Paying more for your Doll's clothing than your own....

Yeah, I'm guilty of spending more money on Kiril's clothes than my own.

When I go shopping, I usually hit hand-me-down stores (there's tons of cute clothes there for really cheap ), and I'm still wearing a lot of the same clothes that I did in fifth grade I don't really shop for myself. But I love buying/making clothes for Kiril.

 

thats is a big problem for me.i get all my stuff at payless or walmart, so the prices for my clothes run nice and low. but to get a pair of boots for me is about 19-30$ whereas getting my kids a pair of boots can go anywhere from 20-60$. i realize how hard it must be to make wee little shoes but still. no way on earth is my mom gonna let me spend more on one pair of shoes for a dollie when " for the same price you can get your self 3 pairs. *rolls eyes* so my dollies currently have one pair of shoes to share till i get a job ^_^ (same thing goes for pants when i can find them)

 

Haha...I dress in gothic/lolita clothing so my clothes are defiantely a zillion times more expensive than my dolls...
Also I make my own clothes so that saves me a bit of cash, and if I ever feel productive enough, I want to make stuff to sell because I have some amazing Chinese brocades from China (not the fake polyester printed ones that tend to be sold in stores) and I also have some amazing Japanese fabric and gothic lolita custom trims from Japan... I could use the extra cash...ahaha

 

My clothes are always cheap/2nd hand stuff. I can't get over doll clothes costing more than my own clothes, but you know what? I certainly wish I could get some of these doll styles in my own sizes!

Currently, I'm learning how to make my own clothes, because really...I just can't logic out spending $50 on a pair of shoes for my doll. I mean...I can't logic out spending $50 on a pair of shoes for myself! Plus, I need a good excuse to learn how to make clothes! ^__^

 

I wear clothes from the marketplace or night markets. My dolls wears imported Korean/American/Hong Kong made clothes.
Sign.... But i'm sure most parents treat their kids better.

 

LOL!!! Raven, I am sure you are not frumpy dumpy...I have always pictured you with swingy long black hair and very hip looking...
Anyhow, back on topic...as a seamstress, I can attest to the fact that fabric is EXPENSIVE. Y'all who live in NYC or wherever and can shop at wholesale prices, you are very lucky...here, good silk is $20 a yard, good rayon velvet or high quality cotton or linen is $10-15 a yard and up. And add to that the cost of the seamstress' time, and you see why so many BJD clothes are so pricey. Many of the outfits I see here are more than just clothes, they are works of art sculpted in fabric. So you are paying for something truly special.

When someone commissions an outfit from me, it's not just a yard or so of pretty fabric. It's the time I spend PMing my clients back and forth, discussing ideas. It's time spent going to fabric stores searching for just the right fabric and trims for that client. It's time spent drafting or tweaking a pattern so that the outfit fits the client's doll. And then taking pictures of the finished product, sending them to the client (which takes surprisingly long time, especially for me on a dialup connection!!), then wrapping and packaging and going to the post office. Allthat is not counting time spent at the sewing machine and ironing board...the actual sewing can take upwards of 6-7 hours per outfit.

Hopefully, with BJDs as with everything else, you get what you pay for. The better BJD stuff I have seen is exquisite-- hand finished hems and trims, perfect fit, etc. Again, some of these outfits are so lovely (not mine, but others! ) that they count as art!

Now, as for sewing for real people-- yes, it's tons easier (if only my 6 yr old daughter would oblige me and dress in ruffles and frills ) but the fabric ends up costing more, since so much more is needed. I can make a medieval gown for an SD using 1 yd of fabric. The same gown for me, for a Renn faire, took around 5 yards. At $15 a yard for velveteen...ouch! My everyday clothes are a bit less spectacular; good casual things (Gap, Ann Taylor Loft-- on sale stuff), but still not very expensive. I'm a teacher so I have to look somewhat professional. My most expensive clothing purchases were my wedding gown ($300, in 1988 ) and more recently, a new martial arts uniform ($100!! Again, ouch!!)

 

Sorry, but I think it's stupid to spend that much money for clothing for a doll that already dug a huge whole in your pocket. This is why I am thankful I can sew. When I bought my doll I new I was going to be making 95% of his clothing. I know for some people they can't do this which sucks. If I couldn't make my own clothing for my dolls as beautiful as they are I might have not even bought them because I know how much it would cost me to cloth them.

If you go to a fabric store and ask for the ends of fabric they can't sell they usually charge you about at the most $3 for it (and good quallity fabric, I've got kimono type fabric for about that much). You can usually make about two outfits out of what they give you. If you learn to sew just even the simple stitches it would save you a lot of time. It may not be as clean as a sewing machine, but better than paying $40 for a pretty simple outfit. And a lot of people have sewing machines in their home they don't use anymore. Maybe your relative has one and they can teach you how to use it. Sewing isn't as difficult as people make it out to be.

 

Actually it doesn't surprise me at all. I thought the clotheing prices were crazy too, that is...Until I actually made my boys clothes. Sewing tiny things are a lot harder than human clothes...@.@

 

I'm cheap when it comes to clothing in any case. I'll usually only buy clothing that is on sale. (It's also a budget thing) ..And I usually just live off whatever I get for Christmas. I'm also just a tee, jeans and hoodie sorta girl, but I also have prof. pieces for gallery showings and interviews.

I get more sticker shock from peoples clothing than I do doll clothing. I can appreciate doll clothing more as art and I know how time-consuming sewing can be.. And having been to and purchased things from arts and craft shows, the doll clothing/outfits aren't that expensive.

 

Yeah WallyWorld is pretty much a bust 99.999% of the time! But it's that .001% that keeps me cruising through it when I'm there. I've been cruising the 'net lately & I'm getting ready to order from both Fabric.com & one of the silk sites (whose name escapes me now). The ones that cater to quilter's are especially good because they often deal in smaller yardages.

Yes I do have "WTF am I doing spending this much money on something so TINY" moments but like Zenfu and Raven said my dolls get to wear the things I can't/won't wear or most often, don't come in my size.

I think that paying what we do for doll clothes is like so much else in any luxury hobby --- 1) shop around & shop carefully, 2) adapt/make what you can or 3)just suck it up. Simple guidelines true but everyone still likes to have the occasional whinge about it all.

Morgan

 

you know, in a way ithink that,such expensive dolls shouldnt wear cheap clothes once i made my boy shorts, and they got big stain from the mud and it didnt bother me but my mom said, why are you making your expensive doll wear such dirty clothes? it made me think...
i must admit, i rarely go clothes shopping, only during sales because otherwise i'll go crazy because i'm so picky. shopping for doll clothes is so much easier >_<

 

It scares me that I spend more on clothes for my dolls than I do for myself too!

The thing to remember though, is that working very small like that is difficult, and takes a great deal of skill to do well. So you are paying for the artistry.

The good thing about it, is that if you take care of the dollfie clothes, they don't lose value, and depending on how limited the item is, may even gain value. Most human clothes depreciate and aren't necessarily resellable.

I think that about doll shoes too - they don't wear out like human shoes, they don't outgrow them, and you can always resell them!

But it is funny when I think $100 is a bargain for a dollfie outfit, but I wouldn't pay that for myself!

Also - I don't like buying cheap looking clothes for my dolls. If I'm going to pay nearly $1000 for a doll, I want to make it look like it's worth that, and not cheap out on the clothes. If I've spent that much on the doll, what's another $100. Obviously it's all in what you can afford, but if the doll cost that much, I want it to look good.

 

I actually have no idea which I spend more money on. I don't buy clothes very often, and usually get stuff on sale, so my own cost isn't much. But I keep doing the same thing for the doll that I do formyself, looking at nice/expensive clothes, and thinking that I could make that for a lot less. Which is funny, since before getting my boy I had really not made much more than a skirt and a couple of basic Barbie outfits (that's how my mom taught me to sew).
Now I've spent a bunch getting my grandmother's old machine set up to actually use (I got it from her with one needle, one bobbin, and no instruction manual), and so far I've only completed doll clothes on it, but successfully making the doll clothes has given me the courage to start making my own. And when I mentioned that to my mom she warned me people were much harder to sew for, her reasoning, humans twitch.

 

My doll outfits definitely cost more than my own, but it's more fun to shop for them than me...Isabelle doesn't get depressed because her butt's too fat for a swimsuit. No figure quirks to compensate for, she looks great in anything I choose for her. It's worth every penny.

 

It seems like human clothes that take the least fabric cost the most money. I wonder if it's the same basic idea...

Just joking. :P

Considering that it doesn't take much less time and effort to make a doll's outfit than it does a human's outfit, I'd expect the price to be reasonably high. Plus you're often buying clothes of higher quality materials and with more trim and complications than you'd wear yourself.

 

i often spend way more on my doll then i do on myself.

 

Definitely, it is their clothes, shoes or even other accessories. It shocked me since the beginning in the hobby and still it does, but I cannot help it. The cost hurts me more when it is something for me instead of for them.

 

I've only ever done this once. My justification was that the outfit I purchased for my doll was the only outfit he'd ever wear. I think that's reason enough.

 

I can relate to this - the cost hurts more when it's something for me instead of for the doll.

When I first started (just last year), I couldn't imagine spending $200+ on a doll, let alone for some outfits. I don't buy whole sets, I tend to do separates and go for a casual look.. But I just bought a pair of jeans (loooove them!) for my incoming mnf - working pockets, belt loops, etc. I showed them to a non-doll friend and her daughter and said "look, my doll has cuter jeans than I do".. I also just told my husband recently that I hadn't purchased any clothes for myself since this time last year.. and I was going to have to give in and get a few things this summer. When I see something at the store, I ask myself.. do I really want it, or would I rather go home and find a cute shirt/skirt/shoes/whatever for one of my dolls. What's worse, is that none of them really have any outfits I am totally gaga over. But with mnf I'm definitely rectifying that!

 

Pffft- I'd never spend more on a doll anything then I would on one for me. I like clothing myself waaaaay more than I like buying clothes for my dollies. Mostly, I make all of their clothes, and with the exception of the odd item I can't make, I'll buy it- but only when I've got extra money and I'm in the mood. My clothes come first by far. For example, I spent about the price of a nine-style full set in Forever 21 the other day, and I have yet to buy a jacket that will complete my boy's outfit. (He'll get it when I'm good and ready to drop bloody $25 on it! Which may be never when I really think about it...)