I honestly struggled with myself about whether or not to write about this. I regularly get emails or messages regarding Blythe dolls because of BlytheLife.com. It is a bit of an occupational hazard as a blogger that readers will attempt to contact you to ask questions. Generally, they’re easy to answer questions like “Where can I buy a Blythe doll?” or “Does (insert name of online retailer) sell fakes?”, but sometimes it gets a little bit… condescending and insulting.

I was recently engaged via email by a person I’d never interacted with before, let’s call her Eggplant (because I don’t like the taste of eggplant, and she left a bad taste in my mouth). Eggplant was new to the Blythe hobby, she found photos of the dolls on Etsy or Artfire or something, and then found BlytheLife via a Google search. She emailed me to thank me for providing great information to newbies (Awesome! I love it when I get positive feedback!), and then it got a little weird. I had exchanged maybe 15 or so emails with her, she asked easy-to-answer questions about the dolls, and then came this:

“I know from reading your blog that you have a lot of dolls and you got some as gifts. Could you please give me one?”

Whoa, whoa, whoa. What?!

First of all, we had established a bit of rapport with each other, which is all fine and dandy. She had asked me where to buy the dolls and I referred her to a few choice online shops (and then thanked me for the information), which resulted in her stating that the dolls are just too much money and how she would never be able to afford one and then she dropped the above into the email.

Yes, I have many dolls – probably more than the average collector. I have also received a few as gifts (from my parents, as birthday and Christmas gifts). Sure, Eggplant seemed nice and all (at first), but in no uncertain terms did I offer to give her a doll or offer to subsidize her entrance into the Blythe hobby – because frankly, no. I love my dolls, they’re mine for a reason. I found it incredibly ballsy to be asked to give her one of my dolls. I wrote a polite (but somewhat more cold) email in return to basically state that my dolls are mine and at the current time, I am not interested in parting with any of them. What did I get as a reply? Well, along with some choice colourful words, came this gem:

“You’re so selfish, I thought you were nice.”

If it’s selfish to want to keep parts of my collection as mine, then I don’t want to be selfless. Nice has nothing to do with not giving away something that I own. Sure, it doesn’t hurt to ask someone for something – because if you don’t ask, you never know what the answer will be. At least that’s what I’ve always been told. But what it will hurt is the relationship/friendship that you’re trying to establish – because I’m now always going to see Eggplant as the person who just chatted me up to get something for free, and then called me rude things because I politely said no to giving her a doll.

Yes, I have dolls. Yes, dolls are expensive and they are essentially a luxury hobby. That doesn’t mean that someone who has dolls than someone else is required to give them up or “share the wealth”, as it were. You’re not going to hit up a local charity because you desperately need a doll – because it’s not necessary for survival. I frequently make donations to charities that I care about – from animal welfare groups, to providing food for children who live below the poverty line in my own province, to organizations who are struggling to get clean drinking water to people in Canada. But the beauty is the ability to who to donate to – and someone who feels entitled to a doll (and then lashes out when they don’t get their way), is not a behaviour or person that I want to encourage.

(In short, the answer to the question in the title is: no. Unless someone is asking you what you want as a gift, and they give you a budget that could encompass the purchase of a doll, the answer is no.)

Takara Blythes are also referred to as Neo Blythes, and they are the full-sized Blythes. The molds that make up the Neo Blythes are: BL, EBL (Excellence), SBL (Superior), RBL (Radiance), FBL (Fairest), and RBL+ (Radiance Plus). Here is a group photo of a stock doll of each Takara mold type:

From left to right, there is: Mondrian (BL), Love Mission (EBL), Velvet Minuet (SBL), Monique Magnifique (RBL), Simply Sparkly Spark (FBL), and Hi-Ho! Marine (RBL+).

Some BLs, such as Mondrian, came “boggled”. None of the the eyelids show in some of the dolls.

Most EBLs came with thinner, wispy eyelashes. Both BL and EBL had the same shade of pink eye chips. They were changed for SBLs.

Velvet Minuet is one of the earlier SBLs, she had the natural downward gaze, “yellowed” eyeballs, and the upward smirk that some people didn’t like in the earlier SBL Blythe dolls.

For reference, here is the text that is present on the back of their heads. The copyright date refers to the year that the mold was created, not the year that the specific release was manufactured. Often times, people think that a doll sold in 2016 should read 2016 on the doll, which is not the case. The copyright date is for the copyright of the design of the base doll.

BL (Back of Head)
Blythe TM / © 2001 Hasbro, Inc. / © CWC

EBL (Back of Head)
Blythe TM / © 2001 Hasbro, Inc. / © CWC

SBL (Back of Head)
Blythe TM / © 2003 Hasbro, Inc. / © CWC / TAKARA / CHINA

RBL (Back of Head)
Blythe TM / © 2006 Hasbro, Inc. / © CWC / TOMY / CHINA

FBL (Back of Head)
Blythe TM / © 2008 Hasbro, Inc. / © 2008 CWC Ltd. / TOMY / MADE IN CHINA

RBL+ (Back of Head)
Blythe TM / © 2013 Hasbro / TOMY / CHINA

Hasbro is mentioned on the back of the dolls’ heads as they own the Blythe trademark/brand. Hasbro had bought the rights to Kenner trademarks. CWC pays to license the name, and thus Hasbro must be mentioned on the products.

I have been out of school for well over a year now, and working for almost a year (it will be a year in the latter half of October), and I am still struggling to find a balance between working, socializing (with non-doll people), and doll (socializing with doll people). My dolls are (still) frequently ignored as they stand on the shelf, patiently waiting for the times when I can notice them, give them an outfit change. As it is, many of them don’t get any attention unless it is time to attend a doll meet.

Let us not dwell on how long Minnow has been wearing this outfit for…

It’d be different if my work was related to dolls, then it’d be more of a work/doll-life balance. Such as it is, my work keeps me pretty busy with regular 12 hour shifts that occasionally cause me to be M.I.A. to my family and friends on the weekends. On my days off, I wind up doing laundry, cooking and cleaning, and then some dolly fun from time to time. I try my best to attend local Blythe meet-ups as well as just keeping in touch with my local doll and non-doll friends. It’s a struggle now that I’ve moved further from the bulk of my friends – this reminds me of a song I used to sing in Girl Guides.

Make new friends, but keep the old
One is silver, the other is gold
A circle is round, it has no end
That’s how long I will be your friend.

How do you balance your work-doll-life life?

I write about Blythe a lot, it’s a bit of a known hazard when it comes to running a Blythe-centric website. For me, Blythe came into my life in an opportune time. It was the summer between my first and second year of post secondary, pretty much all of my high school friends opted to attend a different post secondary (and trust me, I do not make friends that easily), and I found myself floundering a little bit because I knew what I wanted to be when I “grew up” (a registered nurse) but I was struggling to find a clear path from points A to B. In a way, Blythe came to me when I needed something to ground me a bit more and somehow she helped. Of course, it was at that time that I swore up and down that I would only ever need just the one – and we all know how well that works out.

And now? Blythe is something beautiful in my life that has introduced me to some fantastic people. I’ve made lifelong friends and have met so many wonderful and talented people in the community. Blythe has helped me to form so many connections, it’s a wonderful hobby to be part of. After all, given the diversity in the community, I might not have met such great people otherwise.

Why do you love Blythe? Share in the comments below.

Happy September! I recently was asked about the difference between Middies and Blythes, because a new member of the Blythe hobby was confused about the difference between the full-sized and Middie-sized Blythes – so here’s a little run down about the differences:

Neo Blythe – Same size as Kenner and Ashton-Drake Galleries Blythes

• Four sets of eye chips (rotated through with a pull string)
• Eyelids show when pull string is pulled
• Head can only move left and right
• Knees bend
• 28.5cm tall

Middie Blythe

• One set of eye chips (eyes can move from side-to-side)
• Eye lids do not show
• Head can move head up and down, left and right
• Knees do not bend
• 20cm tall

I’ve noticed that in general that Middies are less customized or sought after compared to Neo-sized Blythe, but I do believe this is because they’re less coveted despite the adorableness. Middie are definitely more pocket and purse-friendly (although not as pocket-friendly as Petite Blythe!), I find that they are less expensive compared to Neo-sized Blythe. There are more clothing patterns for Neo-sized Blythe, so there is a market for anyone who wants to design or create clothing for Middies.

Lydia Melbourne’s wearing: dress/Endangered Sissy.
Cameo’s wearing: helmet/Cakewalk Queen, dress/Plastic Fashion, leggings/Endangered Sissy.