When They Begin Looking The Same ...

"Doll Collecting" is a very diverse hobby.   I have a friend who collects those tiny little German bisque dolls from the 1800's, displaying them in little domes with scenery.  Another friend gets an incredible amount of joy going into her basement and seeing all of her NRFB Mattel dolls lined up on shelves, while another has all of her dolls in their complete ensembles standing beautifully in glass display cabinets.   I have one friend with a "she-shed" who goes out there in her free time and redresses her dolls and sets them up in little dioramas like 1:6 scale dollhouses.   There really isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to collect dolls.  

I guess I am an amalgamation of all these.  I have a few dolls that have never been redressed.  They model their original outfits as I gaze at them appreciatively.   I have several dolls that somehow haven't made their way out of their boxes yet.  I still get goose-pimply each time I open their boxes and take a peek at them in all of their pristine glory!   And sometimes when I am feeling a need to relax, I just get out my tubs of clothing and spend hours creating new and exciting looks for those models who need a change.

Unfortunately, collecting dolls can become stressful when you feel like your collection has gotten away from you.   It's very easy for that happen, especially when you think of the sheer volume of product being released each year.   With "sheltering-in-place" and "social distancing" over the past several weeks, I figured out a way to get myself organized.

If you've been following my blog this year, you are aware that I am determined to get control of my collection in 2020.   I have already sold 30 dolls this year!   I am very proud of that fact.  

The day after "sheltering-in-place" started in GA, I started organizing and selling dolls.   I began with the first FR character, Veronique.  Here is a link to that blog post: Collection Organizing Part I - Veronique.  After going through my Veronique collection, I found myself led to dolls with similar looking molds -  Collection Organization - Part II.

At this point, my head started swimming as I began to realize that I often reach for the same dolls over and over to redress and play with.   Some of the dolls actually did begin to look the same!  I had to do something differently if I was to make some important decisions about my collection.  Now, for the reason I haven't posted in over one month about my evaluating and fine-tuning...

In order to truly evaluate my collection, I needed to get the dolls on "equal footing".   Since I have some dolls that are still NRFB, some that are displayed in their original ensembles, and some that are my models for redress pleasure, I decided to get photos of each doll and crop the photos consistently to the same size, so I could merge them into single documents.  

Since I started with Veronique, I realized that I had several blonde versions.   I decided to pull all of my blonde dolls with ponytails together.

I was surprised that there are 14 dolls living here with that look - representing 10 different molds!   (Although Shake It Up Korinne has her hair tied back, it is not in a ponytail, so she escaped this comparison by the slightest of margins.)

5 of these have high ponytails; the other 9 have low ponytails. 7 are pale blondes, 7 are darker blondes.  5 have center-parts, 4 have side parts.  

Before we start eliminating, we need to keep in mind that a doll collection is highly personal and represents one's individualized taste in dolls.  I'm sure many of you will disagree with my decisions; I am fine with that.

When evaluating my collection earlier this spring, I realized I didn't have a favored doll representing the Adele Makeda mold 1.0 version.   To remedy that, I recently added Perfect Skin Adele Makeda to my collection as #10 of 2020.  I got her at an amazing price, nude, and rebodied her.  This one's hair was original.  

She's definitely staying.  (#1 in the plus column.)

Staying:
#2 Diamond Dusted Veronique - My first official FR doll. Add to the fact that mold 1.0 has been retired and she's going no where.  

#3 Quicksilver Kyori Sato - Mold also retired.

#4 Head for Glamour Agnes Von Weiss - She's Agnes.  Enough said.

#5 Passion Week Elyse Jolie - Another favorite around.Secret 

#6 Secret Garden Eugenia Frost - One of my top 5 molds and a beautiful version reminiscent of her older screenings.

#7 Renegade Dasha D'Amboise - After all these years, she's still my favorite version of this mold.  Gwen Stefani anyone?

It is still a little disconcerting that Elyse, Eugenia and Dasha still favor quite a bit!

Leaving:
#1 Kiss You In Paris Mme Jolie - I already have Bewitching Hour Luchia Z representing Madonna in my collection.

#2 Sister Moguls Agnes - Although this is a beautiful doll, I don't think she's received very much love here.  (My most difficult decision made.)

#3 Royal Treatment Veronique - Very rare screening and under-rated version.  

#4 Perfect Reign Tatyana Alexandrova - Still in her box, so she won't be terribly missed.

#5 Goddess Tatyana Alexandrova - This was my most difficult choice.

This leaves October Issue Agnes and Intrigue Elyse in a holding pattern.  They have one strike against them.  When I get to comparing them within molds, they may move out of my collection or solidify their positions.

I feel like I made some difficult choices, but my collection will benefit from these decisions.   

Who would've thought I had so many dolls with similar looks?  Here's a photo collage of the other dolls that have already left my collection with this same blonde ponytail theme: