As little girl I had dolls, but, from the time I got my first Barbie, I was all about the fashion dolls. For many years I stuck to Barbie. There were no Bratz, or Monster High, or Liv. There wasn't really any competition for Barbie in the 1980s, especially as far as quality was concerned. I did have a few cabbage patch dolls, but Barbie was always my favorite.
I started getting some of the collector Barbies, like the holiday series when I got "too old to play." My Barbie Collection grew, I also acquired a few Madame Alexander and other porcelain dolls along the way, but Barbie remained far and away my favorite. I was reluctant to even look at other dolls for a long time. I figured Barbie was putting out enough to keep me happy, so there was no reason to branch out.
Then I started looking at Tonner dolls. The first ones I really saw were the Harry Potter dolls they were making. Then I was lurking on their website. One day they had a sale, and I picked up some Fashion Zombie dolls for a really great price. They opened up a whole new world to me! They were 16 inch dolls instead of 12 inch. The clothes were fabulous quality and very detailed. I was hooked. I attended Tonner's 20th Anniversary doll convention, my first doll convention ever. I went alone to the convention, but it was amazing to be among other people who love dolls as much, if not more than I do.
My Barbie collection was pretty much just purchased and placed in curios or left in their boxes. With Tonner dolls, I rediscovered playing with dolls. There were different outfits, separates to create your own look, wigs to change, it was a whole new world. Ellowyne Wilde from Wilde Imagination (also affiliated with Tonner dolls) became my new favorite doll. I started reading doll magazines again, like Fashion Doll Quarterly. I saw the Fashion Royalty dolls by Integrity toys. They have been doing Audrey Hepburn dolls, from Breakfast at Tiffany's and most recently, Sabrina. I collect Audrey Hepburn dolls, I have pretty much every one that Mattel made, including the Barbie and Ken as Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins dolls. I had also purchased a couple of Audrey-inspired Pullips with outfits from Sabrina and Roman Holiday.
My latest foray in doll collecting has been Asian Ball Jointed Dolls. These offer customization on an incredible scale. You can not only change wigs, but eyes. You can order the dolls completely blank and do your own make up (or face up as it's known in BJD circles). I am just starting to play with knitting for my dolls and am going to try a face up on a Hujoo doll. They are Ball jointed, but much less expensive than most, I figure it makes a good trial doll.
I am going to use this blog to explore my current collection, and my doll wish list for the future, as well as any dabbling I do in face ups and clothing making.
Hi to all my fellow doll collectors out there. And here's a picture of my most recent additions to my doll family:
