How do you collect your dolls?

[Samantha_Nellie_Felicity]

Do you keep them in perfect condition, and don't change them much or play with their hair and have lots of clothes for them?

I keep mine in perfect condition, on a shelf or with their furniture. Example- Felicity's hair hasn't been taken out of it's ribbon ever. (almost 4 years old)

But that doesnt mean I dont love them, I really love them, I just want them to look nice.

[jessicasturm]

I love changing thier clothes and playing with thier hair. I had Molly and Addy as a little girl, and always played with them, and they held up very well. I don't worry about "playing" with the dolls, because I know thats what they are build for, and they won't fall apart.

Because I never plan to sell, I don't care if its the original hair style, as long as it looks good to me.

[angelnise]

Display a doll and it becomes just as boring as a stamp collection. I'd love to play with mine. Sometimes they study with me, and I love making things for them!

[SeshetOfAvalon]

I'm a "display and play" collector! I love my girls and they get alot of attention. My favorite thing about doll collecting is that you get to play with them, something you can't do with fenton art glass or stamps! [img]tongue.gif[/img] I love to photograph my girls, and changing clothes is probably my favorite activity with them. I also cuddle with them when I'm watching TV and they keep me company when I'm working. The only thing I don't do is hair. I can barely get mine to look right! lol Though I have to admit I did a pretty good job rebraiding Molly's hair. But now seeing that they cut the hair for the braid ends to be straight, my girls will probably keep their orginial braids. Everyone else is suspectiable to hair torture. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[PrincessRuthie]

I love to dress them and style their hair. I've grown up with AG, so it's more of a 'remembering my childhood' thing. I do like to display them, but they can't stay up on a shelf for long because usually one or two like to sit with me when I do something. And I love to photograph them, but sometimes I'm not too happy with my pictures!

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ March 08, 2006 06:03 PM: Message edited by: PrincessRuthie(Laura) ]</font>

[cami713]

Personally, in regards to this, mine are definitely play dolls. I've had three of my dolls since I was a child, and have been collecting on and off for over 10 years.

I would NEVER keep a dolls' hair in the style it came in, as I find that to simply be a mentality of keeping them good to be "worth" something. I don't buy them to sell in the future, and I want them to be played with, and pretty when they are displayed. To me, they're not pretty when they look the same all the time. And with the long, gorgeous hair some of these dolls have, it seems like such a waste to keep their hair in braids and ponytails ALL the time.

I have a hair obsession (my own is quite long, for the same reason), and I love playing with dollie hair. I took Jess' hair out of the braids about 5 min after I took her out of the box. Then again, I'm quite good with hair, and can normally get the styles back to how they were when the doll arrived, so I don't think of that as an issue for me. My dolls' hair are hardly ever styled as they were when they arrived, except for Nellie, because there's very little one can do with such short hair.

Generally my dolls stand on a "shelf", and smile out at people entering my room. However, I definitely do not see them as collector, or display, dolls.

[MissCurlyCat]

I put mine on a shelf when I'm not playing with then so they can be displayed. But I do take one or two down a day to play with them, give them a new hair do', and change their outfits. They're never neglected yet they are displayed. [img]cool.gif[/img]

I don't buy AGs to sell them, so they don't keep their original do'. Sometimes I avoid buying a new doll to just buy one used or on ebay. I love to give dolls better homes(Assuming the previous owner didn't love it's doll because they were selling it/ got tired of it).But I do acknowledge the fact that just because people are selling a doll doesn't mean they don't love it any more!

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ March 08, 2006 06:19 PM: Message edited by: MissCurlyCat ]</font>

[Samantha_Nellie_Felicity]

I love my dolls, and never plan on selling them. I take them off the shelf and hug them and talk to them.

talk to your dolls.... don't we all?

[TaffyCheerful]

I change their clothes almost immediately upon their arrival. I don't so much "style" their hair as I do work to keep it in its original style; I brush it. They can expect to have their clothes changed with the season and all of my dolls are expected to "share" clothes from a waaaay too huge wardrobe.

And, yes, I do talk to my dolls all of the time.

Taffy (who has Penny Sue dressed in a communion dress and veil sitting on my desk at work right now)

[monimarine]

Ours- we change outfits with the seasons or birthdays, DD plays with hers and sometimes we use them all to make albums for the board. Mine normally sit on the dresser, but sometimes I have one with me at the computer or while I watch tv and read. Some we do different hair styles on and there are others that will never have different hair- like Josefina. I am not going to mess with her braid or Jess's.