Whenever new dolls are announced, I always have high hopes for them. The illustrations are typically cute, I find a lot of people speculate about if the new doll’s hair colour will be similar to one that already exists. I find myself looking forward to the promotional photos of the actual doll. The way that they’re styled, how the clothes really look, if the hair guesses were right. I find myself looking at Middie photos primarily, but also the Neos. Those in my local Blythe group joke that I have a photographic memory for Blythe – I’d hate to let them down by not knowing one of the newer releases!

The best example I have of perfect-out-of-the-box bangs, Simply Sparkly Spark.

At this point, it seems like it’s the luck of the draw if you get a “good” doll or not. There are a lot of quality issues that have been plaguing the new releases for a long time now. Choppy hair that looks like a toddler got a hold of it, clothing that’s not necessarily made out of fabric (ew), but the shoes are still – generally speaking – pretty good. Despite seeing photos and hearing about the horror stories – Ambrosial cracking apart when opening, broken baskets for Nellie Nibbles, faces that look like a TBL/fake that were bought from a trusted source – I still find myself with high hopes for what new Blythes come out. A lot of them look adorable in illustrations, and after someone has taken some time with them to style for photos.

I know a lot of people have started looking at only older releases or customs, and I do agree that it’s a good idea. With customs or older releases (that are no longer in the box), you have the opportunity to see more photos and you get to see the actual doll rather than a stock photo that the shop is using for a preorder. But people are still preordering dolls, buying new dolls direct from online shop. And really, I’m not one to talk because I did buy my Jackie Ramone (Kitty Brighton) sight-unseen based off of promotional photos. I had really high hopes for her, but based on the talk of the quality – I had low expectations when it came to what she would be like after she arrived. I was pleasantly surprised, because I didn’t feel the need to do any work on her. High hopes, but definitely low expectations now when it comes to what the dolls look like.

I do still like new releases though, and I’d love to get my hands on a doll from the new Radiance+ mold. At the same time, I’m still searching for the perfect BL to join the family and I fully intend to buy a used BL where I can view lots and lots of photos so I can see what I’m buying before I pay for her.