What do you look for in bjd clothing?

I like to buy beautiful and original outfit for my dolls. And it must be not too expensive.

 

Casual separates with a flair of old fashioned in them. Whole outfits are great but they tend to get expensive. I like separates as eventually if you get enough you can create some really cool ensembles without breaking the bank in one shot. We all know just buying the doll does that alone! And anything not Lolita. But I do like pretty... just not too frilly pretty, unless its for tinies.

I generally am willing to pay more for my BJD clothing than I do my own, as I shop cheap, like at Ross, TJMaxx, Marshalls. I look for the sales at Kohls, JCP, and Bealls. BJD clothes on average ARE more than the bargains you find at these discount places and clothes on sale. So I expect to pay more for my BJD stuff. I just don't like paying more for BJD stuff that would be more than normal retail cost for human sized clothes.

And as someone said, it has to be to scale. Too much human sized lace and prints are used for doll clothing and to me it just doesn't work. I appreciate the price that customizers put on the clothes they make to sell, when you can tell they've really paid attention to the tiniest of details to be sure everything is in scale and ultra realistic looking. When put in a photo... the pictures tells all!

 

For me it's the combination of style and quality that matters. So if the clothes are the right style but doesn't have the quality I look for then it's not interesting for me. The same goes if the clothes are very high quality but they are the wrong style. For me it is important that the BJD clothes are made to the same standard as a similar piece of clothing would be for a human. If I buy a suit for my dolls I want it to be made the same as for a human. Price does of course play a part in it for me but I rather save for a long time (and pray that it doesn't end up being out of stock) to buy what I want .

When it comes to a new doll who can't share clothes with the ones I already own I tend to make a kind of "emergency" purchase and get something rather neutral, not too expensive, for the doll to wear until I can find time to make clothes or find the right style to buy. I do feel sorry for them if the new doll has to be all nude or if he/she has to lend clothes that are waaaaaay to large .

When buying clothes I like it a lot when there is very clear measurements so I don't have to guess if they will fit my dolls or not. After all, it feels very sad to find that perfect piece of clothing and realize it doesn't fit. I also like it a lot when the clothes are offered in various sizes because that way more people, regardless of the size of doll, has the chance to get something they like

As a last thing: I would really, really like it if it was possible to let the dolls wear their underwear AND pants at the same time . My boys have fallen victim to that several times. Their underwear fits nicely, the pants fits nicely.... but uh-ow the pants won't close unless the doll takes of his underwear .

 

I look for warm clothes. Or summer.
- Chartoon T-shirts (Hello Kitty, Sanrio, Totoro, Kawaii)
- Skinny jeans (Dark Blue, Light Blue, Black, Floral)
- Leggings (Any colours, preferebly pastel. And any cute/ floral patterns)
- Jumpers (Sanrio, Hello Kitty, Kawaii, Cute, Pretty)

Maybe shorts, depends on what type. And cute Converse and Lolita shoes.
Also adorably Ugg Boots. :3

I get most my clothing off of Etsy stores. It's amazing

 

Casual and modern. Jeans, leggings, t-shirts, sneakers, etc. The characters my dolls are based on are supposed to be just your average person in their 20's, so nothing fantastical. But I'm not really opposed to buying a doll that's fantastical (Fairyland's Roke Dragon comes to mind) so that I can dress him in super fancy clothes.

 

I want the clothing I buy for my doll to look quite realistic. I do buy pretty dollfie dresses sometimes however I really love casual looking clothes. That's why I mostly like Nine9 Style clothes because they're so detailed and realistic. I don't mind if a clothing is hard to put on as it is a part of the fun haha. The price also matters a lot for me which makes things difficult because I'm a student so I can't recklessly spend too much, but as you know Nine9 style clothes are expensive ;-;

 

I have so many years of clothing in these bins that I no longer go "looking" for stuff. I think I've already got two of everything. ^^ But now that I'm employed again, having 2 of everything doesn't stop me from buying those certain items that are Just Right for a particular doll, or items that I've always been looking for & have finally presented themselves for me.

I look for quality, and I look for the item to be the right style for my doll. I have to be able to imagine him wearing it, and it's got to fill a niche in some character's wardrobe. I buy a lot of leather/pleather, so I especially look for the right scale fabric & fasteners to be used - fine pleather looks like the doll is wearing actual leather, cheap thick pleather looks like the doll is wearing a Hefty bag or standing in a pair of tubes. I like the quality of Volks, DollHeart, Iplehouse, Heisejinyao, and Musedoll when it's available. I used to love 4D & Sadol's exquisite quality, but they seem to have changed styles in recent years, with more preppy nerdwear than I need. I also like to shop at Tata's Paradise & Alice's Collections for leather goods and gothwear separates; the quality can be hit-and-miss, but when it's on, it's really on. Oooh, and Ringdoll, gawd their stuff is gorgeous-- but the sizes are scrawny & you have to wait 7 months for preordered items to arrive at MintOnCard, so I don't buy as much of it as I'd like to.

When it comes to bluejeans, since it can be so hard to get perfect ones-- especially for odd-sized dolls whose companies don't make The Perfect Fit Bluejeans for them-- I insist on jeans by StrangeAngels! She uses only the thinnest denim, she tailors the jeans to fit the doll's every curve, she constructs them so that the doll can sit down without having to unbutton (even big-bottomed dolls like SIDs), she bleaches & distresses them by hand so the doll looks like he's been wearing them for years, and she adds details like decorative back-pocket stitching, tiny working watch-pockets in front, & tiny in-scale metal rivets on the seams. I know exactly how much time & materials & effort they take for her to make, so I am always happy to pay her price, because I know I'm guaranteed that my dolls will look perfect in those jeans.

 

My dolls wear all kinds of things. I'm not discriminatory. I value my $5 jeans as much as I value the $35 upscale ones I have. So long as it doesn't stain, looks good, and fits well, I'm not that fussy about how much my clothes cost or where they came from. I hate velcro with a passion, but other than that not much else. I make a lot of my doll's clothing actually. I like them to have things unique to them but I don't like paying through the nose for something I can easily make.

 

the right style and quality (if I'm going to pay that much for doll clothes they need to be great quality)
the fit needs to be good too (but that depends on the style), I value both fit and style equally though, they need to both be right

the clothes need to be well constructed like human clothes, I have the same or higher expectations for craftsmanship of doll clothes than that of human clothes
that it has all the (reasonable) small details such as in scale buttons, zippers and fasteners, lace, ruffles, in-scale patterns are always nice
I really dislike velcro but if it's a cheap item and the velco isn't too bulky then I can live with it

of course I'd love all of my dolls' clothes to be easy to put on/take off and care for but if the more complicated outfit is more what I'm looking for then I don't mind the extra time and effort I'd need to put in to dress my doll in it/ take care of it.

I prefer more unique, elaborate, cute/elegant clothing for my dolls, it needs to have the same amount or more detail than it would in human scale
I don't really care much for modern or casual clothes but there are some that I like and I look for nice fabrics, in-scale details, creativity in design and of course quality (and occasionally just something simple and cute)
in kimono especially, I look for great quality, in-scaled patterned fabrics that complement each other (for the kimono/yukata and a complementary color/pattern for the obi), proper construction and details (especially in the obi as I prefer them NOT to be pre-tied)

and of course the price is important, I don't like to spend too much but if it's a particularly nice, detailed outfit with a lot of pieces (such as Dollheart/VOLKS sets) then I don't mind paying a little extra for it

 

I want quality, and I'm not afraid to pay for it. For one of my dolls, I had a "grail outfit", which was pretty pricey, but I bought it, because I knew it was right for her. The quality was a bit disappointing though.
I'm very much in love with everything Sadol makes and I'll probably own a whole lot of their outfits in the future. I don't find them to be expensive at all.
I don't have a certain style, I go for though. My dolls are characters in my story, and they differ greatly from each other in personality and fashion style. But I admit I have a love for suits.
Someday I hope, I'll be able to create some of my doll clothes myself, but I don't expect to ever reach Sadol's level, so I'll keep going back to them for the pretty suits.

 

Does fit matter more than style? vice versa? That depends on the size of the doll. I feel that style matters no matter what but I prefer my MSD outfits to be tight for, whereas my YOSD and PKF outfits are loose.
Do you have lower/same/higher expectations for craftmanship of doll clothing compared to human clothing? I would like them to be well crafted, as any other person would but I know how difficult it is so my expectations aren't stupidly high.
Do you prefer very unique pieces vs. casual pieces or vice versa? I prefer more casual clothing, because I feel that makes them more realistic. I like to find outfits that I would personally wear myself.
Would you buy an intricate piece of bjd clothing even if it is difficult/confusing to put on the doll? Yes, I would. Alot of my MSD clothing needs to have her head removed to put on.
Do you prefer clothing that is easy to put on and easy to care for? I don't think it makes a difference really. I would prefer easy but if I find an outfit I really like and it's difficult, I will still buy it.
How much does price matter? Price matters a lot, especially if you own more than one doll.