First, a theme will help you organize your dolls and help narrow your collection. Second, themes help you shop for items that fit with your current collection, and help justify those purchases. For example, “This doll will fit in perfectly with my Alice in Wonderland collection.”
How do you decide what themes will be in your collection? Here are some ideas from my collection’s themes:
- Alice in Wonderland
- Henry VIII’s Wives
- History of Fashion
- Really Expensive Dolls That I Couldn’t Afford But Had to Have
- Reimagined Fairytale Characters
- Reimagined Historical Characters
If your favorite designer comes out with a new line that you must add to your collection, and they don’t fit in anywhere, simply add a new theme.
For example, the Upside Down Oz collection by Goodreau Doll is just wonderful. So I’ve decided I love dolls with unusual hair color. So I add a new theme:
- Dolls with Unnatural Hair or Skin Color
You can add several of your existing dolls (for example, a Wicked Witch doll or a BJD with a faux fur wig) to that theme and display them together.
The best part is that, while your doll collection may look organized and under control with thgis method, you can still pretty much buy whatever doll strikes your fancy by setting up a new theme. It’s a great way to justify your purchases!
Photos taken by me from my collection:
Top photo: FR Nippon Red Rabbit Misaki (Integrity Toys), Adeline Joy (Goodreau Doll), Secret (Goodreau) outfit by Michele Hardy, Ashlyn (Goodreau) outfit by Nankatts, Sky (Peak’s Woods) outfit by Nankatts, Destini (Berdine Creedy), Anya (Kim Lasher) Curiouser & Curiouser outfit from Effanbee, Alyce (Tonner Doll), Barbie (Mattel) on Fashion Royalty body, Whisper (Goodreau), Goth Alice (Goodreau)
Bottom photo: Sky (Peak’s Woods), Whisper (Goodreau), Mod Alice, Destini and Harmoni (Berdine Creedy). All outfits by Michele Hardy.
