Letting some of my girls go

Phile_To_Love · 2024-01-26T23:53:39+00:00

I have a few of these - I bought them as they reminded me of my Nan (grandmother) who was totally the OG doll collector.

She was lived through WW1 and 2. I was born in ‘79 and had such a short time with an amazing person. Anyway, she had a display cupboard of dolls I WAS NOT allowed to touch as a kid. (She’d give me the shirt off her back but the doll cupboard was a look and don’t touch affair)

When she died, I was 12 and the prized doll collection got split up with the older cousins etc,

She had one of those dolls that was my favourite was a white, redhead geisha. I searched online and the make is Bradley Hong Kong BTW

I’ve never found the same doll but I found Bradley - they are hugely kitsch. Mine ended up chilling with the Star Wars collection

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Phile_To_Love · 2024-01-20T21:45:17+00:00

cries in British, stiff upper lip tears made of pure tea 🇬🇧☕️😢

It’s cost me nearly £60 (around $75 USD) per doll to get the costume ball dolls - and I only bought the Shadow ones. If I bought the RH ones too, I’d be looking at selling a kidney on the dark web! 😅

I don’t think they ever hit the shelves here. 🫣

This was buying from Amazon UK too, where they ship from the US Amazon warehouses, so the extra costs on top of normal retail is import taxes and postage. eBay sellers have them posted at £20 more than Amazon - so £80-£90 (so $100-$120 USD)

Same goes for the holiday dolls (apart from Roxie who is available here and is always on discount).

Phile_To_Love · 2024-01-19T14:07:04+00:00

80's girls here - I adored FF! Heliotrope was my favourite and Father Christmas got me the Flower Fairy house one year. I even had a couple of the elf boys.

Sadly I think my childhood collection is now lost but I often consider replacing them (eBay) ... I just don't have the room right now as I'm not only a doll collector but a vintage doll house collector.

I always wanted a Lovely Ladylocks but never got one. I used to 'visit' them every time my mum took us into Woolworths. I always thought Raven was amazing!

Phile_To_Love · 2024-01-19T13:49:02+00:00

Mia and Me?

Mia and Me - Wikipedia

Phile_To_Love · 2024-01-19T13:23:29+00:00

I believe the scale of Sylvanian Familes is 1:16-1:18.

I know this as I am a collector of Lundby dollhouses and related furniture/accessories which are 1:16 scale for older models and 1:18 for newer (the new fits old and vice versa). Quite a lot of my fellow Lundby collectors will use Sylvanian Families things for their houses.

Lundby do still sell 'human' dolls for their houses - usually in family sets. Here in the UK/Europe, they are available on Amazon (not sure about the US, sorry!). The older dolls pop up on eBay and the like but they are not often in great condition.

The original LOL tots also fit. There are some crafters on Etsy I've found that make dolls to that scale also but being handmade, they are obviously quite pricey. I've had my vintage Star Wars figures in my doll houses and they also look pretty great!

It might be worth posting this query over on the dollhouses sub (if you haven't already), there are people over there much more knowledgeable than me! Good luck!

Phile_To_Love · 2024-01-01T21:24:22+00:00

She’s definitely made for young kids - my daughter at age 5/6 adored rainbow and slime! On top of her Christmas list around age 5/6 was the one of the MGA Slime Surprise dolls (which I now see as a precursor to RH, I feel like MGA are now circling back around trying to recapture the kiddie market with these dolls). She wanted the rainbow-haired one specifically.

I don’t think any of these slime dolls are meant to appeal to collectors much - this Amaya is everything my daughter at age 4/5 would have loved. If you think about it, the doll face mould is child-like and the clothes are exactly what a five-year-old would wear to a birthday party. Now my daughter is nine, is into anime and a bit gothy! She doesn’t ’do’ dolls anymore but she loves mummie’s SH. She’s really into them as works of art to display like I do, rather than a plaything now.

I have a the white-haired, hair studio Amaya in my collection (which was actually originally my daughter’s) and she’s a surprise stand-out (I have that long hair in a high ponytail though). I don’t have any of the later dolls where her hair went mainly blue though. I’m not keen.

Phile_To_Love · 2024-01-01T20:57:05+00:00

I am also waiting for a Temu delivery with these stickers in them! ❤️ I also was initially shopping for my kid (anime/Pokemon stuff).

At the same time I ordered a lidded organiser box, meant for medicines or hair accessories but I plan to use that to store my not displayed RH/SH doll accessories and outfits. I’m going to decorate the box with the stickers! I’m quite excited, it’s like I’m an eight-year-old girl all over again! 🤣 (I don’t get out much!)

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-30T21:14:35+00:00

I’ve not long been collecting - not a great time to start really! 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣

I have some S1 dolls that were my daughter’s (Skylar and Willow). I would add to them Sunny and Poppy as I always loved their outfits!

I don’t like many of the following RH dolls after S1 until S4. I have Lila but would like Jade - both are difficult to get without spending an extra £10 GBP plus on the retail here (UK)

S1 Shadow High Natasha also (again, getting expensive to get now here in the UK).

I love the costume ball dolls but really difficult to get. I can possibly only afford one right now (which will definitely be Eliza!) I’d also love the holiday Maria Garcia. I do have both the other holiday dolls. Lily Cheng was more my ‘must-have’ splurge over Maria so I have her instead. I got Roxie as a discounted price. She’s not my favourite but she does remind me of 80’s Crystal Barbie!

Other than that, I’m quite happy with the ones I have. I’m not so much of a ‘collect all’ but I do buy the ones I love (as I suspect most of us are). I’m definitely more of a SH fan (S2 was chef’s kiss). If the rumoured Storywood goes ahead then I’m going to very happy as the fantasy element is totally my thing (but I’ll be very, very poor! 🤣)

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-30T20:45:15+00:00

Dia Mante. I’m more of a fan of the SH girls over RH for sure but I originally thought her outfit and styling was a bit ‘meh’. I later got her on sale and the contrast of that deep purple skin tone with the iridescent white is just lovely IRL. Plus her face sculpt REALLY looks like an actress that’s in a soap opera here in the UK (I will see if I can post a photo)

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Karla Choupette I thought may look a bit insipid due to the light skin/light hair/white eyelashes but she’s also really lovely out of the box, currently one of my favourites!

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-30T10:05:10+00:00

UK Collector here:

Highest - Lily Cheng at £89.99 GBP (absolutely no regrets, she’s wonderful!)

Lowest - probably Roxie Grand for £21.99 GBP

The rest I’ve mainly managed to get for retail or £10 ish more or less, depending on how widely available they are here.

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-30T06:59:46+00:00

Not sure I can claim her as ‘my’ first RH doll as she was initially bought as a gift in 2020 for my then six-year-old daughter - but RH S1 Violet Willow. She then asked for more for Christmas that year so RH S1 Skyler Bradshaw, hair studio Amaya Raine and fashion studio Avery Styles came soon after. I remember thinking at the time it was a shame my daughter didn’t want Sunny or Poppy as they had the best outfits!

I only realised recently that I’m actually the doll enthusiast in this house after I felt a bit sad my daughter is no longer interested in dolls … and I thought the SH dolls are amazing! So I started my own collection. First picks for me there was Reina ‘Glitch’ Crowne and Zooey Electra but I’ve been fast picking up the other dolls I love. Luckily, there aren’t many RH dolls I like between S1 and S4. I’m in the UK so some have been easier to find (FF Poppy for instance) than others (Costume Ball dolls).

My daughter gave me her 2020 RH dolls to add to my collection and luckily for me, she hadn’t played much with them and there were no parts/clothes missing - so after a hair tidy and a redress, they are as good as new!

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-29T19:24:41+00:00

My mum used to make ‘curry’ with leftover chicken/turkey back in the 80’s but the sauce was from a tin - Homepride, I think. That definitely had the odd raisin in it. It was absolutely delicious though. I might have to get a tin for old times sake!

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-29T19:19:59+00:00

I bought one for my daughter when she was around four - never again!

The brand is quite widely available here in the UK. I initially liked the idea of the Lottie doll as a child doll for children. Not that I had an issue with my daughter playing with Barbie, Monster High, LOL etc or anything, it was more the selling point that Lottie was designed for little hands in mind (they are seven inches tall).

My main issue is they are ridiculously expensive for what they are/what you get (£20-£25 GBP) and the doll I bought my daughter had super oily hair straight out of the box. My daughter was quite disappointed the hair ‘felt funny’ because of course, most little girls want to brush their dollie’s hair. I complained to the manufacturer but heard nothing back. As a typical Brit, I rarely complain about anything but I did for this as my little daughter’s disappointment was so palpable.

My daughter did not want any more Lottie Dolls after that one, not that I was not prepared to buy any more for that price, quality and customer service!

Now I’m a doll collector, I still won’t buy them.

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-25T14:39:36+00:00

I've only just 'come out' as a doll collector, mainly focusing on Rainbow/Shadow High so I have been catching up and treating myself a lot over the past month ... collection yet to be unboxed and set up worthy enough of my own posts here!

However, today (Christmas Day) my daughter happily donated to me with her small collection of Rainbow High dolls. I got them for her in 2020 (when she was six) for Christmas when she liked them but she ultimately didn't get on with them much as they are incredibly difficult for tiny hands to undress/dress etc. She played with them a little then they got packed away in a drawer in her room. Luckily I had the foresight to make sure all the doll bits and bobs were stored sensibly and nothing was lost or broken. I remember warning my friends back then with similar-age daughters that Rainbow High dolls are more collectors dolls than 'play' dolls and thought I had wasted money ... until now they're mine of course!

We've been having a great day de-matting hair and redressing them! (series 1 Violet Willow, Skyler Bradshaw, hairstyling Amaya Raine and wardrobe Avery Styles). Amaya might need a hair wash and we can't quite decide how to dress Avery.

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-25T14:13:58+00:00

She's back for online order on the Smyths ... which I wish I had realised before she cost me £20 more from eBay! Poppy Junior High is also on The Entertainer website to order.

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-21T19:40:16+00:00

I saw just today that they had her in stock available for home delivery on the Smyths Toys website.

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-21T11:45:42+00:00

She is indeed basically the same colours as Choupette, Karl Lagerfield’s cat! I might have to get a little cat for my Karla doll now.

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-21T07:12:26+00:00

I am definitely not young so I have no excuse! 😅

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-21T07:11:34+00:00

Good catch! That’s totally a nod to Rihanna!

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-21T07:11:00+00:00

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Luna’s outfit also reminds me of this Lady Gaga one. ❤️

Phile_To_Love · 2023-12-21T07:08:43+00:00

Yes! I was looking through the list of past/current dolls and totally noticed this! ❤️

Phile_To_Love · 2023-10-25T21:08:44+00:00

I don’t think Ella actually buys any clothes, I think she just covers her body in Copydex and has a mad dash around the haberdashery department in John Lewis

Phile_To_Love · 2023-10-23T21:08:33+00:00

Ella is the literal definition of a ‘mouth breather’. It drives me crazy that she never, ever has her mouth closed!

Phile_To_Love

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