Of Bjd Fashion: Pretty and Pink and Short?

Anna has been sewing for herself as of late, but that hasn’t stopped her from making a few pieces for us dolls.

She recently altered a dress to make a skirt.  It was made of a lovely pink eyelet cotton fabric and naturally she had plenty leftover.  Enough to make a few articles of doll clothing for myself and my fellow ball jointed dolls.

Clothing such as this adorable dress.  As usual, our dear little Sakura looks absolutely precious in it.  The pink color is very becoming on her.  The bodice is a halter style which is ideal for this warm late Summer weather.

Anna also made Usagi this outfit which consists of a halter style top and matching skirt.  I will admit it does look quite fetching on Usagi, if only her skirt wasn’t so terribly short.

Anna made a skirt for myself as well, and while it isn’t nearly as revealing as Usagi’s it is a little more lacking in length than I would prefer.  I just can’t comprehend why Anna continues to fashion such miniscule skirts.

Why, because it’s cute.  Usagi likes shorter skirts because they are so cute and easy to move around in and pose for pictures. 

Plus they look pretty good on Hikaru too.  She has nicely molded legs and it wouldn’t kill her to show them off a little once in a while.

I suppose it isn’t such a terrible thing to wear something this far above the knee, occasionally.  And my legs are something to behold.

Anyway, Sakura and Usagi seem to be enjoying their new outfits.

“You look so cute!”

“You look so cute!”

“You look pretty too Miss Ghost Lady.”

Why thank you Sakura.

“But you’re knees look a little weird.”

“Is that why you always wear really, really long skirts?”

…Weird?…

…My name is Hikaru, not Ghost Lady!

Anyway, our new articles of clothing will serve us well.  And I am curious to see what other pleasant surprises will spring up from Anna’s sewing endeavors in the near future.  For now I am at peace.

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Bjd Lifestyle: Haute Doll Magazine, The Bjd Issue?

Anna’s mother was shopping at a local used bookstore and discovered something glorious for us.

It is a special issue of Haute Doll magazine, entitled the Volks Super Dollfie Issue.  Almost entirely devoted to ball jointed dolls from Volks. 

According to Anna, Volks is the company that first started producing ball jointed dolls such as myself.

Although it is an older edition, from January 2005, I’m sure this publication will be most informative or at the very lease entertaining. 

The featured photos are inspiring.  This dress is quite chic.

And this dress would look darling on me.

Anna, you simply must make me a dress like this one.

Like that?  You are asking a lot of me Hikaru.

Certainly not, you are quite adept at sewing ruffles and other details.  It’s a skill that is underused in much of your recent sewing.

What is going on here?

It’s Dolpa or Doll Party.  It’s a convention hosted by Volks,

So many outfits that would look smashing on me.

You know this is not a catalog. 

Are you certain about that Anna?  There is quite a lot of fine merchandise.

“Oh Anna!  What are those?”

Those are jeans, Usagi.

“Can I have a pair, please? :)”

You can not be serious.  Those tattered things!

Hikaru, if Usagi wants a pair of jeans, she can have them.  It’s not like anyone is making you wear them.

Perish the thought.

Overall, I’d say this is a wonderful find.  I am quite curious to see what is offered in the more current issues of this fine publication.  Maybe Anna could purchase a subscription for me.  Or perhaps we can look for other publications.

For now I shall continue to peruse this delightful magazine over some tea.  Be at peace.

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A Few Treats from The Craft Store

Anna made a small trip to a local craft store recently, you can see more details about it here on her blog.

Naturally she purchased several more items then she intended, and that included items beneficial to me, I mean us dolls.

For instance, Anna purchase a generous amount of felt.

So many lovely colors, and they are perfect for warm clothing for the upcoming Fall and Winter seasons.

These grays for instance would make charming jackets for me.  Maybe fitted with a rounded collar and...

Anyway, she also bought an enormous amount of faux pearls.

Specifically 3 millimeter size pearls, perfectly sized for doll jewelry and accessories.

They aren’t as fine as the lovely pearls in my necklace here (see A Doll's Birthday, or It Was), but they will be quite satisfactory for a number of pieces for myself and my fellow ball jointed dolls.

This piece is a little odd.  It is a jewelry piece shaped like an instrument.  Anna has been trying hard to find suitable doll props, without much luck I’m afraid.

Even if I were interested in playing percussion instruments, I’m afraid this tambourine is a bit too small.

“What’s that Miss Ghost Lady?”

Ah, there you are Sakura.  This is a small tambourine, and may I remind you that my name is Hikaru.  Not Ghost Lady.

“Is it a toy?  Can I play with it?”

I suppose at that size, it probably would work as a child’s toy.

And Sakura seems entranced by it.  Maybe it will be useful after all.

Overall I feel that although Anna did bring home a few useful things, she has once again forgotten a few necessary supplies. 

Autumn is fast approaching, and we have so many more ball jointed dolls to clothe this year.  We need more seasonally appropriate dress fabrics and doll scale ribbon.  I am picturing plaids for this season as well as navy blues and dusty pinks. 

Maybe next time Anna should allow me to accompany her.  Then I could prevent her from leaving the store without all that is necessary.

Actually, I think if I took Hikaru with me we would never leave because she would want me to buy the whole store.

But I will take her “fashion predictions” into consideration.  In fact I have a few ideas of my own.  Look forward to them.

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Doll Owner’s Corner: The Cost of a Doll

It’s the first of the month, time for another Doll Owner’s Corner.  When I, the doll owner, get to talk about anything at all without the dolls getting in the way.

This month’s topic:

The Cost

Or “why are these dolls so expensive?!” :(

This is the sad cry of every ball jointed doll owner, as well as collectors of certain other adorable yet expensive dolls (American Girl, I’m looking at you).  But it is especially the case with the bjd. 

This is a genre where dolls that sell new for under $300 (here’s a list of them on Den of Angels) are considered cheap and budget friendly.  And that’s the price without any clothes, hair or face up (see Doll Owner's Corner: The Face Up), which could tack on an extra 80+ dollars.  And we haven’t gotten to shipping yet.

Why so much for a single doll? 

Well first off, there’s materials.  Hikaru mentions endlessly how she is finely molded and cast from resin.  She isn’t just being full of it.  Resin is a very fine and rather expensive type of plastic.  One that is dangerous to work with and takes time to properly and safely cast.

Second, there’s the companies themselves.  These are very small companies/studios, not big old factories.  No mass production here.  Most of the time, your doll is made by hand when you order it from the company.  Plus most, but not all of the companies that make these dolls are overseas.  This means a high cost of shipping and possible customs charges depending on where you live.  That definitely adds to the costs.

Third, the extras.  Remember, I said that “cheap” $300 didn’t include hair, clothes or face.  And depending on what kind of character your doll has, they can run quite steep.  That’s because if you can’t find an outfit or wig exactly the way you want it and in a size that fits your doll, then you have to get them custom made.

Now there’s a bright side to all this and it involves that term “custom made”.  The point of ball jointed dolls that gets people so hooked on them is that they can be customized.  The fact that you can do much of the “customizing” yourself can help bring down the costs.

For example, the clothes.  If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that Hikaru and her doll friends don’t own a single piece of clothing that I haven’t made myself.  And as I pointed out in last month’s Doll Owner’s Corner, it doesn’t have to cost very much for materials.  And many patterns are available for free (checkout the Tutorial Directory).

It doesn’t stop at the clothes, you can make tons of stuff for these dolls including wigs, eyes, props, furniture, etc. and even do their face ups yourself (if you have the nerve, unlike me).  Plus these are all items/services you can sell to others to help earn money for other things.  Like more dolls maybe.  :)

Of course even if you make/do everything for them yourself there is still that initial cost of the doll.  There is something you can do about that as well. 

Like most things you buy, these dolls do go on sale at times.  And companies will have special events.  Usually things where if you buy certain items you get a free gift, like parts or sometimes a small sized doll. 

That’s how I got Usagi’s “friend”, the head (see Welcome Home: Doll Family-A Unboxing).  He was a free gift when I bought her, on sale of course.  And if I wait for a sale to buy him a body, I will have a complete doll for considerably less than his retail price.

Update 7/15/18: Check out this post where I go into further detail about Bjd Events.

So overall, ball jointed dolls can break your heart with their high costs.  But if you are careful about what you buy and when, then the costs don’t have to hurt quite as much.

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