My goal for doll meets usually includes the following:

• Bring dolls that haven’t been to a meet recently,
• Change the dolls so that they’re no longer wearing the same thing that they have for months, and
• Ask what dolls people are interested in seeing of mine (and hopefully make an effort to bring them to the meet)

What actually happens is usually something different. I bring the dolls that had a wardrobe change most recently, which may or may not be a doll that I took to the last meet, who may or may not be a doll that someone is interested in. Oh, and if I manage to actually put shoes onto a doll, I consider that to be a major win. And I never, ever remember to bring stands. The day I remember to bring stands, you’ll know I had way too much time to prepare for a meet that I a) actually remembered stands and b) actually packed stands in with the dolls.

The girls tend to travel in their carrier bags. I have a few at this point, plus a Middie-sized one for Kitty Brighton (no Petite-sized bags yet though!). Some dolls have their own bag (Sophie and Eden Mouse) with I have two others that are more for general use amongst the girls. Unlike Sophie and Eden, they don’t mind sharing (often). The carrier bags are great as it helps keep them more ‘contained’ within my bag, and the shoes can’t go flying off their feet, as they are likely to do.

I try to dress my dolls in meet-appropriate outfits, especially if the meets themselves have a ‘theme’ to go on. For instance, I will be attending tea with my dolls and some lovely local doll hobbyists this weekend. So my dolls will dress accordingly to fit in with the overarching theme that is high tea. I may even put shoes on them (but that hasn’t been confirmed just yet…). Hopefully it won’t be until Sunday morning that I decide to pick who’s going to the meet though, because that would just be awful (and I’ll just end up grabbing whoever’s dressed!).

I’d like to preface this entry with a minor disclaimer: I don’t own any doll that were released with cardboard accessories. I just have opinions about them, like many others in the Blythe hobby.

Stock cardboard accessories first made their existence known with the release of Nekugutsu, the Middie with mushroom-printed cardboard purse, back in early 2013. Since then, cardboard accessories have been regularly included as stock items with the dolls. From the Sherlock Holmes-inspired Lorshek Molseh’s pocket watch and magnifying glass to Lydia Green’s suitcase, cardboard items are not restricted to only Middies as Neos are also being released with cardboard accessories as well.

This leads to guessing by community members about which cute item in promotional illustrations are made of plastic or cardboard. This also leads to sighs of relief when real promotional photos of Charlotte de Fleurs were released with what is not a cardboard flower in her hair. Have we all become accustomed to seeing cardboard accessories on the dolls that we’re suddenly happy and ecstatic when a doll doesn’t come with a cardboard accessory? To say nothing about the longevity of the pieces themselves – having accessories made out of plastic would increase the playability of the items, make the more durable and less easily damaged by stress (e.g. folding) or a spilled cup of coffee.

Is an increase of items with the doll an added value to the Blythe itself when the pieces are made of cardboard? I look back to the earlier releases of EBLs and SBLs when some dolls came with two pairs of shoes and two outfits, yet were not astronomically priced upon release. Having extra clothing items is an added value, for sure. Having two pairs of shoes? Awesome! Having a cardboard crown that you can bend out of shape and crease by looking at it funny? It may look great for a few photos, but it can be easily damaged and then it is no longer a great stock piece because you wouldn’t be using it anymore. Is that value added to the stock Blythe, or should there be more substance to the stock accessories?

It seems almost sacrilegious to think of things that I don’t like about Blythe, but sometimes I just can’t help it. Sure, I could say how much I’d love it if the dolls were less expensive, or if I could get them at the local toy store (and wouldn’t that be great?) but really what I wish could be changed was the four standard eye colours.

Pink, blue, orange, green.

Yes, I know that they’re the ‘standard’ colours because the Kenners had them. But not everyone looks good with orange eyes. In fact, I don’t think a lot of stock dolls do look great in orange (or pink, for that matter). Considering the original ad for Kenner Blythes talked about purple and brown eyes, maybe Takara should have taken a page and changed it up a little. But then, if that were the case, I’d probably be talking about how much I loathe purple eyechips.

I’ve removed more orange chips than any other colour from my dolls. It just does not look good on some dolls, I’m sorry to say. I love orange (and pink!) for my Kenners though. But definitely not for some of my Takaras. I still need to replace a few sets of oranges with some more flattering colours (mostly shades of blues, greens, browns). I do wish that they had done standard brown chips instead of oranges. I think they’d be much more appreciated that the oranges. Is it wrong to dislike such a standard thing when it comes to Blythe? Probably. Luckily for me, it’s an easy fix with a glue stick, a lit candle, new chips and some glue!

I don’t make it a secret that I occasionally play favourites. For the longest time it was Sophie, because she was my number one girl, the prettiest of the pretty and her silver hair looks remarkably beautiful with anything that she wears. Then came Eden Mouse, who’s the little girl at heart who reminds me so much of myself as a child. Except for the fact that I didn’t have an obsession with pink. I still don’t, I just like having an obsession with pink for her. Plus – pink is such a prevalent colour in the doll world (perhaps we have Barbie to thank for that?) and so easy to find shoes in all the shades of pink for her.

But the one who has captured my heart, in more ways that one? She will not be a surprise to anyone who follows me on Flickr or Instagram.

It’s her frizzy hair and the 70’s charm that cinched it. I didn’t even go into the Blythe world wanting a dark haired Kenner. In fact, I was so convinced that I’d be getting a blonde Kenner after Emmalynn (my redhead) that I kind of dismissed the idea of a brunette or raven haired beauty. From the moment I saw her first photo pop up on Flickr to the moment that I got to hold her in my hot little hands, I was a goner. If someone were to ask me right now if I were to have to give up all of my Blythes except for one, she would be the one that I choose.

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I found this terrible problem with hats, and I’m not sure if I’m just putting them on my Blythe’s incorrectly or if this happens to anyone else.

See, one of my dolls (Eden, if you must know) is always wearing a pink mouse helmet. She wears it 24/7 and is a doll in it (pun intended). But she has bangs and I found that over time (umm, years), her bangs had started to separate in the middle. I tried to rearrange her hat and it didn’t help. So I had to break out the plastic band (that new-in-box dolls come with) in order to tame her wild bangs.

Poor thing needs to put up with me not knowing how to care for her noggin of hair! Could it be that I’m just incapable of putting hats on dolls? Or is this something that you have maybe encountered as well?