taking out your dolls

I took Floyd to grandma (who lives only a few meters down the street) and some boy came cycling by. He nearly overstretched his neck to look at me & Floyd, heh! xD

 

aww you're really sweet! my mom is really weird because she's told me if we had more money then she would be fine with the dolls lol. and she had a traumatic doll experience once when she was little and so i think thats also playing in..... but anyway

I'm getting a BBB Tiny Elfkin and she shall be my little Phoebe ^_^ then i'm moving onto Iplehouse or Dollmore... it's hard to choose which doll i was to save up for next, i love them all haha

 

Phoebe is an adorable name! I can't wait to see pics when you get her! That mold is really cute! My girl is an Iplehouse Tatiana, my favorite mold ever and surprisingly she looks just like my mom as a child! LOL And slightly like me too (facial features wise)

 

oh wow that's soo awesome. it will be tricky for me to put her box opening on ((and i will put it on here hehe)) since i don't have the USB cord that went to my camera so yeah i'll have to end up borrowing one from my friend who will soo be helping with the box openeing.

and me and my friend are planning at one point to get an Iplehouse Tatiana and Tania and we will have one of them and they will be twins and all that jazz. she's finally starting to get into dolls muahahaa.

 

I've only taken my dolls outside for pictures. I am a little embarrassed to be seen as 'weird' for walking around carrying a doll. I don't relaly care if others do, maybe I'm just a little shy.

 

In Japan, most doll owners are very private about their hobby. The only time you will see them out is at Volks stores, Dolpas, and certain doll conventions. Most will have private meet ups in their homes or will rent out a private room in a restaurant or karaoke place. Occasionally you will see them carried by lolitas or goths on the street. I have heard of a doll-themed cafe in Akihabara, but don't know much about it.

 

i only bring them around when i'm alone somewhere or with at least two friends who accept this hobby. Otherwise, i feel too much ashamed.

 

I take my doll out occasionally. Sometimes to meet ups, other times to the park or botanical gardens. That's about it. I get the occasional stares and questions, but it doesn't really bother me too much.

 

I've taken my dolls shopping & it's always fun. Some people ask about them & other just stare at the "crazy old doll lady" out of the corner of their eyes. And when I take them out in the yard for photos, if my neighbors are outside, they stop over to check them out & chat a while. My one neighbor even gave me a little child's vintage chair that he thought might be nice for the dolls.

 

My sister and I took THREE of my dolls - the 60cm, my bright pink haired mini girl, and my Resinsoul 27cm out shopping at WalMart last night... and no one seemed to really notice or stare even if they did notice. Maybe it's getting too close to Halloween for people to be freaked out? The greeter lady stopped us to ask about them when we were leaving, she thought they were wonderful. Other than that it was no big deal.

 

I don't think I've ever taken a doll out to, say, the store. I don't really see why I would. It would be hard to shop with a doll on your person! Plus, people probably will stare at you, making it that much harder. Plus there really is a good chance of them getting dirty/messed up/ losing a wig or piece of clothing.

However, I took my BF Sarang to Otakon, and had a really great time. There's so much unusual stuff going on at a con that people are much more open minded. I got to chat with other doll owners and convert some people who didn't know what they were beforehand. I also became much more chill about letting people handle my dolls those three days.

So yeah, I'd gladly take her to a meet or to somewhere where there's a purpose for her being there (photoshoot, whatever). But if there's no reason for her to be there, I'm not bringing her. The dangers and inconvenience don't outweigh the idea of...showing off, I guess?

 

I don't take my doll out unless I'm specifically planning to take pictures of her. I don't own a case that really makes me feel like she's safe, and the risk of theft is very high even though most people wouldn't be aware of her value. I live in a city, and some people will steal just about anything given the chance! Also, I don't like just carrying things around for no reason, so I when I do have my doll with me I just keep thinking about having my hands free again! I might feel differently if I had something to carry her in that I felt more secure about. I'm just anxious because I don't feel like she's safe. I definitely don't carry her around in my arms.

 

To judge scale when buying doll items. How often do you see people selling things they THOUGHT would work for their dolls but don't? I don't take them out grocery shopping, but once in a while (we're talking about maybe 4 times in nearly a year) if I'm looking specifically for things for the dolls I will take one with me so I know before I buy if items are in-scale or not. There are lots of Halloween things out now, and Christmas ones too in many stores. I wouldn't take them shopping to "show off" or anything, but there is good reason for taking them out once in a while.

 

i take mine out sometimes.people do ask about them, actually i get alot of Wow that is interesting what kind of doll is that.lots of guys seem to like them too i notice(and it isn't a hit on a girl type thing at all) so its been really positive.
also when i jam out i bring a doll to vibe it off of,it really helps and if people are with me they are use to my boys being around.
honestly i think people in general are much more open and relaxed lately. its weird but i don't get any negs about my dolls, just one person maybe in the last year was weird about them,,,,yeah people seem to like to see the dollfies why not they are cool and unusual!

 

My dolls sometimes go out with me.
but not as often, usualy I take them along to fairs. and to sleepovers with friends that have dolls to
But that is all

 

I've taken my dolls to alot of different places. Recently all over Disney World, which was an interesting study on how people react to a person carrying a doll around the parks. There was a big mixture of people, and in general most people just ignored what I was carrying. People think of us, alot less then we worry/think that they do (people being very self-centric).

I got LOTS of people who wanted to know about the doll. Very few people wanted to know what it was, because frankly it's rather obvious it's a doll. I would explain I'm photoing it, and that it's a customizable doll and that was about enough for people. In general people who asked questions were very nice. I also found alot of the people who did ask questions tended to collect dolls, or know someone who did, so it wasn't just curiosity but actual interest in the doll. People are also rather familuar with 'Flat Stanley' so the idea of photography things in places is not that hard for people to understand.

Having a reason for carrying your doll around (usually to take pictures of it) is enough for people to understand. It's hard for people to understand your carrying the doll around just because you want to, the whole 'just because' reasoning. This is because of the cost/value of the doll and damage that could be caused seems more important then lack of reason for carrying around the doll. Taking a doll out to a location where it may get damaged in order to Gain a picture of the doll in such a setting is usually an acceptable trade off. People feel they must justify what they do to others. Again thinking/worrying to much about what others think of them.

 

Well, I don't actually have a doll yet, but I anticipate that after she arrives, I will for the most part be leaving her at home. I would certainly be willing to take her places for specific purposes, such as photoshoots or meetups (or possibly for scale-judging shopping trips -- I hadn't thought of that, but it's a great idea), but as far as just taking her out on random excursions such as shopping trips or going clubbing or something... probably not. It's not so much that I care about being stared at (really -- I also do medieval recreation on a serious basis so I think nothing of wearing bizarre outfits to grocery stores and restaurants and dealing with curious onlookers), but a 60 cm doll seems like a bulky and somewhat cumbersome thing to manage on an average outing. Besides, I am terrified of losing/breaking her as it is, so I'm sure that I would find it stressful rather than charming. When I do take her out, it will be for occasions specifically geared to her, so she will have the majority of my attention.

 

Absolutely not. The only time my dolls leave my house is when I'm taking them to a doll meet or to the home of a friend who also has dolls, and they're packed up in a bag until I reach my destination.

I don't think there's any purpose served by hauling a doll around a grocery store or to a movie -- I don't enjoy it, people think I'm a lunatic because I do in fact look like a lunatic, and I have to worry about the safety of an expensive doll in addition to whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing.

I think what bothers me about people talking about taking dolls out is the sense that you're being persecuted if people look at you oddly or make comments, which is just not true. If you're going to go someplace carrying a doll (often a very large, very unusual doll) you're behaving strangely and just need to accept that people are going to react to that. I bet we'd all look at someone funny and possibly make a comment to whoever we were with if we saw a guy walking around with a rubber chicken stapled to his pants (I actually saw this once as a child!), but wouldn't think we were persecuting him. Same thing.

 

I've begun to take them out a little more, but I'm still so scared they'll get hurt due to someone else's carelessness. I think it would also be easier to take them out more often if I had a friend that owned one that brought him/her along. (I have a few friends that want one, but can't afford one (even the cheaper $100 ones).. including my little sis).
I guess it would also help if I went out more often.. most of my life surrounds school, internet, and random activities (spread out).

 

I don't own a dollie yet, but I'm very close to finishing saving up. One thing that I've been thinking about lately is taking her out in public. Some of my friends think my liking dolls is a little weird or creepy, and I wonder if people in public will look at me funny. So basically:

1. Do you take your dollies out in public?

2. Do people look at you weird?

3. If they do, how do you deal with it?

Thankies!