Still no pictures

Okay, my super late present is finally here, and I'm going sort of haywire with Volks Dollfie Dream stuff. I'm ordering her a whole new torso, (AND testing their hair-dryer plan at home), some wig sticky, a wig cap, a body suit that helps to protect her from staining, and some freaking socks.

Then! I will investigate knitting some laceweight sweaters, since the outfit from volks that includes a VERY loosely knit and sheer sweater (and a cute skirt) is way out of my price range. I do have sock needles, and hell if I can't knit something just as good, and possibly with more shaping, and definitely less see-through.

The shoes are still an issue. A ridiculous issue.

My main gripe is this: there have GOT to be other Continental North American Dollfie Dream owners out there. People for whom the aesthetic and price were met and merged in this economic and adorable collectible. The ultimate in customizable figures, she stands an impressive 25" tall (approx) and has fantastic poseablility and is even able to stand on her own. Extra head molds are also available, as well as hands, body parts, wigs, and eyes to make each doll as unique as the owner's vision can allow. However, customizing your character or ideal collectible is not complete without clothing. )At least, for those who aren't planning on simply displaying their doll as a poseable anime-esque nude.)

Granted, I know where the other owners are (denofangels, mostly, or hiding out as normies without devoting much online presence to their doll), but WHERE are these people getting clothing for their doll. AND SHOES?!?

Volksusa sells things custom-tailored for Dollfie Dream, and they're always great, but they don't offer a lot of variety or options. Where are the standard blouses? The skirts? (THE SHOES!) Where is the plain underkimono, and elaborate outer kimono? The different school shoes or loose schoolgirl socks? Surely the whole world doesn't plan to knit such socks in such tiny gauges? I mean, I can on some 000 needles or something, but really, shouldn't this be the age of industrialism, where my every desire is met in huge quantities for a reasonable value of work-to-cost? Do these other owners not care that their home-made outfit looks horrible because it came from a pattern for a completely different doll? Do they like that the print on their doll's sundress is way too huge for any concept of realistic scale to apply? Did they always dream of a doll with a rabbit fur wig that looks like matted crap? Don't get me started on face-ups, also. I've seen some good ones, but for every one that looks professional, there seems to be another person perfectly proud to own a crack-whore clown.

You spent money on this. A lot of it. If you have the budget to waste these things, please just send me your money and pretend that you bought, ruined, and have "stored" another ABJD. I will pretend also, and we can chat about your not-real (and therefore not ruined, wasted, or stored beyond your sight) doll. For every $200 you send, I will give you 6 months of fake friendship, during which time I will listen, rapt, to your every rambling about this idealized character you've imagined for your doll, gush over your description of the outfits, wigs, and accessories you envision, and devotedly sigh when you itemize the contents of it's tiny purse. It will be like having a doll so perfect that it can't exist in this reality. And your money will be put to entertaining use, purchasing things for my own doll that are suited to this reality, yarn for my knitting habit, and a big screen tv for my front room.

Still, if you spent the money on a this hobby, and feel that you'd like to save up for another doll or five, why aren't you taking the effort to either pony up for tailor-made outifts, or at least attempting to create something that looks feasable yourself? Why do things half-assed? If you're going to do it, go all out. Stop wasting money on brand-name food, and spend it on your dolls. If you must, craft these necessities yourself! You took the time to learn the lingo, browse hundreds of yahoo!Japan auctions, and familiarize yourself with every nuance of your new toy. Now try learning new skills to further your domination of this retail sport! Sew a decent skirt, but not just something that covers the doll pelvis. Look at a skirt in a store, and then imagine that shrunk down porpotionally. Don't tie a strip of fabrick from armpits to knees and belt it with a rubberband. That is not a dress. Anyone who wears that in public, and believes they look normal, either needs medication and therapy, or euthenasia. Surely we, who produce such geniuses that can paint masterpieces on pinheads and craft intricately detailed miniature homes and embroidered coinpurses can figure out fabric scale, design, and sewing. And the shoes...

Barefoot is only an option if it matches the outfit's theme or implied location. A beach dress? Fine. A winter coat? Not fine.

People used to make shoes from SCRATCH, after all. We relied on cobblers (or lots of wrapped rags) for hundreds of years before we came up with the whole extra-continental child-labor factories. Surely it can't be that hard to figure out, right?

There has GOT to be an easier way to achieve shoes that don't look like Cabbage Patch shoes on a Barbie. I'm thinking thin plastic soles cut to match the doll feet, and then making a shoe form by doing a mold of said foot with clay (safely wrapped in saran-wrap), and baking this impression into a mold. Then, fill the mold with white clay, and the baked result should render a feasable model. The white clay appendage will not only be much less valuable, in case of breakage, stabbage, or gluage, but also might show staining hazards long before I put the item on the actual doll. I could also glue or sew a thin material liner to the interior to help prevent staining.

Then I can stretch heavy starched canvas or thin leather over the foot mold however I want, and wet/stretch to shape. Stitch to size/shape, glue to sole, and done, right?

If I can figure this much out with my limited grasp on clothing creation, where are all you nutty people who could do it better? Are you all so intensely devoted to completely opposite crafts/hobbies? All of you?