It’s just like me to open up a can of worms, but it is something to think about. For me personally, my most expensive doll was my (first) Kenner. She was an eBay auction that I was determined to win after having saved and set aside all of the over time that I had earned over the summer. In comparison, my two custom dolls (both bought secondhand, both are Friends With Blythe customs) were considerably cheaper compared to any of my Kenner Blythe dolls. This is in part to the fact that the customizer wasn’t active in the community, and at the time wasn’t a highly sought after artist.

There are certain names, of which I’m sure you can think of right now, that command top dollar. When a doll starts hitting four digit price tags (especially before the conversion of USD $ to CAD $), I get a bit antsy. I’m always aware that the Canadian dollar is doing poorly compared to the American counterpart. That $30 doll dress turns into a $50-plus purchase after taking into fact the costs of shipping to Canada and the price conversion. With the way that the market currently is, and how poorly the dollar is doing, I’m highly resistant to actually buying new dolls right now unless it’s an incredibly good deal – whether it be a Kenner, a custom, or a stock doll of any kind. The dollar isn’t kind at the moment. However, I think for the right custom (or Kenner!), I’d be willing to open up my wallet. Chances are though, I’d spend more on a Kenner than a custom (but that’s just where my personal preferences are).

Would you pay more for a custom or a Kenner?

Cameo’s wearing: helmet/Cakewalk Queen, dress/Plastic Fashion, leggings/Endangered Sissy.
Prim’s wearing: dress/Endangered Sissy, capris/Fancy Pansy stock.

This is a loaded question because for me it really varies. I still haven’t fully unpacked since moving last summer (I’ve been busy…), so I’m not 100% sure where all of my Middie Blythe clothes are (in which case it doesn’t take much to change their outfits because I don’t know where all their clothes are). For my Blythes, it really depends. If I’m taking them to a meet, it could take anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes depending on how many dolls I plan on taking. The more dolls I decide on, the longer it takes. And then comes the added time of getting on the tights or socks if I’m going for a completed outfit.

A lot of my dolls haven’t had a proper outfit change in a really long time (yes, feel sorry for them, I do too!) and I recently decided to change Kindred’s outfit. She’s been in this outfit for definitely more than a year. Possibly close to two. I’m terrible at times when it comes to being a Blythe owner (I’m really sorry, Kindred). And it took me about 15 minutes to come up with what I wanted to put her in and another couple of minutes to do the full outfit change. I find sometimes it really depends on my mood as that kind of determines how long I wind up sitting on the floor, pawing through drawers of tiny clothes.

How long does it take you to do full outfit changes?

Kindred was wearing: top/Joelle (swap), overalls/Nostalgic Pop stock.
Kindred is wearing: cardigan/made by me, dress/Giulia (swap).

It’s not uncommon these days to hear about defects in brand new releases, fresh from the box. Either with the make-up (blush is often the complaint that I hear about!) or the hair (uneven cuts or an unruly mess of curls) or even the clothing (socks that don’t fit, anyone?). It can make any Blythe enthusiast a little wary of preordering a Blythe sight unseen due to the potential issues and subsequent headaches involved with attempting to return the doll.

I don’t make it a secret that a large chunk of my Blythe collection came to me brand new in box. I’ve been lucky with the minor defects that I’ve experienced – either that or I’m not as critical or picky as others are (perhaps???). If it’s not something that I can see on first glance, or from across a room, I tend to find the issues to be fairly minor. That said, I was plenty upset with my Punkaholic People’s hair out of the box because it was sadly uneven. I wound up taking a pair of scissors to it to even it out, and even still Eden Mouse lives with a hat on all the time. It’s just part of her now, so I don’t see the need to have her without a hat. My Margaret Meets Ladybug suffers from the unfortunate lip rub that resulted from the design of her house-shaped box, but I can’t see it unless I literally have her less from a foot away from my face so it’s a non-issue for me.

When Devi Delacour came out and people were venting over the issues that their dolls had, I was terribly apprehensive about picking her up from the post office and unboxing her because it was a bit like Schrödinger’s cat. As long as she remained inside of the box, she was (in my eyes) both perfect and unperfect because I wasn’t able to verify any issues she might or might not have had. In the end, I did unbox her as she was my birthday gift to myself last year (I give myself good gifts, what can I say?). And honestly? I think I lucked out with her because her face was pretty good, and so was her hair cut. That said, I am not overly critical with my dolls compared to other people, so perhaps there are flaws that I’m just unaware of.

With the prices of preorders for brand new releases on the rise it seems with every new release, it’s getting harder and harder for me to justify preordering a Blythe doll (although I had to have Devi Delacour), so my question for all of you this week is:

Will you risk preordering a doll?

Tertiary Jane

I’ve seen some really odd doll names throughout the years being mentioned, and I have personally named some of my dolls some odd names. Off the top of my head, I would say some of the more ‘odd’ names I’ve given my dolls include:

• Cedar (Monique Magnifique)
• Belarus (Love Mission)
• Minnow (Hi-Ho! Marine)
• Tertiary Jane (Simply Peppermint)
• Molybdenum (Simply Sparkly Spark)
• Cameo (Friends With Blythe Custom)

Yeah, I pretty much should not be allowed to name small children or animals, lest they get saddled with a weird name that I wind up spending my entire life explaining to people. But I know I can’t be alone in this community in giving a doll a weird or ‘out there’ name.

What’s your oddest doll name?

The great thing about the Blythe community is that everyone interacts with their dolls differently. For those that bestow personalities onto their dolls, of which I am one of them, it’s nice to dress them according to age groups. For me, Eden Mouse (Punkaholic People) and Minnow (Hi-Ho! Marine) are my younger ones while all of my Kenners (Primrose, Lillian Rose, and Emmalynn) are the ‘older girls’. I think there’s just something about being a Kenner that makes them older. Being produced in 1972 does that to a doll, I think. But even if the Middies were made before some of my Neos, I find that they’re perpetually younger. Size has to do with it, which is an unfortunate fact that transfers over to people as well – I’m fairly short and people are constantly assuming I’m younger than I am…

What are the ages of your Blythe dolls?