Do we still collect dolls?

*who

Who the F is that person in the photo OP?

He wants to be Barbie. The bitch has everything!

He’s a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world...,

OP, is that guy gay? I can’t tell.

Only Madame Alexander

There is something so extraordinarily sad about people who collect dolls.

I’m not sure why I don’t feel like this about other collectors...but dolls...:(

Yes, the United Federation of Doll Clubs is stilling going strong. Many people of all ages collect dolls for their historical value, as documents of fashion, and as art pieces.

I think what you are asking is "Do we still hoard dolls?" Not so much. The days when people had closets full of mint in box Madame Alexanders or Holiday Barbies are pretty much over.

"Do we still collect dolls?"

Yessssssssssss -

Demi Moore has a large collection of dolls. I read a news article about a Canadian man who sold dolls to her.

Marie Osmond has a collection of dolls and her Line Of Dolls for sale.

Marie Osmond with one of her dolls for sale.

Some 10 years ago, I was at a fundraiser at a wonder mid-century home in Palm Springs(I believe it had some ties to Frank Sinatra). The couple who owned this house had a huge barbie doll collection, which was featured on a large floor-ceiling display case. the barbies had specially-made couture gowns, and famous old-Hollywood gowns. I was told that Candi Spelling has the largest Barbie doll collection in the world, and that this couple had the second largest.

Demi Moore with her doll clone.

Demi Moore collected modern artist dolls. She no longer collects. The dolls are all in storage. I think the doll in the picture is by Robert Tonner, a former designer for Bill Blass.

Barbra Streisand, Rosie O'Donnell, and Ann Rice collect dolls. Ted Knight (Ted Baxter on MTM) collected Kewpie dolls

**kisses dolls**

"Do we still 'COLLECT' dolls?"

His collect?

Did you mean "colic"?

My friend's mom collected Victorian dolls. She didn't keep them in a case, but had them all over the house, even lined up on the staircase. Creepy fucking things.

"There is something so extraordinarily sad about people who collect dolls."

"I’m not sure why I don’t feel like this about other collectors...but dolls...:("

Dolls can be pretty interesting to collect. It depends on what kind of dolls. There was a doll that was popular with collectors that was pretty cool. Her name was Blythe; she had a large head and small body (like a model) and when you pulled her string her eyes would change color. She was only manufactured for one year (1972) by Kenner. Later Blythe got so popular there was a reissue of her.

I liked Dawn dolls, too. Dawn and her friends were models; they had handsome boyfriends. They were quite popular for a while; but their manufacturer Topper went out of business and they were discontinued. The dolls were very pretty and both the girls and the guys wore stylish groovy clothing and there were a lot of fun accessories, like Dawn's Disco and Dawn's Fashion Show. All the Dawn dolls were beautiful, but I I especially liked Dawn's long, gorgeous, golden blonde hair.

Some people seriously collect Barbie dolls and have quite a collection. But I never thought much of Barbie. I thought she was very commercial.

I admit some dolls are creepy and gross. Antique dolls...yech! They all look so scary. And crap like Marie Osmond and Franklin Mint dolls are awful. However there are some artisan dolls that are amazing to look at. But of course they're expensive as hell , and cost thousands of dollars. I think collecting dolls is sometimes ok, as long as the dolls aren't junk and the collector doesn't go overboard on the collecting.

Reading scary stuff for Halloween I came across the story of Robert the Doll. He's supposedly haunted; the story surrounding him is very interesting. I won't go into it here, but if anybody is interested in scary stories they should look it up. Robert is VERY scary.

I read that Robert the Doll story elsewhere. Scary as hell.

[quote] OP, is that guy gay? I can’t tell.

I wondered about that too.

I was once put up in a main guest room that was lucuriously furnished - but had a wall of dolls. It was creepy. Good thing I'm a butch macho total top or I'd have been skeered.

QUESTION: Can a queen fuck a queen who collects queen dolls ?

I used to know a guy (a friend of a guy I was dating) who collected doll HEADS. Not whole dolls, just heads. It was the freakiest thing I ever saw.

It's sad because dolls were meant to be played with, not kept in unopened boxes on a shelf.

Candy spelling actually collected Madame Alexander dolls and sold a large part of her collection a few years back. I inherited a small collection from a relative, a few have some value but I wouldn't sell them because I don't have the time. Also they don't take up much space in my place and they do bring back some sweet memories and times in my life.

Dolls are creepy

If you're a man who collects dolls, consider a sex change!

And this from someone who coveted the neighbor girl's Madame Alexander dolls as a kid, of course my bitch mother wouldn't buy me one.

If he enjoys collecting dolls, so what? It’s his own concern and he’s not harming anyone. Many years ago, I remember I met a man on a blind date. I was horned up, and he had a nice face. It was a “mercy fuck” and I wanted to pay it forward. We had quick dinner and went back to his place. It was bizarre! He had a huge doll collection, most of them were displayed.

He loved clutter. It was the Christmas season, so his home was overly decorated. He was very nice, but I wouldn’t go further than a hook up with him. He was happy, however, because I didn’t think he had sex often.

"Do we still collect dolls?"

Just the Doll Parts.

r29 He's only not harming anyone until they all come alive at night and kill everyone in the house.

That's so common, I collect Hummel Figurines

r29

I agree

Magnificent!

Elderly neighbor of mine had willed (to) me her collection of Royal Doulton figurines and Dresden figurines. Expensive gorgeous pieces but not for me. I admit that I forwarded the lot to my sister whose decor is traditional with a Duncan Phyfe sofa etc so I knew they would work well for her. Sorry, IMO dolls and the similar are for women.

A friend of mines sister had a large collection of very expensive dolls she wanted to sell due to health issues ( she needed cash for medical bills) so I offered to help her. She had spent untold thousands on those things,and when i started researching online for her on what to price them at,most were in the $10-20 range! Only a handful of her dolls were worth anything. She was devastated. Then she tried to get me to help her with selling her,wait for it,Thomas Kinkade collection! I guesstimated she had spent $100k easy on all that crap.Most of it ended up in thrift stores.

I hate dolls. I have an old Shirley Temple doll that belonged to my Mom. It's up in the attic, and I can't bear to get rid of it, but it's horribly creepy. My ex even asks about her sometimes: "how is our little child doing, up in the attic?" It creeps him out, too.

Anyway, "Let's Have Fun!"

Dolls (and most other collectibles) aren't meant to be purchased as investments. Things like that tend not to appreciate in value at all. Oh maybe some dolls are worth something, but they're the antique kind or a Shirley Temple doll from the thirties or one of the first Barbie dolls, stuff like that.

It's sad to hear about people who spent thousands of dollars on some trifle they think will be worth much more in the future, like the infamous Beanie Babies that some people went crazy over. Some people bought them thinking they'd cash in later, but oh boy were they wrong!

I saw a segment on 60 Minutes that featured an older lady who purchased thousands of dollars worth of silver "commemorative coins", thinking it would be a good investment. it wasn't. The coins were of so little resale value that they were used for scrap metal. I remember her saying "it's killing me" to hear how her money went down the drain. I felt so badly for that poor lady. At the end of the segment viewers were told that commemorative coins were only meant to be a collectible, not an investment. Too late for the poor woman who bought piles of them.

We’re they fake silver, r38?

There are dolls that are very popular with men, including straight men. The Swiss SABA dolls for example. (See Below).

R35, that image of the Royal Dalton figurine reminded me of my mother. She did not collect dolls, but had 3 or 4 RD figurines in the house. When my sisters and I emptied the family home, the sisters took the ones they wanted and the others went to an estate establishment who expressed interest.

It's fascinating to me what people collect and unfortunately, what their children are so quick to throw away. I took a few pieces of my mother's collections - for example, one piece of Belleek, some Lenox holiday pieces (I'll put them out after Thanksgiving), her good china.

These collectors though> A home of Franklin Mint or dolls? Oh there's something else going on mentally.

Collecting dolls as an investment is foolish, but if you just like having the things around, go for it! It's your life and your home!

If it IS your home. I always feel terribly sorry for the spouses and children of people who collect and display ludicrous things. And if there are children, do they refuse to bring their friends over?

"We’re they fake silver?"

I think they were actually silver. But they weren't going to appreciate in value. They were just meant to be little trifles. But the old lady stocked up on them, thinking they'd be worth more over time. It didn't turn out that way.

Um, they're called.. ACTION FIGURES.

Dolls are scary!

I didn’t know Chaz Bono was a doll collector.

I think one of the problems Is that many of you have a very limited "vocabulary" when it comes to what is a doll. There is more out there than Barbies, Madame Alexander, and crappy bisque decorator dolls from China.

The other issue is that if you grew up during the doll frenzy of the 1980s, you probably have a very warped notion of doll collecting. There was a lot of crap sold as an investment. A lot of people lost a lot of money. It really is sad when people seriously thought that they were making a good investment and are now being told that there investment is worth 1/4 of what the paid for it. What you should know, is that there were many who tried to prevent this and our lovely government took a "buyer beware" attitude.

Doll collecting is more than just hoarding dolls. There is a lot of history. Take Velvalee Dickenson for example. See below from the FBI website.

[quote]There are dolls that are very popular with men, including straight men. The Swiss SABA dolls for example. (See Below).

Nope, at least not American straight men. Maybe Swiss straight men.

The closest straight American (and British, Australian, Canadian, etc) men come to this is toy soldiers or miniature figurines, for display or wargaming. Even then they're usually a little embarrassed of them.

And there are some guys who collect action figures in very accurate military garb, but that is ABSOLUTELY something you keep from the girlfriend until you've been together a long time indeed ....

I have never. Not even GI Joe or Ken. Or Gay Bob. Dolls smelled. I had stuffed animals when I was a child, which I outgrew.

[quote]Nope, at least not American straight men. Maybe Swiss straight men.

You do realize that the definition of stupidity is that if it never happened to you or if you have never seen it, it doesn't exist.

There are numerous straight men who collect SABA figures, Schoenthut circus figures, F&B Skippy Dolls, Charlie McCarthy dolls, Käthe Kruse dolls, etc. Just because you have never met one does not mean they do not exist.

Japanese Boys Day dolls are also popular with straight men.

Some straight men collect "commemorative figurines" of acceptably masculine things, such as sports figures, expensive cars or motorcycles, and the butcher superheroes.

This is considered to express manly love for manly things, and to be nothing like collecting dolls or the wife's Disney or Hummel crap.

I have a small collection of antique dolls, my interest started when I inherited my great -aunt's childhood doll (the doll in the middle). Aunt Mildred died in 1976, at the age of 88.

As long as it isn’t these dolls

That is just so WRONG

Are we sure that's not a baby corpse? That's creepy as hell.

R54, can you post a picture of the doll in pink? She looks like a really good china.

These are the dolls that I collect. Too expensive to hoard. My entire collection fits in one cabinet.

Here you go, R58. she is referred to as a "Covered Wagon" china by collectors, circa 1850's-mid 1860's.

The bizarre story of a million dollar Barbie collection

R19 thanks for mentioning Blythe 😂

I had Russian nesting dolls when I was a toddler I loved and was careful with. I had a Ken doll too. Cabbage Doll and when Jem came out, I of course loved her hair. I always took great care of them too.

No dolls got my attention as an adult, like Blythe. An adorable and sweet woman named Gina Garan (she is extremely close friends with an manages many Drag Race winners and alumni...of you ever come across a picture of her you can see she’s just a sweetheart and so supportive of our community) started photographing the original dolls made by Kenner (Kenner also made the original Star Wars figures too back in the day) for projects. She’d find them on eBay too for really cheap 10-20 bucks...she had a gallery showing of her pictures, made a little book, and a woman from Japan saw her work and went bananas for it and used the dolls in a Christmas commercial for a department store. The Japanese went crazy for the doll.

R19 is correct. Blythe was made for about a year in 1972. She has a pull string in back, that closes her eyes and when they reopen, the eye color and direction of her gaze changes. They creeped out little kids and they quit making them. The women who created Blythe was inspired by Betty Boop and she was out to compete with Barbie. In fact, Skipper clothes fit Blythe. So when the doll failed, the creator when on to other projects, she had about 35 patents top. But the success in Japan was when they started making a new line of Blythe dolls. This was in 2000, and they have new releases every month since then. The original Kenner dolls unboxed and in good condition can go for hundreds up to 1k. A never removed from box Kenner, I just saw the other day is nearly 6k. And someone will pay that much for the doll. People customize the new dolls, decent fakes from AliExpress can be customized beautifully and and even though they’re a fake base, there are legendary customizers worldwide that people pay a lot of money for. It’s INSANE. The fake market is also sadly the only place to purchase a dark skinned doll. The new releases have had a few tan skinned dolls. But none as dark as the fake markets, and it’s sad because the company Takara would make bank if they had a doll as black as Lupita Nyongo.

Unlike Beanie Babies, Blythe has such a cult following and even celebs have them (Johnny Depp, Sophie Ellis-Bexter, Emma Roberts has several) and it grows every year a little bit. She’s fun to photograph. Every generation (yearly or bi yearly) brings a new face mold. The prices vary by release and they raise in value boxed Ke even unboxed. The amount some people pay for certain pieces of stock clothing someone might be selling, is also mind blowing,

Like in any hobby, there’s drama, scammers, crazies. I don’t go to any of the conventions they have. But here in the PNW, there’s a healthy following of some amazing people I’ve met. All walks of life. She’s fun, and I’m not ashamed of being a guy that collects a creepy doll. I’ve been working on my own portfolio of pictures I want to post on IG too. But it’s a process, it’s so funny how a doll can make you want to do so,et Jim first creative. I have 10 of them (all from the new wave of releases) With the whole quarantine, aside from my classes being online, I’ve actually spent more time creating sets and taking a doll out to photograph. School and a fucking doll has helped me maintain my sanity 😁

The creator lived in Seattle and was so amazed at the relaunch of the doll and would attend conventions all over the world (she was in her mid 80s then) and treated like royalty.

So if ya find a doll and collect it, no shame. If it makes you happy (and it does me) then have fun with it.

R61 Those dolls are creepy fabulous!

R62, hit on a good point, the quarantine has actually helped to boost doll collecting. It helped a great deal that a young woman named Rachel Hoffman started the "Virtual Doll Convention™" which brought thousands of doll collectors together online. With everyone stuck at home, often dealing with the mundane to the depressing, dolls are a way to have a little fun without worrying about social distancing. It is also a nice way to connect with other people without all of the political crap that seems to infect all aspects of human interaction.

It's all as creepy as a clown tattoo

I have all the original JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS from the 1980s. Just missing a few fashions. I also have the newer line that Integrity put out a few years back.

Also have 3 of the AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN dolls. Fiona, Marie and Myrtle.

Also the Faye Dunaway MOMMIE DEAREST one complete with a little wire hanger.

Who could resist?

I once went on a date with a guy who talked on and on about his doll collection— dolls of all the gay icons, starting with The Golden Girls.

First and only date with him

Does anyone on this thread collect fine dolls, or just modern schlock?

Of course, I collect dolls. I have to get up at five o'clock in the morning and SPARKLE, Neely, SPARKLE!

I don’t know if I would call them dolls or figurines, but those Funko Pop things are huge right now.

I love Blythe. Lots of my friends collect the dolls. They’re a lot of fun.

I prefer Shopkins and Pops

I'm a birdwatcher. Doll collectors make me feel GREAT about myself and my hobby!

Same here, R73, but I've been told that birds, like dolls, aren't real:

We've passed our family doll down the generations.

We wouldn't dare do otherwise.

R73 To each their own.

Man, I bet that guy at OP has to beat off the ladies.

I'm calling the police on R73!

Gavin MacLeod, not Ted Knight, collects Kewpie dolls.

r79 Ted Knight has been dead for years; he just collects worms.

Gays will always collect dolls, because it's the closest thing we have to giving birth without the messiness and the blood and the weight gain (oh god, the weight gain! *shudder*).

R81, I thought that's why we had pets.

Except that pets poop and dolls don't.

R63 = Rachel Hoffman.

My mother was a doll-maker for a while - she created fine art dolls that were life size portraits of actual infants. She only did about a dozen. She said the trick to avoiding the uncanny valley as to make the eyes just a little bit bigger so the finished creation was both recognizable and yet clearly a doll. Her work was very realistic - she hand-painted them. She had other dollmaker friends and some of their work was absolutely amazing - although often more fantastical and sculpture-like than anything you would give a child as a toy. There was one woman who did characters from Shakespeare and another who created small outdoor sculptures based on spirits of the Pacific Northwest (and there was nothing at all cure about them - some of these were genuinely scary when I was a kid). There was a woman from Japan who created traditional Japanese kimono dolls, and stitched the clothing out of silk she dyed herself. I've always been fascinated by historic toys, games, puppets, miniatures and automations, as well as stop-motion animation, like in "Coraline", so doll-collecting at a certain level doesn't strike me as odd.

Madame Alexander etc. I have no interest in.

It's common knowledge now that Dave Letterman was a mean, nasty piece of work. I have to admit that younger me laughed hard at this prank he pulled on Richard Simmons with this "Barbara Streisand" doll. I assumed Richard was in on the joke at the time. I'm not so sure that was the case.

[quote]Except that pets poop and dolls don't.

The person who invents a non-pooping pet will be an instant billionaire.

here you go, R86

I knew a guy who always had financial problems but kept buying junk like dolls and designer “leather condoms”. He was mean-spirited but always played the victim. His mother left him right after giving birth and he had extreme mommy issues.

R9 LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that movie!

Hell, yes. I collect dolls (60s, 70 fashion dolls + antique ones). I inherited my mother's dolls and dollhouses. I want to sell my mother's Madame Alexander dolls and 2 of her big dollhouses.

I went to a doll fair once and it was really bizarre. There were some very scary handmade porcelain dolls. I realized that the women dollmakers were crafting dolls that looked like their ugly, freaky, freckled-faced daughters.

OMG, how have I never heard of that movie @R9? Looks fantastic.

R91 Damn, straight! The film, Attack of the Puppet People, is a classic!

R92, I'm going to watch it this weekend. Seriously.

r11, which one is Marie?

I know THAT guy. Ginger with freckles; shouldn’t have graduated college but played the victim, “I’m gay” card. Works for harlequin romance but tells everyone else what they should be doing and thinking politically.

Owes plenty of money to banks.

I occasionally buy old dolls on eBay but only if they're creepy looking.

Yep. I collect Blythe dolls.

I would go out with a guy tattooed from head to toe before I'd go out with a doll collector.

Arbiter of questionable taste Candy Spelling put her collection up for auction years ago.

Au contraire, R82.

R90 I got into dollhouses for several years and I can tell you now,you wont get 1/10 of what they are worth . its a very expensive hobby ,but the resell market is shit. Ive got one I built that has about $4000 worth of artisan hand crafted furniture and accessories in it and when I tried to sell it the offers I got were ridiculous. Ive got it wrapped and in storage along with a few others. I guess they can deal with it all when Im dead. I loved building them but it just got too pricey. I had to have the nicer furniture,not that mass produced made in china crap . I once paid $400 for a miniature queen Anne dresser ! I could get a real one for that much .

That guy has one weird body. Barrel chest but super thin arms and tiny hands. Seriously, what is up with his right arm?

Just started collecting dolls during the COVID-19 crisis. This is the first doll I purchased. His name is Xavier. He has that extra something special that has kept me from becoming a freaky shut-in with no human interaction. Plus, he is so easy to clean, I just set him outside when it rains and he’s good to go for another round.