A lot of people preorder dolls off of the illustrations or promotional photographs. Others will wait until ‘real’ photos start to surface of the doll in the hands of a collector, minus any “box hair”. Once the tangles are removed, the bangs evened out a bit, and the doll in a completely different outfit, the real potential of the doll really starts to come out. I remember with the Neo-and-Middie duo with the funky two-toned hair came out and a lot of people were clamouring to get them. But I hardly ever see any photos of them anymore! This may also be because I’m not contacts with the right people on Flickr, Instagram or Facebook. It would be nice to see more of these dolls, I find that a lot of the ‘newer’ releases tend to fade into the background, and it’s hard to keep up with them when dolls like Mandy Cotton Candy have similar hair colour combinations to some fake Blythes. Will the real Blythe please stand up? But I digress! Those who get on preorder lists are smart! Even if it is an impulsive decision based off of illustrations, the price that they pay sets the tone for the overall worth of the doll when it comes to the secondary market. If a new doll comes out with the price of, for example, $150, you aren’t going to see that doll go for less than that unless it is less stock items.

Apparently Cedar would like to feel some love…

For me, doll shopping has hit a bit of a lull. I have less room now, and I can afford to be more picky based on the fact that I can’t afford all of the new releases that I want (Charlotte des Fleurs, I am looking at you and all your pink poof). So I have to sit, and wait. And even if I’m not actively buying any dolls, I do have a wishlist that I hope to fulfill, one of these days, and I do keep one eye on the listings to see what dolls are going for these days. Sit and watch. Save for customs, stock dolls come up every so often and the prices do fluctuate. So far, there hasn’t been any listings that have made me want to jump up and go “I WANT YOU!”. Savvy or not, the sitting and waiting game has served me well, I think. The only thing that undermines that is the fact that I end up spending money on doll clothing or shoes instead. Which may or may not be a good thing. I’m trying to be good about not spending that much on dolly things lately – so I have more for spending in Seattle!

Are you an impulse or savvy doll shopper? (Or perhaps an impulsive savvy doll shopper?)

Photography: Gina Garan
Introduction: Junko Wong
First Published: November 2005
Publisher: Chronicle Books
160 Pages

Click to read more of this entry.

Sometimes I binge shop for Blythe stuff. Actually, that’s probably a lie. I always binge shop when it comes to Blythe stuff. A couple of shirts here, a few dresses there, and a handful of dolly shoes. All at a time. And then I go through this process of eagerly awaiting for the post to arrive because I get Really Excited over the prospect of getting fun packages in the mail – even if I pay for the pleasure of it. I do this frequently. My doll shopping comes in spurts, because I buy a bunch of stuff, and then I go through the process of waiting for it to all arrive, then I’m simultaneously happy about getting mail and not-so happy when I have to go and pay off my credit card bill. So I sulk a bit, and tell myself to not spend so much again! Until the next time, that is.

Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. It isn’t so much that I cannot afford it, because I always make sure that I have enough for my mandatory expenses, and when possible, I buy direct from the seamstresses of tiny clothing. I find that I am always late to the party when it comes to sundries coming up for sale on Facebook or Blythe Kingdom, so that is rarely ever an option for me!

Right now I’m in the ‘lull’ period. In my last shopping binge, I bought two dresses, and two tops for the Blythes. And that’s not even counting the other pieces of clothing I’d bought for them previously that they haven’t even worn yet! With BlytheCon on the horizon, I’m resisting from buying until then. At least I’ll be saving on shipping then, and it’ll be a nice splurge with great memories attached to it. On the brightside, whomever I bring down to Seattle with me will have the opportunity to debut new outfits. And we all know how much I love pairing shoes with great dolly clothes!

Am I the only one who goes through the process of ‘binge’ shopping for dolls and dolly things?

When I was little, my Barbies had personalities. These personalities always changed though, depending on the story that was being told with me. If I recall correctly, my Barbies also had constantly changing names. In part because I got bored with old names, and also because I kept forgetting what I named them previously. My Blythes, in contrast, keep their names. Sophie will always be Sophie, Eden will always be Eden, Minnow will always be my little Minnow. And their personalities? I just can’t see Sophie as being anything else but a little fashionista with big dreams to walk for ‘big name’ dolly designers. Eden will always be my pink-loving little one. And Minnow… Minnow is still a bit shy about showing me her personality, but I trust that it will come in time.

Sophie & Eden Mouse.

I form personalities based on my dolls’ look,s, but also what they remind me of. Eden, from the point I saw her little bob-cut, reminded me a lot of how I looked as a young child. And since she also came with a horrible factory stock hair-cut (uneven bangs, uneven sides) reminded me even more so of me because I had cut my own bangs at a very young age. It was awful. And it is what gave Eden her little-girl personality. Sophie gained her personality pretty quick. This was partially because she was my 365 girl and was clearly in need of some kind of attitude, and her long silver locks just screamed ‘diva’ to me. But I toned her down just a smidgen, because I don’t think anyone could deal with Sophie at her most attitude-filled moments.

How do you determine personalities for your Blythes?

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