Whenever I see listings for dolls that are up for sale or “adoption”, I frequently see phrases like:

I didn’t bond…

She’s just not what I expected…

She doesn’t fit in with my family…

And it got me thinking – with how often people use phrases like this, it makes me wonder why this happens. Sure, a lot of dolls are very pretty and attractive in photographs online, but it doesn’t mean that I’m going to go out and buy them just to see if I’ll like them in person as well. It’s  costly endeavor to buy all the dolls just to see if you like them. Not only will you likely be out some money if you’re the first one to remove her from the box, there’s also the costs associated with shipping (that you paid originally) and shipping materials (that you need to buy in addition to ship her out). Plus there’s the cost of your time, since time is money! This seems to happen most frequently, it seems, with new releases. Since nobody has seen them in person, or had the opportunity to buy one secondhand, it stands to reason that there may be those who decide that the doll is too far off from the promotional photography that it isn’t worth keeping around. And then you have those who buy a doll that costs nearly $200 just to “steal” the stock outfit from, and then resale at nearly the same price due to high demand of a popular doll.

Kitty Brighton, my Jackie Ramone, is the only Blythe doll that I have ever
bought based on promotional photographs alone.

For me, Blythe shopping is an event that happens far and few in between. I don’t buy new dolls frequently, and nor can I afford to do so. I also cannot afford to buy dolls just to see if I will like them, so I tend to stick with dolls that I’ve already seen in out-of-box photos. The doll itself may still be never removed from box, but I will have had the chance to see other people’s dolls out of box, and the general quality of the hair, how well they look with chip changes or new (better!) outfits. The ability to do this is so wonderful because it means that I can imagine what my doll will look like in other clothes besides the stock outfit. Older releases or secondhand dolls are great for this reason, if you’re buying them on the secondhand market, you’re more likely to get to see photos of the doll from various angles, with flaws magnified in photos taken with the macro function. And if you ever have questions, you can always ask for more photos! This is definitely something that you cannot do with brand new dolls that are still in the box. So there are always pros and cons to the condition of the doll that you’re buying.

Was it love at first sight for you? Or do you resell dolls after not bonding?

My dolls have a decent amount of handknits, because that’s the majority of my contribution to their wardrobe. But weather appropriate clothing? It’s hard to do when it’s sunny one day, rainy the next, and then a mix of both the third day of the week. The beginnings of summer is always rough. The weather isn’t quite so predictable yet, so weather appropriate dolly clothing still consists of a few cardigans.

As I’ve been on a self-declared clothing diet lately, I’ve been having to make up outfits based on what I already own. So here are some selections for the warmer days and for cooler days. Some shorts, a few light-coloured dresses. The duck cover-up? For the days that my dolls deign to go near water, or a beach, which is very rare.

I know that to non-dolly people, it seems weird to consider dolls needing to dress for the weather, but there’s just something about dolls wearing swimsuits out in the snow, or big jackets at the beach, that just seems wrong to me. People dress appropriately for the weather, and so should dolls!

Junie Moon recently made the unpopular choice not using their regular lottery system to decide who gets a chance to purchase the anniversary Neo and Middie dolls on their international online shop. Regina Erwen (Neo) and Contessa Margherita (Middle) were available for pre-orders on June 6th, last Friday.

Previously, Junie Moon’s method of conducting pre-orders of limited dolls was to collect the information of those who wished to get the chance to buy the dolls, and then see what Lady Luck had to say about it. This made for a ‘cleaner’ and probably less anxiety-filled shopping experience. Pros to the lottery system is that there is less of a rush to go and get the doll, but also you can sleep on the decision a bit more. If you’re on the fence about buying, you can put it up to chance. If you “win” the lottery and you’re not that excited, clearly the doll was not meant for you. Cons for the lottery system was that it wasn’t first-come, first-serve, and there was more wait time in determining if you would actually be able to purchase the doll or not. While the new way of selling anniversary dolls closely mimics what you’d go through in a real shopping experience, it led to a lot of emotions and annoyances – at least what I read on Facebook!

Between the website not loading or refreshing properly, and some people never being able to make it past the shopping cart screen before some of the dolls “sold out”, it led to a lot of people not being happy with the way that Junie Moon had decided to run the pre-orders for this year’s anniversary dolls. However, if you are still looking for either anniversary dolls, they are sure to come up on other official retailers of Blythes. Junie Moon had stated on Facebook that they were taking pre-orders of 300 of each doll. Given that the Neo is limited to a count of 2,500, that means there are still 2,200 available. Fingers crossed you find the anniversary doll of your dreams somewhere! I’m quite fond of the look of Regina myself, but I’m still searching for a money tree!

Were you one of those who were trying to pre-order one of the anniversary dolls from Junie Moon?

How did the process go for you?

Do you prefer the lottery system or the new pre-order method?

It is more often than not that when there is a new release, there are some complaints about the outfit or the accessories. There are cardboard this, and cardboard that. There’s often jokes made about how awful the hair will be straight from the box, or how some stock pieces are made out of plasticky-feeling printed fabric. So let’s be a little bit more positive today, and look at the bright side of Blythe!

Satin underwear set – Fancy Pansy stock.
They just don’t make them like they used to!

Older releases were more likely to come with more than one outfit, or items to mix-and-match. Some of my favourite stock pieces come from older releases because they were simple, but versatile. The only doll that I ever sold on, and never even played with, was Fancy Pansy (EBL). She came with what amounted to two full outfits, and had a pair of glasses, and some beaded hair clips as well. Not only that, but she came with an underwear set that was of very decent quality! Even though I never loved the doll as much as I did when I saw her in photos, I do love the pieces that she came with. High versatility and the ability to make new outfit combinations is an important aspect of my Blythes’ wardrobe.

What is your most favourite stock outfit?

1. They make me smile when I see them.
2. They’re (generally) unforgiving if I accidentally or intentionally put them in a bad or clashing outfit.
3. The handmade (by others) clothes with tinier than tiny stitches.
4. The shoes. All the shoes!
5. How creative Blythes make everybody – photography, sewing, etc.
6. Making new friends where we have Blythe in common
7. The changing eyes. The oversized head. Her features, in general.
8. That old Kenner smell.
9. Getting packages in the mail, even if I have to buy it myself.
10. Taking photos of  dolls and sharing my love of Blythe with others.

What do you have to add to this list?