The Most You are Willing to Pay for Clothes?

Yup, Hydehim does amazing work. I don't even think this outfit is her best one yet.
I think if you google image "Hydehim bjd" you'll see some of her other dresses that she made. They're really gorgeous!!

 

It really depends. I do not think you can put any upper limit to this hobby in general. If it is really perfect for what I want and I had the money, I would buy it on the one hand. On the other hand, I love challenges. And it depends on what it is.

For example, if I need a certain dress, I think I would save the money and buy or commission it, as I am not that interested in making a dress.

If it is a superhero outfit, I will make it myself. The reason is that I have very rarely seen them in such a quality that I would be willing to pay the asking price.

Regarding for the IMO most expensive outfit you can have for a doll, which is a full plate knightly armour, I will certainly make this myself. Even if even my second and third attempt will not yet be satisfying to me. But such a fullset, as it is not less work than for a human, maybe less material, you would easily be paying several thousands of dollars. And even if I found somebody who would make this (I think in Eastern Europe and Russia, there are some people who could create this), no, I would not pay that much money.

So for me, it really depends on what it is. I have to admit there is clothing I think I cannot make in the quality I want, e.g. business suits. And if you want a really good one, you simply have to pay the price (just like in real life).

 

Most I've paid by far is $150. But that was for Loki's costume, to match the one he has in the film (and he's huge! Seriously he has to stand on the floor because he weighs so much).

Ordinarily, I wouldn't pay over $30 for a single item of clothing but all my boys (and girl) just wear ordinary casual clothes. I'm still planning to make a proper outfit for Thranduil... I made him velvet trousers!

 

I like to keep it on par with what I spend on my own clothes. If I wouldn't buy myself a certain kind of shirt for $30 I won't buy it for my doll. However if I would spend $80 on a dress I really liked then I still might go ahead and spend that much on a really cute dress for a doll, but both cases are a huge splurge and something special.

 

I’d have to say $100-150. I wouldn’t really spend more on doll clothes than I’d spend on clothes for myself. It’s just something I couldn’t personally feel justified in doing.
I don't know how much I’d be will to spend on full sets as I’ve never looked at any.
$45 is my max for shoes.
I would be willing to pay more for custom clothes, as they would have to be designed specifically for me and whatnot.

The most expensive item on my wishlist is an $85 Kimono set. But I’m having trouble justifying that to myself at the moment

 

I have a very small budget that I'm ready to put for clothes, somewhere around $50 for larger garment/set, $25 for shoes. I prefer making the clothes myself so I suppose my money mostly goes for the fabric. XD

 

I would probably scream internally, and have to talk myself into it, but I'd pay $200+ for an outfit, depending on what it was and what it came with. I've paid over $100 multiple times, don't regret it, and due to other recent purchases, will be doing it again.

 

Fullset? Oh I don't do those, those are too nice for me and my rag tag team
Shoes/boots? $40-50
Dresses vs shirt and pants? Dresses $30, Shirt $20, Pants $40.
How about hand-knit sweaters/coats? $60
Custom outfits for your doll? Again, too nice for my rag tag team
What’s the absolute limit if you could pay in installments? NOPE

 

$150 depends on what it is but I would like to spend under $60

 

I had a budget of 100 bucks and i spent 200 hundred because i figured I'm paying for the postage might aswell get more...

 

$200 or so. Curse you Angell-Studio and your gorgeous clothes! Though that's usually for a complete outfit at least.

 

I wouldn't pay more than $100, and even that would be pushing it. My gang are mostly mature tinies, so there aren't a lot of clothes on the market that fit them. Besides, I like making them clothes.

Fullset- I don't buy those too often, don't think I'd want to go over $75, and then it had better be super detailed and well made.
Shoes/boots? $30-40 since I can't make most of them
Dresses vs shirt and pants? I wouldn't normally want to pay more than $20 an item
How about hand-knit sweaters/coats? Usually out of my price range. I'll sew my own.
Custom outfits for your doll? $75? Though I can't think of something I would commission.
What’s the absolute limit if you could pay in installments? I don't do installments.

I'm not much of a clothes buyer, really.

 

As a person who makes clothes, this thread is useful but also a little depressing.

Obvs, the reality of markets is things are only worth what people are willing/able to pay for it, and I cannot fault people for being thrifty or prudent with their budget.

But $100 pays for 7 hours of my time, not including the cost of fabric and notions, or postage. So, it's really 4 or 5 hours, and I'm not sure I could make a nice garment in that amount of time, assuming I was copying a garment I had already made for a doll I owned. I definitely could not do a custom order in 5 hours. It would take at least an hour to communicate with the customer, and probably an hour and a half to go out and get new fabric. If you're running a small business seriously, one is supposed to take those costs into account as costs. Additionally, you're supposed to charge above minimum wage. In the UK, it's like £8 minimum wage and artists are recommended to charge around £40 - this is to cover your sick days, quiet periods, additional expenses as a business owner, etc.

It's no different from ordering a custom design, custom fit garment for a human. The cost of fabric is lower in dolls, but the time required to craft the garment is more or less the same, because you're working on a smaller scale. In the past, people have asked me "could I order a smaller one for less money" (I was making soft toys at the time), and I think that's useful because it implies people are thinking only in terms of the cost of fabric, not the labour, or the time it would take me to redesign the pattern on a smaller scale.

I definitely feel like a shoemaker couldn't turn something as intricate as a hand-made shoe around in the times implied in this thread. although I don't make shoes, so maybe it is easier than it seems. & maybe other clothes artisans are just able to work faster than me. But idk, it feels like the artist mentioned in the thread charging $600 for her work knows the score & is pricing her work correctly. At £40ph, that price represents 10 hours of time (not including the cost of materials), which is an optimistic target.

I concur with the other poster - if it is possible to get handmade garments for these kinds of prices, it means the creators are really under-valuing their labour.

But I understand that this is already an expensive hobby & can't fault anyone for making practical/sensible budgeting choices. All the same, it is normal in our community to talk about the importance of supporting doll companies, and the importance of saving up for (absurdly expensive) dolls because that's how much running a niche artisan business costs. & it would be good to try and foster this mindset towards other artisans in the hobby.

 

@ brightberry: Max 500 $ for a full suit of armour? You mean like...Gothic or Italian? Made of metal (aluminium - does not oxidize and is very lightweight)? I am sorry, but can you imagine how much work goes into such a suit (I am currently making one). Even if you have your patterns down and know exactly what to do, it is still a ton of work.

For 500 $, I would not even pick up a hammer. If you add a 0 more to your offer...yes. You should not forget in order for that suit to work, it needs to function exactly like a human harness. So rather no short cuts...you have to install all the fittings, the doll needs the undergarments so that this type of armour does not fall off.

Good miniature armour is not easier to make than the real, well-made stuff. I even had to create 1/3 tools, because you can't do it with the big, normal stuff. It is already a hassle for my 70 cm guys. For smaller dolls, I would not even know how to work the metal.

Sorry for that rant, and maybe you rather meant fantasy armour made of leather or plastic/resin. Then it might be possible to make it cheaper. Or what about an armour doll? That most likely will be cheaper than a separate suit of realistic metal armour. Maybe that could be even an option for a full set knight doll? Instead of an outfit, you get a second armour body?

 

I'll just leave this here...

 

For me, there are a lot of factors. If it's mass produced clothing, I'd want to spend very little, like $10 for a dress, up to $25 for an outfit, etc. If it's a small scale production, than I expect to pay more in labor. How much that is depends on how intricate the clothes, how many garments I'm getting, and so on. My budget isn't deep though, so I'll aim for inexpensive pieces or save for a long time.

If I'm making the outfit, the "price" gets very high, as I do a lot of hand sewing, pressing, basting and otherwise spend time making things just so. Unless I'm trading in kind like in a swap, I doubt I'd get fairly compensated for my work.

 

The most I ever paid for a set of outfit would be SD13 Isao Nanjou (Ver 1) full set outfit with boots minus the wig. 12 years ago, I bought the doll naked in box but bought his original outfit from a seller in Malaysia. DHL shipping from Malaysia to Canada was expensive, the whole set with shipping and Canadian border tax came to slightly over US$200. Moreover, I had to take a taxi to collect the package from DHL office because I was not home when they delivered. That added to the cost. I bought his original wig from a seller in Japan through an agent. So, my SD13 Isao's full set did not come cheap. A total of US$300 including his original wig.

My second most expensive outfit consist of full set outfit plus shoes and socks costing slightly more than US$200 after shipping from US to Canada. Joe's School Uniform Sunset Version for SD17B and SD16B from Volks USA. Again, it was the shipping and border tax that added to the cost.

All my other outfits mainly from Sadol cost less than US$180 inclusive of shipping. I was more willing to spend 10 years ago than now. As I grow older, I also grow cheaper!

 

I cannot help but imagine you growling this from under your beard, with the pride of the dwarven blacksmiths smouldering like a furnace under your bushy singed eyebrows...

 

Yeah, pretty much. Although I am sorry I cannot provide a beard...and I would not call myself a dwarf (rather the opposite?). And everybody who puts time and effort into custom-made clothes should be proud. And not offer his or her work too cheaply. But that's just my two cents...

I may be much more willing if something or someone (I mean a doll) is offered to me as a trade. Then I am much more willing to make a compromise. That could also be a way to get high-quality clothing you may otherwise never be able to afford...