#dolldressing

"Please meet Midori No Daichi. An original character of mine, shelled using sculpts by Ball Jointed Doll companies Volks and Fairyland. Midori would be the catalyst for my writing during a time of great strife. I purchased this Volks School A Sweet Dreams head (released 2007) back in 2020 during our global pandemic. She would later be put onto a Fairyland Feeple65 Body to truly flesh out who this character of mine might be. Being a medical professional I found the overwhelming nature of this world event to be unsurprisingly terrifying, difficult, and draining. Purchasing the doll that would eventually become my Midori was just a way for me to find joy. Buying dolls is what a life long doll collector does after all. Just a doll purchase. But she would be anything but just another purchase.

After painting, sewing, and wig making I found myself a muse. She would inspire a great deal of writing. A skill I love but hadn’t ever expected to connect to my doll collecting practices. So please enjoy this entry as my earnest gift to the world."

-Joshua Crawford, Somerset

.joshybearhuggies on Instagram

"Meet Hop, the squirrel girl protagonizing my first industrially produced line. I suppose my passion is expected to be artisanal work, but I find the sturdiness of high-quality toys produced by industry experts a lot more valuable. It means the figure can stay with you for a long while, and won't crumble.

A mix of worn out and polished captures the essence of the tidy but fun and adventurous girl. "Patched Up" brings together both worlds: the serifed pinks and whites of a clean, soap-smelling child's room; and the handwritten browns and oranges of the autumny outdoors."

-Lucía Pavlov, CABA, Argentina

.HopTheDoll on Instagram

"When I was four, I learned to sew by making Barbie clothes.

I traded my toy gun and holster set to my sister for her. I re-named her Estelle, because I didn’t buy Mattel’s Barbie “teenage fashion model” story.

The sissy kid in Oklahoma got bullied because he sewed and played with dolls.

In my mind, Estelle was a grown-up 27 year old. Her story: she lived in a Big City, and did grown-up things. My refuge.

We both eventually landed in New York, with designing as my career.

In early 2020, Covid came. Everyone was locked inside with the deadly pandemic raging outside. How to keep myself sane in this crazy time? That thing that kept me company, soothed my nerves, and provided escape from the harsh world outside. I played with Estelle and made lots of doll clothes.

The silver lining of this—the Doll Couture books!"

-Kenneth King, New York

.kennethdking on Instagram

"These small dolls belonged to my babi (grandmother), who is no longer alive, and were made in Czechoslovakia, a country that no longer exists. The set consists of a boy and a girl, each wearing a kroj – a traditional folk costume typically featuring embroidery and lace, common across the Czech lands and Slovakia until modern mass clothing manufacturing. The dolls were produced by Lidová Tvorba Uherský Brod, an internationally recognized communist-era cooperative that specialized in handmade dolls whose ornate dress represented the local customs of the region. 

My grandparents were Holocaust survivors, they emigrated to the United States after the war. My babi knew Czech, but the language she and my grandfather spoke together was Yiddish. They both died when I was a young woman, and I took the dolls in the process of cleaning out their house. Years later, I began studying Czech and visiting the Czech Republic, the democratic successor state to Czechoslovakia. In antique stores, I saw other examples of Lidová Tvorba dolls. They were never identical to the ones I had, but recognizably from the same line. It was too late for me to share what I saw with my babi, or to ask her anything either."

-Abigail Weil, Philadelphia, PA

.thundrroad on Instagram

"My doll collection started at a young age. I was fascinated by the freedom I had to dress them and mix and match their accessories. Then my grandmothers began purchasing collector dolls for me. I was so taken in by their layers of beautiful tulle and satin, their daring dramatic eyes, and their beautiful porcelain skin. My mother also collected dolls and was so excited when I wanted to help restore hers. They were so beautiful, she even has a doll from Germany. I was obsessed with her leather shoes. The handmade leather lace up heels still excite me to this day. I took them out to photograph for my students to see, and they were fascinated by my nun dolls."

-Tonya Baracani-Thomas, Vincennes, IN

.Pinkkittygrl74 on Instagram

"I purchased this doll off of eBay at the urging of my therapist during a difficult time in my life. I found out my boyfriend was cheating on me and I was having trouble taking care of myself. My therapist suggested that I care for a doll, in the hopes that it would eventually teach me to care for myself as well. I chose this particular doll because she bears a striking resemblance to me. I named her after myself as well. During the brutal winter months, I did care for her as though she were my child. I made her tiny meals, brushed her hair, pulled the string in the back of her head to close her eyes each night before laying her down to rest next to me, sharing my pillow. I've healed since then and it's not as intense of a relationship as it once was, but she still holds a special place in my heart. I purchase bespoke clothes for her and bring her on social outings. I attended Doll Con with her and people complimented me as though she were my child ("She has your eyes!" etc.). She is a custom Icy Blythe doll, I think modern (2020s)."

-Hannah Hightman, New York

.hannahhype on Instagram

"When I was about 10 years old in Paris, for months on my way to school I used to see a doll sitting in the window of an antique store. One day I mentioned it to my mom. And guess who I found on the day after Christmas, sitting in the living room all wrapped up in its original box?"

-Juliette Beder, Brooklyn, NY

"I collect vintage Barbie dolls and authentic outfits. I especially like Barbie dolls from the 1960s, as these are the ones I grew up with. Pictured here are two Bubble Cut Barbies and one Twist’n’Turn (TNT) Barbie. The TNT is from 1967 and is wearing Floating Gardens (#1696). The 1963 Titian Bubble Cut is wearing Fashion Editor (#1635) and the 1961 Blonde Bubble Cut is wearing Black Magic (#1609). I have well over 125 vintage dolls in my collection."

-Debra Schaller-Demers, New York

.dsdroc on Instagram