Sock dresses and the anger they seem to generate.

R.O.T.F.L., not just at this but at so many of these posts! Seriously, this thread has reawakened my undying love for the intelligence and beauty that contrasts with the stupidity and bad grammar (from native English speakers, anyone who is not is allowed their bad grammar) that is this forum. Bravo people.

Two things, now I HAVE TO KNOW what Antique Rose eyes are Kim, running off to use Google M**ther F****er as Samuel Jackson said, and perpetrate some of the total genius sock ideas I am now having. Now I just have to find some old bags of Doritos for my background...

 

Something else to consider -- I would guess that a lot of people here aren't really wealthy. That's a big assumption to make. There are a lot of folks that have to do some major saving and/or work hard for the money they use to buy dolls and doll stuff. It hasn't just all landed in their laps. This isn't a wealthy vs poor issue, really.

Also again, nobody is talking about attacking folks who use sock dresses, it's just this one thread where an opinion was asked. When opinions get asked you get a variety of answers worded a variety of ways. Some are more tactful than others, but when you have this many people discussing something over the internet (worlds worst medium for misunderstandings) then this is what happens. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last. I don't think people are telling others to get out of the hobby so much as expressing confusion over some people's choices. No one is denying people of said choices -- every one here has said you can dress your doll however you want, but that doesn't mean that everyone is going to agree that it's a brilliant idea.

Also there's a lot of the 'E' word (elitist) being flung around, but some of the anti-elitists have behaved just as badly if not worse than those they've been accusing. Accusing one side of being rude and tactless is hypocritical when you (general you!) engage in the same behavior.

As an aside, I wonder if some of the hesitancy to save for real clothing stems from the erroneous idea that it's either all expensive, or that doll clothes "just aren't worth anything so why should I pay?" It's come up in threads before and this one several times where people just can't bring themselves to pay money for doll clothes. It's like the artistry and time spent to create the doll is worth the money and worth saving for, while the clothing is worth nothing. Again, no matter how hard it was, if people have a doll to dress in a sock dress, then they technically can save for clothes if they want, but there seems to be some kind of block about doing that (note that I said save -- I realize that not everybody can buy an outfit immediately). Hmmm.... I find it interesting.

 

I do not know if this is the same or not but my Iplehouse Jessica is wearing a sexy black strapless dress that is nothing more than the leg of a pair of black childrens tights---I have a few other things for her now but I keep going back to this "tight" dress I made her the day I got her--because frankly I think it looks really great---I think dresses made out of the right sock and put on the right way can look great--

 

pardon the fuzz on the bress I was playing with fake fur and it was still on the dress--lol

 

They're glass eyes made by the original eye master who created the original Zoukeimura glass eyes, but were available in small quantities in different sizes and more colours than FCS offered. The eye master unfortunately I believe may have actually passed away or fallen ill. In any case, they've not been made for years and years and only show up secondhand on y!j and go for crazy amounts. They are truly exceptional and beautiful eyes, however, and I would love to have a pair for my collection.

 

Do you have an aversion to sock dresses?

Nope. I've been making lots of sock sweaters for my Hujoo dolls, and when I get my Bobobie in, she's probably going to get one too. Not that it's going to be her only clothing, but they're fun to make, and it is at least something for the doll to wear until you have time to do something else.

Do you think it makes a doll less of a doll when it doesn't have what the avarage owner calls proper clothing?
Do you think less of the owner when they choose to either have a temporary sockdress or a permanent sock dress?

No, a doll is a doll is a doll. If it was wearing a potato sack, it would still be a doll (hey, there's an idea ). I don't think less of anyone for dressing their doll any way they choose, although if I'm honest I do think HIGHER of people who choose to make doll clothing themselves, no matter what material they use.

Let me now how you feel about sock dresses in general.

With a little creativity, clothes made out of socks don't even have to look cheap. I like making clothes out of all sorts of materials, including things like socks, ties and old jeans. Material is material no matter where it comes from and in what shape it's currently in. I think the key is making a sock look like it's not a sock. If it doesn't look like one, no one can make fun of it for being one.

Just one more thing, it seems to come up quite a bit, but I don't think anyone really thinks that this should be a hobby only for the wealthy (unless someone came out and said that expressly, honestly this thread has gotten pretty long already and I don't have time to read it ). Unfortunately, I do think it's a common problem that people who have a lot of money don't really understand what not having a lot of money is...for example, we all had a good laugh in my house the other day when one of the morning shows had some sort of meal on a shoe string budget segment where the "shoe string budget" was $40 for one meal cooked at home...

btw, I am someone from a family which has lived off of a parent's six figure income and off of foodstamps in my lifetime - in that order - so I understand that money comes and goes. Just don't think I'm trying to wage class warfare here...

LOL, you'd never know this thread was about something so seemingly silly as SOCK DRESSES...but I guess it all has to do with sock dresses and what they represent...perhaps the question we really are asking here is, "Is my doll not valid, am I not a valid member of this community, if I didn't spend as much money or time on my doll as others did???" Oh dear...and what does this idea of "doll" represent, if you think of these forums here as a microcosm of our modern society

 

I really enjoyed replying to this thread, btw. Sorry if I enjoyed it too much ^_^;;

 

LOL, the closest we've ever come to making a sock dress was using an old gold lame' scarf as a cocktail dress for a vintage doll of my roomie's. It was made of double fabric, so when we opened the ends we had a tube, and we just shoehorned her into it (--we didn't even hem the opened ends--it actually looked sexy that way =).

I can see "dressing" your doll in a sock just to have it not sitting around nude, but I can't see photo'ing her in it (unless her persona is that she's a homeless orphan, or the like) and I surely wouldn't take her anywhere in it. It is really not that hard to learn to sew simple things. I had no sewing experience when I joined the hobby and through the great tutorials on DoA , plus a few books, I've learned to make things like tank tops, skirts, vests and jeans that are perfectly presentable. If you have a worn-out blouse, t-shirt or pair of jeans lying around you have all the fabric you need for a doll outfit, so it's not a matter of investing money in it--just effort and time.

So yeah, it's no shame if you can't afford to dress your babies in haute couture all the time, but--even if it sounds mean--I wouldn't think too highly of someone who wouldn't take the time to dress a doll in anything more than a sock.

 

Heh, Gothic Lollipop has a good point here I think...we can get awfully self-conscious about being seen as "good mommies" =) and living up to the community's standard of what these beautiful dolls deserve.

It does seem to me--though I haven't been here long--that time is more of a "value" point than money in this issue. I doubt anyone can afford to turn out their dolls in nothing but company clothes or handmade tailored suits; everyone must have a few homemade things at least! But I think that just cutting holes in a sock and calling it a dress is looked down on not because socks are cheap, but because so little time and attention was invested in the project, which can translate (Mind now, I'm not saying everyone thinks this! just saying one COULD think) as "you don't care all that much about your doll". (As opposed to, say, hemming the arm holes and adding a collar/buttons, etc., and actually turning the sock into a cute tube dress, which would show time and TLC lavished on something for one's baby. =)) And because these dolls tend to draw such an intense level of emotional investment, that can become a sore point really fast.

Not going to get into it any more than that, but it seems that way to me.

 

AwakenedDreams - thats beautiful. It really is. Gorgeous doll looks gorgeous in little black dress. 'nuff said.

Oh, and for the record that Dollmore tube thing that kept getting waved around early looks like the top of a tube sock, or a sleeve, with a couple of (not perfectly aligned) hems. To me, anyway.

"Be Excellent To Each Other"

 

@Lizzard: Yes. It bugs the hell out of me. The 'anger' (if that is what you can call it) this thread is generating has nothing to do with sock dresses and everything with a general attitude that's been around here for years and is getting worse fast.

I don't like it either, but in this case I had the feeling that some people would automatically assume that Bill Gates was personally financing my hobby, so I did anyway.

It's kind of sad having to post an epistle of your life to explain your point so that people are not going to twist your words. Lol, perhaps we all should put a list of disclaimers in our signature, so we cannot be sued for anything we say.

 

Okay, it's time I put my two cents in, because I keep avoiding this thread, but I can do so no longer.
Everytime I see this thread, everytime, I nearly choke on my laughter. Just the title makes me go into a hysterical fit of giggling.

Seriously, I don't understand the controversy. Socks are socks. Dresses are dresses. Socks can be dresses. I love how some people get angry over it, but at least most people commenting here seem sane! I'm glad the majority of us don't care about sock dresses, because it's downright ridiculous for people to be angry about it. I feel that if someone has just bought a very expensive doll and they can't afford 'proper' clothes for it for the time being, then covering it up with a sock dress is fine! It's no different than you or I putting on a bathrobe to cover up. Plus, if someone likes the fashion of sock-dress than that's their choice! And they have perfect liberty to do so. This hobby is unique because we can customize our dolls. If someone dresses their doll in the 'steampunk' fashion, or 'gothic-lolita' how is that any different from 'sock-fashion'? Aww, I'm sorry, I'm still giggling. It's just too funny!

On a personal level, I wouldn't put socks on my dolls, just because I personally don't like the look of it. I'd rather them be naked But if you want to fight the man, and go with the sock trend- by all means go ahead!

 

Seriously though, I agree with the 50 or so people who already said it: It's not about the sock. It's about throwing your expensive doll into something that wasn't even sewed.

Personally, I've waged war on the sock dress with [thread=213712]this tutorial for a super easy dress.[/thread] Seriously, anyone could make this and it looks pretty decent. And if you look through the thread, people who have never even sewed before have made some genuinely pretty dresses.

And for your boys? Making pants out of ONE square of fabric. Doesn't get much easier than that. http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...you-can-make&p=6322246&viewfull=1#post6322246

No one in this thread seems to have said that there's anything wrong with nice clothes made from sock material. But every few posts seems to be arguing that nice stuff can be made. Which no one denied. Makes my head hurt.

 

It always strikes me as rather strange that some people instantly make the jump from sock dress to OMG!Super-expensive in their minds like there's no middle ground at all, there's a lot of decent stuff that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, you can get a well made basic tshirt from a lot of stores for a few dollars, it doesn't cost much at all to dress a doll, it doesn't have to be $100+ outfits for a doll to look good, hell I think a lot of it is simply down to styling anyway and how you put your doll in those clothes. It's easy to make a $15 dress look good with a few extra finishing touches just like it's easy to make a $100 outfit look like arse if it doesn't fit the doll well or it's stained/wrinkled etc.

I think my mind just boggles a little because obviously if someone's pulled together a few hundred dollars for a doll it's not all that hard to wait and save 30 more for a few basic items, why not just budget it in when you start pricing dolls up anyway? Especially since unless you're buying a fullset you still need to buy wigs, eyes and a face up (unless you paint it yourself ofc).

Maybe it makes me sound snobby by some standards but if I work my arse off to pull together the money for a doll, put them together and style them, I want to be able to take a little pride in that and have a nice looking doll that looks like it's worth the money I just spent and a sock with the toe cut off just isn't going to do that.

 

I got into this hobby because of the DIY aspect. I don't know about anyone else. To me, that is where the major draw is. I used to see such cool things that people would post on their blogs that they made for their dolls(new wigs, new clothes, eyes, face ups, mods, shoes) that looked professional that I wanted to do it, too. I would rather see someone start off making sock clothing than stay away from the hobby just because they can't afford to buy things for their doll. This hobby has never been about 'affording' things before, to my knowledge. If you didn't have it you made it or knew someone who could. Or you improvised with what you could find. That's the fun of it.

 

^^Yes - THANK YOU!

What the heck?! When did buying my doll a $12 dress make me rich or elitist? I have no job...no income - I saved for my doll through spare change and excess gas money that my parents gave me, and one *cheap* outfit - all by myself.

When did anyone, who decided to maybe wait a little while longer to get a decent outfit, become elitist? If you want to dress your doll in a cut-off-toe sock dress, that's fine with me -- but when you want to turn around and call those of us who choose not to go that path elitist and rich...?

What?

Can someone give me one example - just ONE - of when a rich person has scoffed at someone here? If it has happened, it was one person, and that one person really doesn't matter in the spectrum of things.

Maybe some people just like to make something out of nothing?

Can we make rule to stop calling DoA members elitist? We're collecting dolls, talking about dolls - enough people outside of the spectrum think we're insane - we DO NOT have to tear each other down here!!!

 

i love everything you wrote crimsoncat!

hehehe...yay! i can't wait.

 

Well, it's not directly about affording things, but at the same time any kind of hobby that involves collecting in some form or another does involve buying stuff. That said, it's not necessary to buy the most expensive stuff out there, and people can always go the DIY route, which has always been a big part of the hobby. However, if someone wants to make stuff for their doll, going a bit further than using scissors and a sock (at least a needle and thread to do some hemming would make a HUGE difference a lot of the time) will get them farther both in learning how to sew as well as coming out with a better finished product. I'm not talking anything remotely complex (I don't do complex well myself ), just doing enough to make it look more finished. It's not the idea of using socks that some people don't like, it's when people don't bother to make the sock look like more than a sock.

NOBODY in this thread has said that you have to shell out big bucks for clothes or that they looked down at new people who were genuinely trying to learn new skills. People have, however, questioned the reason someone would choose an unfinished sock as a garment of choice when there are many other options out there. What you can't invest in money, you can invest in time and effort, but if you do neither then it's hard to have as good an end result. In general, to get the most out of something, you have to put something into it -- this is no different. If someone's fine with a simple snipped sock on their doll, that's ok -- the sun will still come up tomorrow, the world will keep turning etc. However, they shouldn't be disappointed because they aren't getting comments in the gallery or because people think their doll is unfinished. because it will probably look unfinished without the little extra effort it takes to transform a sock into an actual garment.

 

This times a million!

I bolded my favourite bit. I think it's what it all comes down to. It's not really about the money at all, it's the laziness of a sock dress. If you hand sewed your doll a dress it could easily cost less than a pair of socks. But, obviously, it takes time and effort. And that's what bothers people about seeing someone cut the toe off a sock and shove it on a doll, not some snobby rage about money.


I'd like to see a word filter for 'elitist'. I'm requesting the word 'Waffwaff'.