a Transformers messenger bag, and I carried a black backpack with skull print on vacation. And I'm 35. My five-year-old has the same backpack in pink (she asked for it, and it was on clearance, what could I say?)... So yeah, whatever I carry my dolls in is likely to stand out no matter what.

 

I'm a fan of carriers that stand out. Doll cases that are unadorned black tend to blend in with every other doll case/luggage, and the last thing I want is for cases to get mixed up. I travel a lot and I find that it's helpful to have SOMETHING on any bag stand out, whether it's the color of the case itself or patches, tags, pins, etc. on the bag. That way 1) people are less inclined to mix up bags accidentally (or steal them on purpose) and 2) if a bag does go missing, there's identifying marks.

 

My clothing and style already stand out, so why shouldn't my doll carrier? The one I fell in love with was pink. X3 I want one that is a hotter pink though. I'll keep looking around, just in case it may appear!

 

I wouldn't ever leave my doll sitting anywhere without me. Come December when he's here that is.
I've spent so much on him already! Even after layaway there's his accessories! He's a picky character to buy for!
But for a carrier, what I do is I think of a design and I have one in my head. To me, the stability of the bag and shuffling in the bag is most important. What's on the outside is just dependant on the character's taste. For mine, it will be tacky. XD