What have you experienced when taking your dolls out in public?

[Rhian]

I often feel in the minority because I'm a doll owner who keeps her dolls strictly inside the house and garden. I don't take my dolls out in public and, so far, I've not been to any meetups (though this I hope to change!).

Obviously, experiences will vary based on who you're with and where you go, but I'd love to hear how you've fared when on doll outings or public photoshoots! Did everyone point and stare? Did you traumatise any small children? Did you manage to entice anyone to join the hobby? Tell your stories here! :D

[Taco]

My experiences have been largely positive. I've taken them to hobby and fabric stores, the local Chinese place and IHOP. People are usually genuinly interested and want to know what kind of dolls they are, where they came from, etc. I was with some friends at Hobby Lobby with some of our dolls, and we ran into another doll collector. She didn't collect bjds, but she recognized them from magazines--it was pretty neat. We also met a guy who made shoes for reinactment costumes--I don't think he would have stopped to talk to us, if we hadn't had our dolls with us. The people at the Chinese restaurant seemed to get a kick out of the dolls, and would notice if we had someone new with us or left a particular one at home (this was before I had quite so many).

The only places I've gotten any flack have been anime cons--the first two cons I went to I didn't run into anyone rude, so it was a surprise when I went to ACEN and MTAC and got all sorts of idiotic comments from people. Now, there were alot of nice people there too, and the nice ones outnumbered the rude people, but still...some peoples children : P

My friend and I did scare some people in a gas station once. We were on our way to Toronto for a convention and I had just recently gotten my first doll. We decided to chronical our trip by taking pics of Hikaru along the way. We stopped for donuts at a gas station in this little town in Indiana, and I set Hikaru up like he was taking a box of donuts off the lower shelf, so we could get a picture. When we went up to the cash register to pay, the cashier wouldn't make eye contact with us--it was like she was afraid we might attack at any moment.

[saraquill]

Mostly, I got people interested in whatever girl I had with me. Usually, I would end up directing them to DoA. I know when I'm at meetups or just by myself, the dolls tend to attract people, and win over converts.

[nakitama]

Rhian, my experiances have been all positive! No one has ever said anything negative to me, and if they had thought it, they kept it to themselves. I've found the important thing is to be friendly, kind, and receptive when people ask questions. It does get kinda annoying when someone asks "what are those?" for the tenth time that day, but perservere! And make flyers ;)

My friend and I did scare some people in a gas station once. We were on our way to Toronto for a convention and I had just recently gotten my first doll. We decided to chronical our trip by taking pics of Hikaru along the way. We stopped for donuts at a gas station in this little town in Indiana, and I set Hikaru up like he was taking a box of donuts off the lower shelf, so we could get a picture. When we went up to the cash register to pay, the cashier wouldn't make eye contact with us--it was like she was afraid we might attack at any moment.
Kyah! That's too funny!! :p

[ravendolls]

I don't take my dolls out in public either... but I might to photograph my FCS girl in water when she arrives. I'm not looking forward to that though, I prefer to be unnoticeable in public!! D-:

Raven

[Shankula]

Oddly enough, I've never had a man ask about the dolls, only women--unless you count mocking-- "Oh look they're playing with their dollies" as a comment made SEVERAL times by a**holes.

[Brightfires]

I don't take my larger dolls out very often (Issun, my Banji, is another story. Iss fits in a pocket, so he gets to go just about everywhere, and most of the time no one even knows he's there! :D) ... But I used to take them to the park for pictures. Once in awhile one will go to the coffee house or out to lunch with me. They've been in the local fabric stores, since the older ladies who work there always ask about them. Teacup was my "personal carry-on item" when we went back to Birmingham for Christmas last year... So, they have had at least SOME time out of the house, even if it isn't common practice.

That said, my experiences with taking them out have been positive over-all. No one has ever reacted badly or been rude. (I think my being older and looking like a pretty typical "Suburban Soccer-Mom" helps there. If I were a teenager in Lolita or a Goth kid, some people might be a little more willing to act like jerks-) Most of the time, if people have noticed the doll at all, they've been very curious about it. They want to know what it is, or if I made it, or where I got it... It's a lot of fun to see people's reactions to them once they come over and really get a good look at them.

With Issun it's a little different, since he's so small and typically out of casual line-of-sight... He rarely gets noticed like that, and even when he does he's usually assumed to be a Skipper or a Polly. Last Christmas, though, I had him stashed in my coat's breast pocket for awhile, just peeking out over the top and wearing his little Santa hat. He got quite a few double-takes and "Is that an elf?"-questions. That was fun. ^_^

[VersionSix]

When I was newer into the hobby, I took my MSD Ken around with me a lot- and honestly, I usually got positive reactions and people asking me all sorts of questions, interested.

Of course, if you ever mention the cost, they're horrified. ^_^;;

If I'm in the park or something, people usually just ignore me :XD;

[sylvan leaf ~ Jaime]

011011101101110001010101110110101101

[Osaka]

I've had largely positive experiences when taking my dolls out with me. Sometimes little kids want to come up and look, but they seem to have this instinct that they are not to touch. (I think the kids come up because I generally have the flesh-child with me as well, so I'm a little more "kid-friendly.") I sometimes get asked at restaurants if the doll wants a menu too (almost always at the Chinese or Japanese restaurants! XD) or if he would like a booster seat. A *lot* of people ask about them--mostly older ladies. Some very elderly ladies I have encountered are absolutely delighted with them. The ladies at the fabric store are disappointed when I come in empty-handed, even.

I had an awesome random doll encounter in Boone, North Carolina. Wotan and I had made a trip over there to go to the game store and hang out, and I had brought a doll. I was walking down the street to the antique store, and three college girls ran up to me, because their friend had a BJD. That was very cool. ^3^

I've had a few jerk-face encounters--once, a group of teenagers hanging out in the mall wanted to titter and shriek over my "Michael Jackson" doll--I ignored them completely, because they were obviously morons who didn't have a nice thing to say about anyone, and at a couple of anime cons, where people want to get snarky about them. They won't come up and say it to your face, but stand way off to one side with at least two of their buddies and say loudly to the buddies how much they hate those creepy dolls. Again, they're idiots, and not worth the space they are consuming. XD

I'd say overall, 99% of my public encounters with dolls have been outstanding!

[Reshana]

The few times I've taken mine out in public (and I'm terribly self conscious every time I do it) I've gotten nothing but positive responses from those few people who approach me to ask. When I took Beren on the Battleship NC I kept gathering a line of children who followed me around like the Pied Piper, which was kind of amusing and unnerving. I've taken him to several roadside parks for photo shoots and once to a headshop because they had cool little novelties that I wanted to check the scale on. At the shop one of the ladies working there just couldn't stop looking at him and smiling, and she waved bye to him when I left. Mostly though people just stare while I try to walk along as if there's nothing out of the ordinary. :sweat

I do wish I could shed my discomfort about taking them out and about, when I'm out on the road (as I am now) they stay in their carrier most of the time and I don't get to enjoy them as much as I'd like.

[byakkoya]

So far, I've had nothing but good experiences. Most of the people who have come up to me while I had my dolls were older women who were really interested in them (they wanted to know everything.) I find it very amusing and I'm always happy to tell them about it. :p

[BunnyChan]

Just this evening while I was taking these (http://www.abjds.com/forum/showthread.php?t=960) photos in the parking lot of the fitness club right in front of my house (which happens to be where I work), some nosy lady drove up reaaaally slow, stared at me for a bit...and then pulled up to roll down her window and ask "Scuse me, are you alright? =D"

and I was just like ":| Yeah fine...*holds up camera* just taking pictures of my doll..." now get outta my background...

And she was like "In the RAIN? =DDD" and I nodded and stopped paying attention to her. She rolled her window up and drove off after that.

What....aintcha ever seen a girl crouched under a tree in a public parking lot wearing plaid pajamas and no shoes with a doll in the rain before?? Buzz off... If im homeless, I'll call you~

[Shankula]

BunnyChan--all I can say in response to your photos is
*covet, Covet, COVET*!

[celestia]

I remember taking around a black DoD back and feeling like a terrorist with giant Australian "Terrorist hotline" posters plastered up everywhere. ... I don't really experience anything different though.. i'd probably feel just as scrutinised if i was wearing a giant wedding dress in the middle of the city gardens during my own wedding.

[rattimoth]

my dolls go EVERYWHERE with me.. always at least one.. and not necessarily the smallest.

Experiences.. all positive..lots of questions, some REALLY wierd looks when they ask the price and get told heheheheee..

Couple of really interesting episodes.. I took my hound into an adult shop, just because.. he was in the car with us, we wanted to buy pr0n .. so in he went... turns out the girl behind the counter was PHOBIC about dolls.. and I mean shaking like a leaf while hiding in the corner phobic. As soon as I realised what was going on I went to take him back to the car.. she insisted he stay in, and even got so brave as to have him sit on the counter while she rang up our purchases.. she ended up fascinated and we now converse by email regularly (AND I get discounts on my movies - yay!)

second... a friend and I were taking pics of our dolls in the main street of a local town.. it was a public holiday, not many people around, and the wall and garden were PERFECT scale.. we were having a great time.. and then up rolled the police car.. he stopped.. wound down his window and looked... when we realised he was there and moved aside so he could see we were taking photos and not vandalising anything (as if.. two middle aged overweight women, after all!) he shook his head, and drove off laughing... as a bonus, I have NOT been pulled over in a year :>

I have a market stall three weekends out of four, and a lot of my repeat customers ask about specific dolls, and demand to see new ones, and give me suggestions for clothing, as well as bring me things that they think my dolls will like...

Oooh, wait.. one SORT of negative experience.. I was at my market stall one day and a horrid little asian gentleman wandered up and looked at my Dorothy and offered me $30 for her - I looked at him and said 'you know what she is?" he went "dollfie" I said yes, and he couldn't have her for $3000 - he went away quickly.. obviously thought I was selling her second hand because she was sitting on my table.. horrid HORRID man - he wasn't even pleasant or polite...

Ok, thats it from me :>

Seek peace

Carol

[bakayaro onna]

I get mostly positive responses when I take resin out in public. Or I get ignored.

It was fun having two of my brats with me in the grocery store, riding in the kiddy seat of the cart. No one blinked as far as I could tell, but I was too busy getting ingredients together for dinner to notice if anyone was gaping at the bunny boys.

I take them to craft stores, parks, school, work, trips, etc.

[rowena]

I've never had a negative experience when its come to strangers. Most of them just sort of ignore the fact I'm an adult type person carrying around a doll, and the ones that do say anything seem interested and ask questions. I've had a few almost scares with young kids (young enough that they really don't know better then to pick up random dolls) but the only really negative experiences have been with people I know. One girl said that I was stupid to spend that kind of money on a doll (and now she's getting one twice the price of mine) and another tried to knock on my girl's head.

[FranC]

I have only taken my boy out in public once; when I was meeting an online friend (and doll fiend) in a coffee shop. People looked. A few smirked. A little girl got as close as she could and stared silently at him until her mother called her away.

The worst thing happened in my own home, with non-doll loving visitors, one of whom said "This girl's hair-if it's messed up, she'll look like the chick in "Ring"!" while he advanced, fingers outstretched to my "girl". I roared at him "Leave my doll alone!" :mad:mad:mad:mad He did.

[Kim]

I rarely take my dolls out in public - they weigh a ton and I don't much see the point, but I always love the reactions I get when I take them to work. I don't do it very often, and it's always because I work right off of I95, so I often leave straight from work to go on trips to NY to visit rkold, and I leave my dolls in my office in the back on the desk.

The associates all call them my "gay penis dolls" since they always ask about doll dicks when they first see them. And I usually have my Unoa boy, and there are few things more amusing than going "And then, when I want him to wank off, I just pop this one off and pop this one on!" and watching them freak out. They also like to arrange them in inappropriate positions while I am not looking, and they've started to get creative. They all know how important they are to me and that they cost a lot of money, so they're all generally really careful handling them, so I'm cool with it.

Itachi also makes the con circuit since he's portable. I collect pics of various Naruto cosplayers holding him. One girl dressed as Sasuke actually almost started crying cause he scared her. No idea why, Itachi is adorable. :nod

[marsh]

I frequently take dolls out and about, and often carried in my arms, instead of concealed in a bag. One of the post office clerks at my local branch now expects an introduction to 'someone' every time I go to mail stuff out.

Most of the time the dolls are greeted with curiosity, interest and admiration. Occasionally some little kid will point, tug their mother's sleeve and say something about the weird lady with the doll. It's actually kind of cool when someone approaches me and wants to know about the doll, what it's wearing and of course, how much it cost. It's only been rarely that anyone said the doll was creepy, freaky or weird. And honestly, I can't argue with that when it happens. These dolls are very alive looking and that wigs some people out.

Carrying a doll around isn't a good idea if a person is shy, because it pretty much always attracts attention.

[branchuchan]

All in all my experiences have been positive - Austin is a very open minded place and I'm lucky to live here.

I've had a few strange experiences, like the runner in the park who just couldn't quite get over them. My friend Diane and I had to explain how we had customized them and just painted faces - and thus were out in the park using the beautiful scenery as a backdrop so we could show them off online XD

[Ladyrixx]

Mostly I've had positive experiences. One of the greeters at our Wal-Mart does porcalin dolls, and the people at the fabirc store and Village Inn seem surprised if I don't bring someone in. (And I think the guy at the comic/game shop knows Tristan's name, but not mine. :sweat)

The negitives have actually been kinda funny. When I'm at the "yuppy" mall, the packs of kids stare at me with this "Ewww, creepy doll lady" look, and I stare back with the "Ewww, mall kids" look. Or a waiter when we went out kept making fun of Tristan. I kept stareing at him thinking how he must really not want a tip...

[Bel]

I've only taken mine to mini-meets with doll friends - the library (quietest whisper-squee time ever, heh), coffee shops during down time, a couple of restaurants. People are curious, but polite. This is, however, a town full of art students, so residents are used to much weirder things than dolls.

Once I was running late to a Sat night meet at the coffee shop and just grabbed Rex, didn't pack him in a carrier. I marched into the coffee shop, Rex on my arm, only to find that the place was packed and there were live bands. I'd missed the message on my phone telling me the meet had moved. I admit, I felt a little self-conscious. Okay, I actually felt like a dumbass with a doll. Heh.

[ready2rokk]

I've taken my dolls to restaurants, the fabric store, and most recently an antique doll show (that sold eyes and stuff that would fit BJDs). I have never had a negative experience with this. Everyone is curious about them and ask lots of questions. I get the "Is your doll anatomically correct?" question a lot, and when I reply "Yes", they want to see, hehe.

[Obscurity]

I'm in kind of an odd place when it comes to bringing my dolls with me to places. I really hate just carrying things around for attention, it makes me feel reaaaaally awkward, so whenever I do consider hauling them around, it's always got to be for a photoshoot or some kind of inspiration.

However, I feel a little less pressured to have a direct purpose when I'm with other people with dolls as well. Color me insecure, but it always makes me feel like I stick out less when I'm not the only one.

This all might change though now that I've got my tiny. I just did an experimental run with him today, safely in a little tupperware container in my purse, just to make sure he fit, which he did - So he might be coming around with me from now on.

[avacado]

I've only taken my dolls to meets. And I've been lucky because I've gotten nice responses. One person thought my doll was associated with bondage somehow. But I thought it was funny, so I wasn't offended.

[Daniel Falls]

I have rarely ever taken my dolls out in public. Like Obscurity, I avoid drawing negative attention to myself. I think any adult with a huge doll in their hands would usually be looked at as awkward. The stigma is much worse if you're an adult male like me.

The only time I've taken my doll out in public, it was usually for meetups or the NY dolpa. I think that bystanders usually understood us as a meeting of doll collectors during those times.

[AreeElf]

For the most part I only take my yo sd sized dolls out in public. Luckily it's usually at family outings so people assume the doll belongs to one of my daughters and we are taking fun photos of the beloved doll.

msd I've brought to meets and my one SD never makes it out of the house or the house of relatives.

It took awhile for my relatives to adjust to me still "playing with dolls" One time I went to a bubble tea place with a friend and we awed questions o how much the pretty doll is.

[lin]

I don't usually take my dolls out in public, but I occasionally take a tiny one if I am going on a photo shoot mission with a doll friend. I don't take them out, though, until we are alone.

[eptrauma]

I took Ruby to school once to show a friend. It was even for a toy design class where we were encouraged to bring toys we liked. It was weird. I don't like attention for things i have to explain because i get tired of talking. No one was mean or rude, but i wouldn't do it again. I'm not shy, exactly, but i'm not really outgoing either and even though most comments were either positive "she's cool!" or neutral "oooh, creepy!", it still was just a pain. Everyone in the class was more into electronic modern toys than classic toys, so she didn't really fit in.

However, i tend to carry big purses and Snowdrop (unoa Lusis) is light and small, so when i first moved to Chicago i took her EVERYWHERE but no one saw her because she was hiding in my purse.

[Bel]

On a related note - though I don't take dolls with me unless it's to a meet, I almost always have doll *things* with me. It's to the point now that when I go to happy hour after work, people ask if I have any new hands, boobs, or eyeballs on me - and I always do!

[DimWitted]

at first i enjoy taking them out in public, but i feel kinda silly and childish doing it these days so i just keep my dolls in door all the time now

[Amaryllis]

I was completely prepared for strange reactions when I brought both Sen and Anzu (my Leroi and SwD Kaede, respectively) out for a day to my college campus. Most people thought they were pretty cool, a few were just like "aren't you too old to be playing with dolls?" and one of them was completely terrified of them (doll phobia?) so I packed them back into their case.

For the most part, I just explain to them that these dolls are my hobby, and while I don't demand them to go "ZOMG SO PRETTY ME WANT!" over them, I just ask that they respect the fact that this is something that I enjoy. :3

[lunameth]

It's all been pretty positive. I'm actually happy when people come up and ask questions, because I like people being bold enough to do it. And I'm really polite and love to answer their questions, and have definitely converted people because of it ^^ (If you're a doll owner who goes out with their doll and people come up and ask you questions? Please don't be rude to them -.- I've seen this happen a few times now and it's really embarrassing for the rest of us.)

I organised the Doll Zone at JapanEx in London this July, and that was a LOT of fun and we got tons of attention from non-BJD people. I gave at least 2 people websites and info on a couple of the dolls there, and I know I wasn't the only one. I loved seeing that, non-collectors wanting to know more about them even after they've heard the prices! lol (That's the ONE thing that puts people off, every time, guaranteed.) An awful lot of non-doll people entered the charity raffle for the DIM dolls as well, that was great to see.

I went to a meet recently in Birmingham, and we had lunch in a pub and had some of the dolls out on the table as we waited for our food/after we'd eaten, and the waiters were really amused. One kept coming back to ask questions; he said he understood the weird collecting hobbies, as he collected insects! He was cool ^^

We then saw a RAF open day and had a good old natter with a few of the guys there, that was so much fun. We went into one of the planes (Euro fighter :D) and took pictures, and they were really good about it. A woman infront of us in the queue stayed back while her partner sat in the cockpit, because she wanted to talk to us lol

We also had a young boy come up and ask questions, because his sister collected porcelain dolls. Very sweet <3

Brits do the whole 'looking without looking' thing, where they give you a sidelong glance and then look away for fear of being caught staring lol ^^ They try to act like nothing's out of the ordinary, and that it's natural for a grown woman to be seen in an aquarium taking pictures of a doll. Which it is, of course ^_-

[Messrs Moony]

It's gotten to the point now, that if I don't take my dolls out with me to eat, (Especially Saturday mornings to our every weekend hangout) I get looked at strangely and asked "Where are the kids?" People have come to associate me with my dolls where I eat, shop, at Starbucks, rehearsal for plays, and at church.

Yes, Cha (and sometimes Lorelei as well, when I can manage them both) goes to church every Sunday, sits up front in the choir with me right behind my preacher. At greeting time people will actually speak to him, shake his little resin hand and ask him how he's doing. They think he's great. XD

Everyone once and a while I still get the " O.o " look when I go somewhere we don't frequent much.

The only time I ever received a rude comment about my doll, was actually surprising because I got it at the anime convention that I'm staff for last year. (Like the blazing Yellow staff shirt wasn't a clue to him, that I wasn't someone he needed to be pissing off.) He was all "What's up with all these f-ing Barbie Dolls, and why are they here?" When I told them that there was a pannel on them and that they were a part of Asian culture he looked shocked and said that I was lying because he'd never heard about them. "They must not be as relevant as I thought they were."

I proceeded to tell him they were more relevent than smell Otaku fanboys and that if he didn't go take a shower I was going to kick him out of the con. XD

[OddEthics]

It's all positive for me. Even when the people don't like my dolls because I have a sense of humor. The girls at work love both of mine and frequently ask about them. ^^ And when I have to take one shopping usually everyone's curious about them. I haven't had any real negative experiences in taking them out.

[KeiVendetta]

Mixed for me xD

I've taken them to school, movies, Wal-mart, the mall etc.

Some peoples reaction is WTF and others are Woah that's so cool! :)

[Sola]

[COLOR="Magenta"]It's gotten to the point now--

Um, the pink text, you're killing me, here. I promise we'll pay attention even if you don't dress it up. :sweat



I rarely take the dolls out because i dislike carrying extra stuff and am terrified of them yellowing, :oops but the few times have not been so bad.


I usually take Ink, who is just a MNF, so most people don't even notice him. Boss at former workplace thought he was adorable - pretty impressive for a 50-year-old man, heh. Cute babybats on the train squeeing their faces off, and the occasional stranger nudging their friend and smiling have been the only other reactions i've noticed. I've also brought him to tabletop RPGs as a fidget, and my non-doll friends are bemusedly tolerant.


My elder brother isn't allowed near them anymore, though, as he has a habit of taking Myspace-risque pictures when i'm not looking. :XD

[nightmarenurse]

When I was first into the hobby I took my AR Ren just about everywhere. But then I moved in with my Husband (He'd been overseas when I originally bought the ren) I stopped doing as such to spare him any embarrassment.
I do however take one of my tinies in my purse every now and then though, since in there no one can see them so its not a problem.

[Merry]

The only sort of negative response was when I took one of my dolls into a doll shop that, at the time (2002ish), sold mostly Tonner and Madame Alexander dolls. I got sort of this 'smirk and nod' response I've come to expect from the fashion doll types and the woman didn't seem to think much of dolls made from resin (probably thinking of those cheap resin ornaments that break if you sneeze near them). All in all I was made to feel extremely uncomfortable and left fairly quickly.
Amusingly, this shop now carries loads of ABJD related stuff. :p

Aside from that I've had mostly positive reactions but with the typical shock if how much they cost comes up. Surprisingly, I've had more positive responses from men when it comes to how much they cost. Guys will shrug it off and say "I've paid way more than that for my wheels/stereo equipment/RC vehicles/whatever" so it seems they better understand spending a lot on a hobby. Or maybe that's just the typical male 'one-upmanship' response? ;)

[rottenlullaby]

I've had mostly great reactions, and will used to take a doll with me ptracticly everywhere. No I'm just kind of here and there with them. I did have a greally great random doll encounter one time..a girl form somewhere outside of Houston stooped in a doll shop me and my other friend were at with our BJD's she was looking for doll stuff and was going to be going to Japan soon (she was in Houston to get some sort of pasport) it was really neat!

[Arvanah]

Surprisingly, I've had more positive responses from men when it comes to how much they cost. Guys will shrug it off and say "I've paid way more than that for my wheels/stereo equipment/RC vehicles/whatever" so it seems they better understand spending a lot on a hobby. Or maybe that's just the typical male 'one-upmanship' response? ;)

I definitely relate to that. At my old job I used to bring in my Ttory Elf, or at least talk about her and my dolls a lot. It was always something I said I should be able to laugh about, because really if you're going to buy a doll that costs more than $200, you need to be able to laugh about it. The girls would always sort of playfully roll their eyes and tease me, though no one ever meant it meanly at all. Ben was the only guy there though, and he would always say he couldn't criticize me because of the thousands he spent on photography equipment. I don't think guys are really trying to one-up us, I think it's just that they seem to put a lot more importance on hobbies than the "average" girl. I've never met a guy who didn't respect the need for a hobby.

[Baakay]

I had my first experience taking a doll out in public last Halloween. It was hilarious :)

We weren't doing costume day at work or anything, but a few of us always show up in something. I found a pair of rubber elf ear tips that were almost *exactly* the color of my resin, er, skin, and wore them. I have little peaks on my ears anyway, and have always said that I was a half-elf. So people were doing major double-takes when they saw me. To add to the fun I had my little Bobo with me, all dressed up in his devil suit and the trident that he came with. People using the reference desk that day definitely got more than they expected! ;)

Since then my only experience taking one of them out was a couple of weeks ago at NDK in Denver. At lunch our waiter never so much as batted an eye, but asked us whether my Kenshin and Aernath's Ichigo wanted kids menus. :D

[ShaDrouet]

Mostly stares by the adults like is she for real.. and then the children all gawk and want to touch them.. Ive reached the point where Im not so self concious when I take my dolls out for a photo shoot anymore. there are there for me to enjoy and I just go full steam ahead with them and have fun

[aernath]

My nearest and dearest - Ichigo, has gone many, many places with me. :)

Now, the way I get over my shyness of taking a doll with me is to ignore the rest of the world, so I really don't see any of the responses. You actually have to get my attention first, usually by standing a foot away from my face and asking me a direct question.
But I don't think I've had a bad experience yet.
Well, except for the one guy at work that blasted me about Ichigo and Renji not looking anything like the characters. >.>
We're actually good friends now. XD AND he likes the dolls. ~_^

[Tsuminaki]

Nothing but good things, generally - naked curiosity sometimes but no animosity. I think it depends on location, and on the way the doll handler carries himself, too. I act as if it's no big deal, because really, it isn't.
I've brought dollies to meetups, on public transportation for sewing, to a couple of shopping districts to look for stuff in their size, and to a couple of cons (meaning maybe one ends up seeing a movie or going to dinner with me afterwards or something, for lack of shelter).

[Kyrie Arashi]

Carrying my Lati I tend to get people staring for a minute, then commenting that they thought he was a very skinny baby at first. I've also noticed that of all my dolls, my Mo, Killia, tends to attract the affection little old ladies.... x.x

[clochette]

I have only gotten positive reactions when taking the dolls out in public. I find that most people are very curious about the dolls...the tiny ones especially attract attention. Fee has travelled all over the world with me, and no one has ever reacted negatively to her. In fact, I've had people take pictures of her, or of me posing her in preparation of taking her picture. It's been amusing.

[PrinceOfFools]

I take mine to the craft store if I need help judging sizing for something, and some Fridays I bring one into work. I usually get the "creepy doll" thing (which, I'll admit, my dolls are pretty creepy), and my El always gets called a girl.

I did take him into a tattoo parlor once to get the same face tat he has on the back on my neck, and I got a "...creepy. Hey, this girl wants the same kanji this doll has on her face!" It actually irritated me more that they thought the symbols were kanji than them calling Klavier a girl. :sweat

[NikoMari]

I don't take either of my pair out with me much, but the few times I have they haven't attracted much notice. I did get a "Aren't you too old for that?" once, but most people who comment on them are just curious.

[Kokoryta]

For me, it's easier carrying my boy in my arms then stuffing him in a bag and dealing with that.
Most people here don't say many negative things, or none that I hear really. I usually get a few stares, a few smile and nods and one person who strikes up a conversation with me, usually in the metro. :lol I've also had a few people come up to me and say that they've seen other people with them before, and I usually ask where they saw them and try to figure out which of the Montreal owners they saw. :p

[rillystar]

I've had positive experiences...actually they're a great conversation starter. In the mall even a couple of us were sitting and chatting a a few parents, or even random men and women would come up and ask about them or get chatty about the whole thing. Mostly they'd get a bit wide eyed when they realized how much they cost but on the whole...great experiences. Even at the fabric and sewing stores they love my little guys `n gals. Had one class for pattern drafting and the teacher was playing with him and then examining the little clothes I'd made for my boy (Unoa B-el). The Dressew ladies know me now and a couple of the girls that work cutting the fabric like to pet the doll's heads XD it's quite amusing...

[kiradyn]

so far i've experienced mainly curiosity and/or amusement from passersby. there's been one rather experience that i classify under hilariously horrifying. i was too lazy to pack one of my boys back into the carrier after a meet and so was carrying him perched on my arm when my friends and i encountered a group of guys.

he was like "omg is that a doll?!" in a stage whisper. and since i wasn't in the best of moods then (bad sinus attack D: ), i replied the affirmative in a 'piss me off and i'll bite you' tone.

to cut this story short, he immediately proceeded to examine my boy and then kiss him on the cheek. only to find out from my friends that he just kissed a boy doll, and ended up mercilessly teased by his friends, in good humour, though.

[Laurmann2000]

I've taken my dolls to lots of places. Usually I have my human kids with me so I just feel like people will assume I'm holding one of my kids dolls, even though my kids are boys. LOL But the few times I"ve brought them out with me, without my human kids, I've not been stared at. People usually just glance and keep going. I've had a few fun experiences with someone coming up to me asking me, in an excited voice, "is that a dollfie?" And they are thrilled to have seen one IRL. Of course I have to explain that they are not all "dollfies" that is a Volks term, etc, etc. LOL

Anyway, overall it's always been a positive experience, except the one time some guy asked me if my doll was a Barbie. HORROR!!!

[crazybatt]

I didn't realize so many people took their dolls everywhere with them. Makes me feel bad since I only ever drag mine out for meets (even at Otakon). When I do take them to a meet, they stay in their carrier until I get where I'm going. :B I'm actually too embarrassed to tote them around like most people. I don't enjoy calling attention to myself, and a huge doll tends to do that. However, I do enjoy being around other people with their dolls. It's fun to reach over and adjust their heads/hands/wigs. XD

[Karhys]

I didn't realize so many people took their dolls everywhere with them. Makes me feel bad since I only ever drag mine out for meets (even at Otakon). When I do take them to a meet, they stay in their carrier until I get where I'm going. :B I'm actually too embarrassed to tote them around like most people. I don't enjoy calling attention to myself, and a huge doll tends to do that. However, I do enjoy being around other people with their dolls. It's fun to reach over and adjust their heads/hands/wigs. XD

I don't think you need to feel bad. :) I think this is one of the great things about this hobby -- that everyone has different ways of enjoying it. For some people, it's fun and enjoyable to take their dolls everywhere with them. For other people, it's a more personal only-at-home sort of thing. Neither one of these invalidates the other. :)

I'm a bit of both -- both that I tend to prefer to enjoy it in the privacy of my home, but that sometimes I take them out, either by myself or with other people, and enjoy them out in the open.

I've had various different reactions depending on the location. I've taken them out -- mostly in groups -- here in Sydney quite a few times for meets, often at scenic locations like the Botanical Gardens, or the Chinese Gardens, where we set them up for photos and the like. We'll get a lot of stares, but not too many comments. Those that do comment are pretty friendly and interested though.
I'll always remember once in the Chinese Gardens, this lady came past with her small child, and she was going "oooh, look at all the pretty dolls!" to her kid, and then she saw Vashti -- my Tiny who is EVIL and looks it. She stopped and said "oh, except that one, that one's evil!" I had to laugh. Even non-BJD people can tell the difference between the cute and evil ones. ;)
Sometimes on meets when we go for lunch/dinner afterwards we'll get the dolls out at the restaurant and sit them around on the tables and take photos and stuff, and some people will look, but mostly people just pay it no mind. I like that.
I've occasionally taken them out by myself -- I do a lot of outside photo stories in nearby parks -- but generally I'll get curious stares rather than being approached. I think that has to do with how I dress though, I'm sort of punk styled so that tends to make people wary. I did have one woman who came out to ask me about them and told me she'd seen me from up in her apartment and was so curious she had to come down and look. That was kind of funny. She really liked them though. :)

When I was living in Japan, I took the dolls out several times for meets with others and we got some very interesting reactions. One time in Harajuku no less than three video cameras filmed us -- and I mean, proper, TV sized video cameras, not the little things that tourists use. Another time a friend and I were setting our dolls up for pictures near the Meiji shrine, and then turned around and realised we'd gathered a curious circle of like fifteen onlookers.. as if we were buskers or something. It was actually a bit disconcerting! That said, we had several of the older Japanese ladies ask us interested questions about them and tell us how pretty they were, so that was quite nice. :) Another time we were taking pics in Yoyogi Park and some guy came running over from the main path to squee over them. He thought they were awesome and was really fascinated by them. I was actually kind of surprised as he was pretty young and apparently in a band and all (he told us to come by and see him) but he obviously really liked them. Another time (also at Yoyogi) we got descended on by a couple of Japanese girls who actually owned their own SD and wanted to see ours. They showed us pics they had on their phones and told us about a meet they'd had recently and all.. so that was quite a lot of fun. :D

So yeah.. I actually largely have positive experiences when taking them out.. but unless I'm in a group with others, I still tend to be a bit nervous about it. :sweat I'm somewhat self-conscious and I need to be in the right frame of mind before I can be that uncared about what people think of me, so I can only do it on certain occasions.

[Kokoryta]

here in Sydney quite a few times for meets, often at scenic locations like the Botanical Gardens, or the Chinese Gardens, where we set them up for photos and the like. We'll get a lot of stares, but not too many comments.

That actually reminds me of the last Montreal meet at our Botanical Gardens, it was a really nice day and so there were quite a few people out and about and by the time we had all set up, there was a small group of people around us. A few of them were asking questions, a few were (smartly) keeping their kids and their dirty hands away and there was one person who was asking to buy them from us. :angry

[gayle]

I have had nothing but positive experiences. Usually people are quite curious and want to see them up close. Twice I have had someone ask me if they were for sale, and when I told them the price range for these type of dolls, I think I sent them into immediate shock. LOL

In general, they simply seem to inspire curiosity and questions, which I am always happy to answer.

[Nene]

I've never had any problems with taking photo's of dolls outdoors. I did a fun pullip shoot on the beach that attracted a few stares, but no-one actually said anything :D I think it's well worth braving the outdoors to get some new ideas for shoots.

[kittenish]

I once had two teen girls (the bitchy not-wearing-very-much) type come up to me and say "Do you realise you're holding a DOLL?" very rudely. I just kinda went o_O at them and walked away without replying.

Oh no, a DOLL?! WHERE'S MY BABY GONE! :O

[PrinceOfFools]

Oh no, a DOLL?! WHERE'S MY BABY GONE! :O

Oh, Kittenish. I lolled.

[kiradyn]

kittenish>> XD I'm glad I wasn't in the middle of a mouthful (dinner :3) when I read that!

[Raouken]

I don't take them with me very often-mostly thanks to their weight, but when they do go out, I've had mostly good responses. There was this one guy who asked if I'd be the mother to his children because 'you have a doll, so you must like children'. I thought the reasoning-and the guy-were a bit weird expecially since I don't feel anything for having kids XXD

[Fyredancer]

Reactions have really varied. I have had a few really WEIRD reactions from a small number of people, which tends to stick unpleasantly in the mind. Because of that I've tended to limit taking them to places where it "makes sense" to bring them, such as doll meets where there will be other owners and dolls, the local doll and hobby show that takes place twice a year in Portland, and places where we're going to be taking pictures with our boys such as the Oregon Gardens most recently.

One question I tend to get almost EVERY time is "Did you make those?" And then I have to explain no, they're asian ball-jointed dolls, they're made by "X" company in Japan/Korea depending on which doll I have with me, etc. It gets to be a hassle because I'm not the patient kind of person who doesn't mind explaining something to strangers. Especially when I suspect they may be humoring me - because plenty of older folks get these amused, condescending smiles when they ask about the dolls.

[Tonboko]

No body asked questions when I had Catsy with us at Red Lobster... but we never had to hunt anyone down fro drink refills. ;)

[chibaraki]

I only take my dolls with me to meetups or similar, and I'm pretty shy so I usually let others do the explaining when people come up to ask about the dolls. I haven't ever had anyone be rude to me, but people do stare a lot -- not that I can blame them! I'd stare too if I saw someone lugging a two-foot doll around. I do hear a lot of "Did you make that?" or "Where did you get that?" and this last weekend a woman came up to a couple of us and said "Oh, you have THOSE dolls! I'm interested in those!"

[mylittlefighter]

I once had my doll in the car when I went to Starbucks and the barista said "Oh you have one of those expensive dolls! They're so beautiful!" XD
I only bring my dolls in public to the fabric store to check the grains of fabric. I generally don't get much of a reaction from people. :3

[HighPriestessIce]

I've had mostly negative responses, but then again that's just where I live. People here feel anything different needs to be beaten with a stick, shot, and killed D: Though there are the odd few positive comments/generally curious people.

[Kurosakura]

I'm an extremely private person and I absolutely LOATHE it when random strangers try to talk to me. So I've only very rarely taken my dolls outside, even though thats where the best light for photography is. :( I feel like I can't even take them out into my own yard because whenever I've tried, I get random passerbys asking questions. I'd really rather they just mind their own business and go away. I feel its very invasive and rude when I get interrupted while I'm busy doing stuff on my own property. There's also a LOT of children in the area and I don't really want any of them knowing I have dolls because I'd never hear the end of it. They already insist on asking me questions about my cat... (he is a very special cat. :P)

I'm MUCH better about it when I take my dolls to anime conventions or doll meets. I think its because I'm voluntarily putting myself there and I know what to expect. (But my dolls never come out of their carriers while I'm in transit to and from - UNLESS I'm traveling with friends.) I actually quite like showing my dolls to people who already know about them and either have some of their own or are interested in learning more. I think its because there's a pre-established understanding. So even if I've never met them before and even if they're not familiar with BJDs, they're not a member of "the public" either!

[Arvanah]

Oh no, a DOLL?! WHERE'S MY BABY GONE! :O

I think I might have actually pretended to flip out and say that if I'd been in the right mood. :lol

I definitely agree with Fyredancer on the whole idea of taking your dolls where it "makes sense". Explaining them to people is tedious and annoying and they don't actually CARE what you're saying in the end. I remember the only doll meet I ever went to was in Borders at the cafe. Most of the people ignored us, or watched for a few seconds and went on their way. It was in downtown Burlington and Vermont is full of crazies who don't get enough sunlight anyways. One guy did come by though and kept bothering us about if they were for sale or not. The mere idea made me want to smack him and scream "MINE!" And of course, the "did you make them" question was fairly prominant. Now personally, I think that question is kind of dumb. Fortunately one of the other girls there was a "miss know-it-all" kind of person and so I just ignored the people who came by and let her and the others do any talking. /antisocial

I think, now that I have tinies, I can fathom taking them all kinds of places. The idea of taking dolls to toy stores and the like was always kind of appealing to me, but even minis can be cumbersome.

[Bel]

Oh, yeah, Fyredancer, same here - every time someone's asked me about my dolls they've asked if I made them. And one person asked a few friends and I if we were going to open a doll shop. (This shows that we took too many damn dolls to the coffee shop, clearly. Heh.)

I've been asked more questions about my doll bags than I have about the dolls themselves. The bags make people think I'm carrying guns. (Of course, I AM licensed to carry a gun, but not THAT big of one. Heh.)

I've told people that the dolls are like marionettes, but strung on the inside, and that seems to work well to divert the whole "you've got a doll" thing. Because to me, bjds really are more like puppets than classic "dolls." Can't explain why, so don't ask. :)

[Christy]

It's usually "Did you make those?"
Then the long explanation begins.....which I should probably just
memorize, lol!!

[Bel]

Or you can just say "yes" and turn your back, like the cool kids do it. ;P

[Christy]

Like you? Yeahhhhhh I thought so! Teach me teach me!! :p

[Bel]

Psht, naw, I said the COOL kids. Sheesh.

[Christy]

Hahhaaa.....oh come on now...:kisses

[hitsuki]

I don't take my kiddos out very often, but I usually get positive responses whenever I do. My Japanese teacher is always amused when my friends and I bring them to class (most of the other students already know we're nuts) and when I take them out shopping people are genuinely interested in them.

I always try and take at least one of my kids to the Renaissance Fair in the summer and the people that work there seem to love them^^ I bought wings for my boy at the toy shop there and the owner was so excited, she even took pictures!:clap

[alexiusSana]

i dont bring my dolls out often, but almost everytime i do, i get the question 'where do you get him/her?' 'can i have the address/website i can buy this from?' Guess its quite a neutral reaction, not sure if its a good or bad thing though.

[crescentwinds]

My friends and I get together from time to time and take them out to the Doll Shop, Mitsuwa, or a doll meet. The responses are always so amusing. Some people are really interested and it turns into quite the conversation piece, and say really nice things.

The funniest incident I had was with an old lady, she had two very young Asian girls with her, and she asked us where we got them, and we said where, and then she asked the price. Sounds of massive confusion. She was like, "Why are they so expensive?" XD: She was in total shock, really.

[Tuvie]

I never take mine out unless I'm going to a meet-up, at which I've had different responses from different sorts of people. Old ladies generally want to know their names and think they're cute. Kids just stare and occassionally ask about them. People of most ages inbetween are the ones who seem positively offended by them, or at least confused.

At the last meet-up I went to, we had a parking lot patrolman circle around to stare at us about three times while we were outside a mall taking pictures. He finally decided we were "soliciting" and shooed us away. People would think we were selling dolls, he explained. Then he went on and on to me about how his neice was into "Gothic" and would probably like our dolls.

I also had a kid come up to me at an anime convention that really wanted to know more about them. Her dad was squirming behind her while I talked to her, and when I offered to write down some websites she could look at for more info, he totally flipped out and dragged her away like I was attempting to induct her into some cult o_O
Weird, but was he too far off? ;)

[Edtel]

I've got a bit of positive and negative. When at a meet with other people with dolls, I'm much more comfortable having them out of the carrying bag in public. But when I'm alone, I generally get weird stares from the general populace. So I don't normally have them out when I'm alone unless I'm doing a photoshoot.

Oh, and I'm fine at anime cons. I think people are willing to accept more 'weirdness' in that environment.

[Sassie_L]

I'm yet to experience what the reaction would be to a large ABJD. So far I have only taken Blythe or yellow size Latis out into the world to photograph. Overall the responses I have gotten have been positive, if a little puzzled. There have been a few comments and weird looks made, but to be honest they are nearly always from people that I wouldn't ever have to deal with on a day to day basis so I don't really care. I'm sure I'll feel differently when Gentleman arrives and I take him out to photograph.

[blackbox]

I have found that most people are intrigued by my dolls. That have lots of question which I try to answer as best I can.

[Jun]

My favourite reaction has to be from a little girl, maybe 3 years old, who saw my doll when I was taking photos outside. She went "dolly!!" and came close, and I held Haku up to her, and she very gingerly touched her cheek, then very carefully petted her hair, then blushed and ran back to her mom going "dolly!".
Then they had to go so I waved Haku's hand and the mom pointed it out so the little girl waved back saying baibai.

That was so cute!

I've mostly had good reactions from passerbys when I've been out taking photos in front of my old flat. Usually people compliment me on my dolls. :)

[Rorek]

I generally tuck Ichigo, or the Yo twins into my bag when I leave the house. Never know when you're gonna make a surprise stop a craft or fabric store! It's also handy for when you need a cuddle. My Ichigo is the cuddliest doll I own, and so most often he's the one that gets tucked into my bag.

In Virginia Beach, so far, I haven't had any negative experiences with taking my dolls in public. I take one or more with me, just about everywhere, and the plaes I go most often, ask about the dolls, if I don't have one with me. The girls at Build-A-Bear, are always asking me to bring in my dolls. They love the dolls.

The ladies at the JoAnns, are always asking what I'm gonna sew for the dolls next. They like seeing the stuff I make.

[Wee_Little_Faerie]

Most people don't say anything about them unless they're truly interested in learning more, and then they ask questions that I am more than happy to answer.

My favorite was an older gentelman (in his late 60s at least) who came up to me while I was taking photographs and asked about the dolls, and then told me how he'd been collecting fashion dolls for years (his wife was with him, just shaking her head, lol!). I LOVE when I get to hear about other people and their doll collecting, or their interests, just because they came up to talk to me about my dolls.

I've had a few skeptical or rude reactions... skeptical people I can usually win over with a brief explanation, but rude people I don't even bother with... because honestly, if they have something rude to say, they should just keep it to themselves... saying it out loud means they're only TRYING to make you feel bad, so there's really no point in even acknowledging them.

[slrphebos]

I've had mostly positive experiences, but I've gotten a lot of glares and some looks of disgust from teen boys. A lot of little kids have stopped and come near me to look at Rhiannon, out of curiousity. First time I took Rhiannon out was to a borders HP event, a very nice elderly indian woman sat in a chair next to me (only actual plush chair there was) and she asked me all sorts of questions about Rhiannon and about had a heart attack when I told her the average price. I've freaked a couple of waitress' out at a few sit down resturants cause Rhiannon freaked them out.

I buy so many things at Hancock Fabrics near my house, I buy fabric I get asked at check out "what you making this time? doesn't your doll have enough clothes?" lol. I just love going there.

And I do know how rude some of the con goers at Acen can be. I heard nasty comments especially this past year and don't understand why. Although most were from teenage boys making horrible comments while dolls were displayed on the different tables at Artist's Alley. I really hope it's better next year, but no comment will ever make me give up taking my girl or future boys and girls out.

[omichao]

I've had good experiences and bad experiences. I hardly remember most of them, since they're usually fairly mundane.

One that has stuck in my mind since the day it happened was when I was taking pictures downtown at a fountain and a group of English boys stopped to ask what I was doing. I told them I was taking pictures of my doll and held Shou up for them to see. They all got very close, seemed very interested in him and then one of the boys just said "Wow, he's very beautiful" as he looked at Shou's face and played with his hair. They all nodded and agreed, I almost thought that they were joking or trying to be rude, but they were all very sincerely interested. So I sat and talked with them for a bit about his character and why I took him out in public to take pictures like I was doing.

Now, I've also had bad experiences, of course. There are always little children that are genuinely fascinated and you know that they rarely know how to keep their hands to themselves.. And then there are always the little punks that want to make fun of how your boy looks like a girl, no matter what he's wearing. Gotta love flashing them a good shot to disprove that, right? XD;;

Then there are the moments that are just absolutely hillarious! Like one time there was a very dirty, grumpy old guy that got on the bus I was on and sat right across from me. He stared and glared at me and Shou (Who was facing away from him) the entire time. Right before my stop, we hit a bump and because Shou's head was a little loose, it jerked to the right and ended up staring at the guy, dead on! He jumped and ran to the back of the bus right away. I just turned Shou's head back and petted him, whispering "What did I tell you about doing things like that? It's not nice.." XDD The guy was SO freaked, it was amazing. That taught him not to give people dirty looks!

Anyway, regardless of the few bad experiences I've had, there's no way I would keep my dolls inside. I love outdoors and I love the time I spend with my boys outdoors. Who cares if someone you don't even know doesn't like you doing it? They've obviously got a sad, pathetic life if they have nothing better to do than to bother you because you're happily involved in one of your hobbies. Sucks to be them, is good to be you ^_^

[Jme]

I've taken my dolls out to a few places: to work, for photoshoots either on my own or with a fellow dolly friend, or for meetups.

Experiences have been mainly positive (if any at all), but I do find it funny how different the reaction is depending on where I'm at. At work, I'm stuck in a office for 8 hrs a day, so it's fun to have a little Lati or two up to their antics sometimes. My boss is pretty cool about it (actually, she has interests in porcelain dolls and such too, so when I brough one of my Lati's in one day, she pretty much 'kidnapped' her and was coo-ing over her all around the office for a good 15 minutes. :XD I know the other colleagues aren't as doll-mad, but most are well-mannered enough to not comment at all (which is fine by me), but there are a few that have made those silly 'they're creepy' comments. Which doesn't bother me either. Lol.

When I'm out on photoshoots alone or usually just with a friend, we do get stares, but I've not had anyone come up to ask about the dolls yet. Although when it's a bjd meet, maybe people think it's less rude or somehow, less intimidating? Cos I've had questions from strangers about what the dolls are, to how much they cost, and a few can they take photos with the dolls. Lol. The only negative experience for me was once, some lady was asking all these questions, and she was totally ill-bred cos she just picked up my doll and was handling him in the most casual way. Pissed off wasn't the word to describe what I felt. And to top it off, she was touching the face (who knew where her hands have been?!?!?) with no regard to the fact that I've told her about faceups. Grrrrrrrrr. :mad

[Ophelia]

I convert people to the Church of Dollfie at conventions, lol. Most notably AFO, when I brought my dolls to the hot tub (they sat a-ways away and plenty of folks were glad to hang out near them and "guard" them) and a guy absolutely fell in LOVE with my Leya. He kept going on about how gorgeous her facial structure was and how if he got a doll, this is the one he'd get (his cousin knows dolls so I told her "When he gets the itch, he wants a DOC Leya, lol").

Otherwise people stare and make comments, usually "Is that a doll?" or "Wow, that's a pretty doll." I took my Curo to university last week to get some nice shots of him near a small monument on the central green. I had some people smile, some people stare, and some people ask "Izzat a bunny?" Errrr...what tipped ya off XD And one person, the height of intelligence, as I have my camera in my hand hunkering down to capture Oliver among the leaves..."Are you taking pictures?" I should have said "I'm writing a paper." LOL.

[jacksandjokers]

Sometimes I take Orchid out with me. Usually when I go out to eat, and sometimes when I go grocery shopping.

People normally ignore me, although when I first took him out he had no face-up and some fabric lady from Wal-Mart saw me as I walked by and ran up to me going "Aren't you going to give him a face?!".

Most of the people in my town know I'm nuts and therefore ignore my odd interests.

[Solo]

I enjoy taking my MNF Shiwoo Fox out with me. I take him to Michael's and JoAnn's, and Wal Mart, etc. He also went to Michigan in August with my husband and I. The stewardess got a kick out of him, and it was fun to load him in the xray tray at the airports.

Most of the people who ask me about him are really cool. They actually want to know what he is, where he's from, what I use him for. I had an impromptu mini-seminar at Al's Pizza one night when I took him in with me. I take him to work occasionally.

[sailorstarsun]

Ya, mostly I just get a lot of questions - what is it? where's it from? how much does it cost? why the heck are you carrying it around? :oops And so on.

I took my Dollshe Husky out for the first time last week, and the responses from people were a bit... different. *laughs* With the minis people seemed more open to getting up close and sometimes even asking if they could hold them, but with the big guy... they actually kept more distance.
But he is rather intimidating, so I understand. :p

[frzndaqiri]

I've had good responses. A lot of people coming up, asking a dozen questions (I keep business cards with a quick explanation and a few websites to check out, to make it easier!), and genuinely interested.

Once while walking around Ann Arbor, a couple (twenties ish girl and guy) came up just OOGLING the Lishe I was carrying. They wanted to know everything, and even after the price tag question came up insisted they had to get one.

Another time, at the fabric store, I had my Sasha (Souldoll Harang) and the guy at the counter went "OMG he looks like ME!" He made his coworker get her camera and take his picture with Sasha. They did look alike, very emo that day. lol

So, I've been lucky that the snarky people know to stay away from me.

[cloverfirefly]

I don't feel like I take my dolls out that much, but I do go meet with other doll people frequently and I usually take someone resin along with me when I do so. Usually the reaction is that people will be quite enchanted with the dolls and ask us a lot of questions. Or occasionally someone will just point at them and say something along the lines of "Cute!" and leave it at that.

I think one of my favorite experiences in meeting people in public when I was carrying around one of my dolls after a meet and went into a game store. A lady saw that I was holding one of my dolls and said, "Oh my gosh! You have one of those dolls! I won't ask to hold it, but can I look at him?" I actually let her hold my doll and she fussed over him and called him darling. She made my day and I think I made hers too. :)

I have, however, been in situations where people have been less welcoming. A friend and I went to see Spider Lilies when it was playing at the Seattle International Film Festival last June and, since there we BJD in the movie, we decided to bring our dolls along. We got a lot of weird looks and some serious cut-eye from some people. You'd think it an film festival people would be more accepting of strange and different things. :wahwah

One other time, when another friend was leaving town, we met at a local bubble tea place and some guy who didn't speak English kept trying to indicate that we should let him hold the dolls. After we told him no, he left and then came back ten minutes later and started grabbing one of my dolls by the shoe. Being somewhat paranoid I immediately marched over and told him rather sternly "No! No touch!" But we left after that before the guy could come back...

[Deen]

So many stories from all of you! :D

I've usually received positive comments when I'm in the public with my dolls. I've been to many doll meetups and I enjoy taking photos of my dolls in different places so it's kind of inevitable to be seen by other people around me. But so far I haven't had bad experiences.
Every now and then someone comes and asks what I'm doing and about the dollhobby itself. But sometimes some random (usually young) people say something like: "What the fu*k is she doing photographing her barbies?!" But that's pretty much the most negative comment I've gotten so far. :D

I don't like carrying my dolls everywhere I go though. I always carry them in their carrying bags and take them out when there are other doll-people around or when I've found an interesting place to photograph them. I don't want to get too much attention with my dolls while like.. walking on the streets and I'm also afraid that someone might want to steal the dolls when they see I'm carrying something that looks expensive. :\

[Phoenix]

Nothing terrible for me so far. I don't take mine out in public unless there's a gathering or some doll related event though. Even when I'm taking pictures of them I kinda sneak around cause I don't like people watching me while I do shoots.

Most of my neighbors have seen them because I usually take pictures outside, and they always pet them and go, "how are you babies doing today?" It's very cute.

[Voodoo]

I don't take mine out very often, because I'm paranoid about damaging them (I'm a clumsy oaf). When I have taken them out, I don't really notice peoples' reactions because:

a) I am short sighted
b) I've always dressed kind of eccentrically so I'm oblivious to people staring at me, generally
c) If someone does approach me I feel my eyes get wider and wider because I'm worried they'll do something silly and so they back off. This is a shame, as I do like to share (or bore people with) my dolls.

[Stormlight]

I haven't had any good or bad experiences 'cause I've never been brave enough to take my dolls out in public, at least not by myself. I'm very self-conscious and kind of an introvert (I was bullied when I was in elementary and middle school, and I've never had many friends because I was too shy to try and make them). I generally don't like people staring at me, even if they're only curious. Plus, I'm 31, and I guess I have this "I'm too old to be carrying dolls around" mentality, even though I have no problem collecting them. lol

If I'm at a meetup or something, with other people who also have dolls, I don't mind so much though. I guess it's the whole "safety in numbers" thing. And it still makes me uncomfortable to talk to random strangers about my dolls just because I'm not used to talking to random strangers. I do enjoy telling them about them if they ask, even if I sound awkward. I'm trying to be less of an introvert that way. :oops

I think sometimes I'd like to take one of them out with me when I go with my friends somewhere, but I have no idea what they'd think, even though my one friend seems to really like my gang.

I don't think she'd mind so much because she's someone who does what she wants and doesn't give a rat's ass about the opinions of others, anyway. She's the kind of person who will start randomly talking to the "voices in her head" just to cause a stir, so probably carrying dolls around in public would amuse her to no end, as long as she got to carry one, too. :XD

[dnamight]

one time i was at a fabric shop buying fabric for my DOD Too. i kept him inside his bag for convenience. but when i had trouble trying to measure how much fabric i wanna buy for my boy, i took him out.

the next thing i knew, the lady that works at the fabric shop screamed and hid behind rolls of tall thick fabrics in the store. i was shocked and she was like "PUT IT AWAY!!! PUT IT AWAY PLEASE!!!".

after that another salesgirl went to the counter and explained how the other lady is so scared of the dolls due to her late mother. hmm...

i dont know. to me, baby like dolls scares me. or those clown dolls. but not BJDs O__o they're gorgeous...

i even have a housemate of mine who's scared of my Pullip Tae yang... geez...

[Moggie]

Mostly positive with a few strange looks but whether that is because I'm a big scary looking guy with a strange dress sense, tatts and piercings or whether it's because I'm a big scary looking guy with a strange dress sense, tatts, piercings and with a bunch of dolls is debatable. I used to get the strange looks before the dolls so probably the former.

We take them along to fabric stores and such occasionally, even to show the postmaster once so he'd know what we kept shipping out in big boxes.

Photoshoots outdoors, no problem. Kids occasionally come up to look at the pretty dolls.... braver than their parents. ;)

Had one security guy ask us if we were doing a commercial or personal photo shoot once. He was concerned that if it was a commercial shoot then we needed a permit to be there but other than that no hassles.

Very little in the way of negative comments and stuff but then again I am a big scary guy with a strange dress sense, tatts and piercings. ;)

[xSnowxXxAngelx]

I mostly keep the photoshoots at home.
Though, one day, I did take my boy to school to take photos of him.
Didnt get a lot of photos taken though.:sweat
A lot of the students seemed cool with it.
A few of them gave me strange looks like I was crazy.
Others would ask me questions about the bjd and how I did the face up and where to get them.
A lot of them were surprised to find out there there were tan bjd and African American bjd.
One or two of the teachers even asked questions about them.
Art Teacher especially. :nod
So, all together, I have had good reactions when with my dolls out in public.

[Meyari]

I've had mostly positive responses from people. A couple of times I've had some really stupid people ask if I bought my doll at places like Daiso or Kmart. My favorite recent response was at work. I always bring a doll to work, unless something big is going on at work. We had a big audit so I didn't bring one. The president of the company stopped by my desk and said "You don't have a doll today! O.O" :p It was so hard not to laugh at him! I enjoy being the crazy doll lady at work! :shifty

[asteldoth]

I've never really brought my boy outside into the public, but when he came in, finally, I was away at school, so my parents brought the box down one weekend for me to open. All my friends and dorm mates were good about it, other than some good natured teasing.

[jaeninha]

Luckily, I've had positive responses from people, either about my dolls or the dolls I'm currently photographing (if I'm at a meet-up).

Once I met with AreeElf after work at a bubble tea place, and she brought Aree-chan (her MSD F-13 elf girl) to show me. The waitress that took our order was delighted... until she asked how much she was and we answered honestly. XD Then she turned to her fellow co-workers and said, in chinese, "hey, can you believe that doll costs four chunks*?!" But still, she was totally fangirling over.

When we went there again with Sgtgeorgecarter some other day, she came over and asked us if we brought any dolls with us this time. XD So when Sgtgeorgecarter showed her Tony (her Yo-SD Piccolo), she exclaimed, "oh, a tiny one this time! How cute!"
It was fun. X)



*chunks: quasi-literal translation of Chinese slang for (multiples of) hundreds. XD

[Bel]

One funny thing - the few times I've taken a doll out for a photoshoot downtown, the only people who have approached me to ask questions have been big, buff guys, dudes that look like they should be firemen. It happened again tonight - I had company from out of state, and we took a few dolls downtown to a park (well, really a cemetery, but our city treats it as a park) and Big Buff was fascinated. His girlfriend looked more baffled/afraid, but Big Buff asked questions and said "sooo cool" about fifty times.

I find this cute.

(Of course, this was a trio of rockstar Migidolls, so they WERE sooo coool.)

[Kit]

I've only brought mine out for a photoshoot once so far, but I plan on doing more outdoor shoots again. I'm pretty shy and don't like drawing attention to myself, but what helped was basically just ignoring the other people around unless they asked me a question.

Acting nonchalant about the whole thing helped, even if I was feeling more like the weird doll girl. ;) Mostly everyone just seemed curious, or amused anyway!

[SolarCat]

I take my guys out all the time, for photoshoots and sometimes just because. XD

They've been to the movies with me, to classes, etc. Overall, they get a really positive reaction. There are plenty of odd looks, but the people who comment are usually doing so to say nice things - I don't think I've had anyone who was outright rude to me. Interestingly (at least to me), most of the people who've chatted with me about them have been guys! I remember when I took Shay out for a photoshoot on Boston Common, I had him posed on the gazebo steps and these couple of "gangsta"-type guys came around on the path, and I admit I was kinda worried because I wasn't right next to Shay, I was across the path setting up the photo. At first they were really surprised, and did sort of a doubletake, and then one of them said "That's so cool!". :)

Honestly, the most common reaction I've gotten? People keep asking me if I'm a ventriloquist! I think I must have had five or six people ask me that, and then I have to explain that no, it's not a puppet, it's a doll - I collect them, use them for photography, etc. Still, it never ceases to amuse me when people ask that! XD

[Vega]

I don't take my dolls out very much, mostly because I'm sort of paranoid... but I do recall an absolutely hilarious account where I had taken Jay to school with me for some odd reason... and afterwards a group of friends and I stopped to grab some lunch at the nearby mall. I sort of hid Jay out of sight in the car so I wouldn't have to carry him through the mall and be all worried... And, well... I guess you could sort of see his head poking up between the seats when you opened the door, because as my friend (who is one of the only people I know who is truly disturbed by my dolls... go figure) went to unlock his car, he must have seen Jay's little face floating in there because he did this mile-long spastic jump away from the car as though he'd seen a rattlesnake.
Honestly... it was worth the anxiety of bringing the doll *just* to see that reaction. :yey
Other than that, people are usually politely curious about my boys.
-Vega

[MaddPuss]

I'm kinda of a coward when it comes to bringing Jay out in public. Mostly cause half the time there's snide commentary or laughter. And I'm shy anyway? I do like taking him to craft stores though, it's easy to forget that I might stick out while I hunt to-scale things or check out fabric and few people notice. I have had some nice reactions though, and don't even bother correcting the comments on how cute 'she' is. >_>

I even brought up my courage to bring him to a park picnic I got tricked into (mother is a jehovah witness and is determined to get me to join). I got laughed at by some silly teenaged girls walking by. I admit it, I put Jay in the car after that. But, before that at least I was showing him off to some older ladies. Seriously, what is it about the younger brats (teenager girls more importantly) and rude behavior?

I wouldn't mind it if I were braver to start carrying him about, just in case I find that perfect photo shoot spot.

[alanna214]

So far I've had mostly positive reactions. Here are some of the better ones:

1. Otakon '07 - A girl that I ended up running into a number of times new enough about BJDs to know how much they are. She kept insisting that I should take out insurance on Seth, my Bluefairy TF. *snicker*

2. I think I've infected 2 people with BJD-itis. I know that one has bought one and is planning on another.

3. While at a meetup at the local zoo, I noticed one woman that was walking quickly away from our small group of doll owners. She had her hand up to shield her face from looking at the dolls. I think she was afraid of them. That made me laugh a bit. ^_^

[Kittywolf13]

I havent taken them out by myself at all...ive been to a meet up or two...and reactions from parents and such have been postive. but other wise neutral reactions.

I did go out with a group of dolly friends for brunch and sat the kids on the table. It was small and the place was increadiably busy!! The waiter said nothing...gave a few odd glances. People around us were either smiling or giving the WTF? look...but what made me sad were the little girls who were in and around the age of 10-13 who seemed to be saying with their faces "Ewww...whats wrong with them? dolls? grow up" its sad that its not ok to be yourself...be a kid...or play with stuff that makes you happy.

But one little girl was sheer happy to see such large pretty dolls and was babbling some cheerful nonsense about the dolls. :) theres still hope! lol

[Mercy]

I've taken my dolls out many, MANY times over the years and have had a lot of varying experiences with people. Usually it is positive. Sometimes I have to explain the type of doll it is or what it is. A lot of people think it is some sort of mannequin for some odd reason. Some of the funniest moments have been in the oddest places.

I was shooting in a garden when some skateboarders (like 13-14 year old kids) road on by, and almost crashed into the trashcan next to me and my friend. One yelled at his friend, pointing at my doll, "Hey, look at the little dude!" :D That's sort of a joke between my friends down here. Because when we heard that, we all busted out laughing hysterically.

Most of the time, people just come up and ask me what it is. I've shot near lakes, in parks, play areas, and had little toddlers come RUNNING at me (well, at my dolls) in which I just quickly grab and politely smile as I walk away. It's all really interesting to watch how people react though, because some people are REALLY interested in the dolls and have stories about their collections, or life. Why these dolls have reminded them about something. It's all really interesting. :)

Edit: I have been to many meet ups as well. I would highly recommend people taking the dolls out in public. Just play it safe and know your surroundings.

[cheshiretiffy]

I eithe get stared at or laughed at if I take mine outside. They only go out if I need them to size things (like wire) when I'm shopping, or to meetups.

[hotelobby]

I do take him with me when I buy things actually. Though I try not to take him out unless in dire cases. I did take him out to the fabrics shop I frequent and it was really adorable how they were at awe with him. They thought he was a girl. No kid. Michaels DO have big hips after all. I think one even went so far to pat his crotch... since I noticed his shorts were undone. Perverted ladies. >_>

Once I had to take him out so I could fit some keychain shoes I saw for him.

The salesladies were at awe at how cute he was, asking if he was a school project. I said no. xD Then the explanation of what he was and such. The nearest possible material I could share with them was resin as in the thing they put inside your teeth during surgery or your tough plastic pipes. Same material.

Actually I already have a somewhat memorized speech when people gawk at him and ask questions. I never tell the price and just say he was very expensive but first telling and explaining the material to justify the matter 8D

[KneeNAR]

Recently, me and my friend Yette took our dolls to the Chinese gardens for a few photos,

We got looks, but they were more of wonder than horror xD. At one point I was annoyed at the sun, and was trying to hide my boy from it, when a lady said "Why, what will the sun do to it?" I said "Well, resin shouldn't really be exposed to sun or heat often, it makes it discolour.."

They were all "O.O...whoa"

xD

[hotelobby]

We were waiting for our class at 5:30 in the afternoon and it was still 4:00 so I started sewing. Since I was almost done, I let out the kid, making him sit down in front of me so I could fit what I was sewing.

Some of my classmates had taken a fancy to him -same people, same people xD- and gave him new names. They were quite endearing but strange. O_o;
Then the least expected thing happened.

In the AS lobby, there was a teacher holding his PE class.

He approached us and then pressed the back of his hand against the boy's cheek saying, "Mano po, iho. Mano sa lolo."

Mano is a custom here where we press our foreheads against the back of the hands of our elders in respect. Sometimes kiss if possible.

Imagine my shock when I saw that O.o

[MosaicWolf]

I like to take one of them to work with me periodically. Usually on a friday, when the atmosphere is more relaxed anyway. I do technical support for Dell, so it gives me time to mess with wigs and eyes or just play/bond with that particular doll between calls or even sometimes when I'm on a particularly long, boring one. The guys I work with either mildly wig out over the 'creepy dolls' or accept it as one of my things. We're all pretty geeky, and if the anime plushies and figures and the snake and tarantula pics didn't clue them in on my unusual hobbies, then they're not paying attention anyway.

I also think my neighbors think I'm weird, because I go out on my balcony or on my stairs with them to take pics in the natural light all the time :sweat

[chai_fiend]

kids kicking and screaming because their parents won't let them run over and touch my doll. as much as i hate kids kicking and screaming, it's hilarious to watch them want to play with my boy and pine and whine for it. hahahahahaha.

[bunnyscotch]

I love to take my dolls to "exotic" locations for a photo series...people usually don't pay me much mind...which is nice!

[hoshinokachi264]

i have only been to one meet up so far, and i loved having an excuse to being my girl around with me.

the last meetup i tried to go to my mom left the house way to late and we ended getting lost so we had to go home. but she decided to take me and my older sis to old ellicott city and Kashi got to come with me.

no on said anything really. i went in to this store where my friend worked and she asked me all these questions about her, when we left though there was a man standing outside the door and he really liked her. i was pleasantly surprised how intersted he was.

but yea so far only my mom has been crazy about my doll, everyone else has been really nice.

[silk]

I don't go to meetups very often and mostly keep my dolls indoors. When I dó go to meet-ups I get the standard reactions, people staring, pointing towards us, and mothers asking how much a doll like this costs because little Lilly wants one.

But I did bring my girl to my neighbour ones. She makes dolls of her own and is very good at that (she even teaches other people) so I thought she'd like it. And I was right. She just couldn't stop staring at my Lishe and for a while nothing coherent came from her mouth. When she heard the price of these dolls she wasn't even surprised, stating that she'd seen artist-dolls made of clay going for $1000, and they weren't this detailed.

It was so cool to see this woman be in aw that I'm planning to bring my Yoshida ABJD Making guide to her. I'm sure she's interested in that.

[keepithushhush]

Oh god, I just had the weirdest experience yesterday! Had a doll meet at the Botanical Gardens and I wandered away from the group to try and take some pictures. People look/stare/ignore whatever, but this one lady got really excited. She came up to me and started asking me all these questions and even asked if she could take pictures of him. I don't think I would have ever expected a reaction quite like that. :oops

[Surya'sLight]

Unluckily I live in a country where bjd's fans are a bit scattered in space terms so meetups are rare. But I've got a friend near my city and when we meet we bring one of our dolls with us and we go to bars or something like. I remember one time, there were business men sitting near us and staring at me and my doll. Then they started laughin' but so loud that everybody in the local stared at us too. :dead It was terrible!!!
I'm not ashamed of my hobby but this kind of behaviour is really inacceptable :cry :cry and from that time I'm a bit afraid of shown' my dolls in public and so bad since I love makin' outdoor pics T____T

[Napoleonchan]

a guy working at Hottopic told me Sane was scary....this really amused me. (Sane = the zombie in my Avatar) I always bring one of my dolls with me when I go though, because there are three girls there who think the dolls are wonderful, and I would love to bring them over to the resin side.
my dolls always bring different reactions but oddly, so far as public places go, I felt the most uncomfortable carrying a doll at Acen. Do anime geeks think doll people are snobs or something? I was really blown away to feel like people were judging me negatively for carrying an anime influenced doll at an anime convention.

[dollseye]

I take mine out a lot, but only ever to tourist/holiday places like Stratford on Avon and fairs and boat trips. I'd never take them to any urban places. I've always had a very positive response from people and one time someone took a photo of one of my dolls which made me feel a bit weird and then made me realise that I can be a bit possessive about who takes photos of my dolls!

[Captain Schlumpy]

I've had really good response from people when I have the boys out in public. Anything from "oh a dollfie!" to "wow, did you make the clothes yourself?" A local hobby store owner asked me back several times to show how the faces could be painted with an airbrush. While out at a coffee place in philadelphia on vacation a friend and I got lots of questions and all were very good natured. I love talking about dolls and getting new "converts"!

[MelWong]

I've brought my one doll out on a couple occasions, or had her with me when I was out, anyhow.

On the doll meets I'd been with, the reception has been very positive. People asked me what kind of a doll she was a lot, and I spent a bunch of time explaining (with the other folks on the meet) what ABJDs were.

There were a few small children who wanted to take a closer look. I squatted or knelt down to their level and let them "hold" her (with my hands taking most of the weight). I tell them to please not touch the face so as not to mess up the paint, and they always listen. I have a feeling I've corrupted a new generation of doll-lovers.

I was in the hospital about a month ago and spent a while in the ICU. I don't recall what happened in the ER, but my husband says I was clearly asking for Tomoe (my doll's name). He brought her to me when I regained consciousness, and the nurses were entirely charmed by her. They were a bit alarmed that her wig came off, but one of the nurses said "Well, it makes sense, a girl can't always have the same hairstyle."

I don't bring her out very often, though. She's a Volks girl, and they are heavy. I keep complaining her resin butt weighs too much.

- Mel

[Honooko]

I had a really rough year at University last year, and whenever I needed just a little bit of support, I would take Shoujiki out with me. He's little and cute and I would sit him on my desk or hold his hand when I was feeling anxious. I've gotten the 'creepy doll' comment a bit, but most people just let it slide.

The most surprising moment was when I got a new body for my boy Nino. A senior I knew through the theatre program saw me carrying a huge box and asked what was in it, and I explained it was a doll body and stuff. Later I ran into him again, and I was carrying Nino with his new body and my friend was really interested and asked to hold him and everything. It was cool that he wasn't weirded out by it at all!

[derilan85]

When I had a Lishe my husband and I went to see a movie, a rather scary one at that, she was wearing a gothic like outfit with her red albino eyes and no one made fun of me when they saw her or my hubby for that matter. One lady did ask me what type of doll she was and thought she was very lovely. I do have a mean look to me, so maybe that is why no one picks on me when I do take my dolls out in public:lol

[Sailor Moon]

Ohhh, now, I've taken my dolls everywhere I can think of. From the grocery store to the fabric store. From the mall to restaurants. heh. I've encountered all kinds of looks, comments, etc. Most of them are all positive; "What a beautiful doll!" "Oh! How cute!".. you know, stuff along those lines. Then I get the inquisitive one's; "Where did you get that doll?" etc. And every now and again, I get those mean one's. Like a while ago, when I took my doll to the grocery store, I had to take my mom. It was Thanksgiving, and we were on our way out to pick up some last minute items. Some lady in the parking lot said "Aren't you a little OLD to be playing with dollies?".. and then mockingly said "You better be careful with that dolly, you don't wanna hurt her now". *sigh* ..

Of course, most of the time I just ignore it. *shrug* I'm not about to stop taking my dolls out just because someone wants to poke fun at me every now and again. And I rather enjoy the fun looks I get from people. Often my dollies "wave" right back at them. hehe.

Of course, I do take them to meet ups as well.. and we have lots of fun. ^_^ No real lookers, and those that do, either want to learn more, or get scared off. lol.

[annina]

even though i thought i would take my dolls out with me much, i haven't really done it. i'm always scared to make them dirty or somehow scratch or damage them.. :sweat
i would like to be a little more daring though, in both daring to bring them, and daring to handle them more while still being careful.

but so far, nothing much to tell :p

[blackwingsblackheart]

I don't take my dolls out often, and when I do they travel in their carriers. However, I did take my Baha to a mainstream doll store to shop for clothes. The proprietors were a bit startled by her, to say the least, but they slowly warmed as I held up Vintage Ginny and Patsyette outfits to check the size (and the nice pricey packages piled up on the counter! ;)). By the end, they were insisting that I take one of the dresses out of its package and try it on her before we left--I'm happy to say it was an excellent fit and looked devastatingly adorable. Pwned by the ultimate power of CUTE!

[digikym]

I used to take my dolls out quite a bit. When I had my Elfdoll Wu, I would take him with me to the grocery, to fabric stores, to work... The responses I got were very positive! I even used to take Joe (my Hue) with me to work, my boss would put DIAD boards in his lap and do other strange things with him. My boss was a cranky curmudgeon type of guy, too. I think he liked dolls in spite of himself. After all, he did name his rat terrier "Muffins".

I've found that people here on the east coast (particular Virginia) are, the majority, freaked out by dolls. I brought one to work last week because a co-worker was curious, and about 90% of the folks here shouted and said how hideous and scary it was. *laughs* I feel bad for people with doll phobias... what a sad thing to be afraid of!

[ArcaneMuse]

I've never had anything negative happen with the dolls. I might get a couple of curious people who will ask where the dolls are from or want to take a photograph but most people don't bat an eye. Whenever my daughter has decided to take one of the dolls out on errands with us people usually stop to tell her how lucky she is to have such a beautiful and unique doll.

[Evil Kimba]

This past weekend was the first time I had taken Haikiri out of the house and into public. At the Kerbey Lane Doll Shoppe, of course there were no stares or weird looks. The lady who owned the place was quite interested in my doll as well as my friend's. It was nice.

After that, we went to a small local toy store (and ended up getting a tiny lemur to use as a prop XD) and didn't get many looks.

Posing the two on the table at the vegan eatery next door garnered some attention, much to my amusement. I got a lot of questions like, "Did you get them next door?" I tried not to laugh. XD
The guy at the counter said "I've got a customer that comes in every Saturday who dresses like him." People were also talking about me 'playing with dolls' and taking pictures...funniest reaction was from a guy who tried to keep out of the background of the photos I was taking. "I'm a local politician, I can't afford to have a tabloid headline like 'HE PLAYS WITH DOLLS!'" Seriously, that was hilarious.

On the way home, we stopped by Target...No one batted an eye. It was almost like people were TRYING to ignore the fact I was carrying a heavy hunk of resin shaped like a person. :P

[lemonsky]

Hahaha! This topic is great. Some responses are so funny. I'm reeeaally shy, so I'd be terrified of taking my doll out in public because it would attract attention. On the other hand, I just might try it one day.. just to see what reactions I get. :)

[Shashan]

I haven't taken my dolls out in public a whole lot... Partly because I'm not yet satisfied with their appearance but also because I'm a spaz and I'm horribly afraid that I'll drop my dolls and break them. x_x; But that's beside the point.

I have taken them once or twice to places like craft stores and fabric stores to check scale. I usually had them tucked into a bag but when I had them out, no one even gave them a second look, much less comment on them. :3 The place I got the most comments was an anime convention, Anime Iowa, actually. I had heard stories of people saying really nasty things about dolls at cons, but I only had maybe three people say anything about Raven. I got a comment that I suppose could be construed as rude: When me and my friends were in the elevator, some guy was sitting on the floor. He looked up at Raven then at me and said something to the effect of "Your doll is creepy" or something. I just smiled broadly and said thank you. I don't think he was trying to be rude. If so, he failed. X3 The other two comments were from dealers in the dealers' room. A girl who was working at a booth asked my sister and I a bit about our dolls, because she too had a BJD! I think it was a Dollzone, I can't remember ^^; Of course that was a nice conversation. The other was this guy who works at a giant booth selling lots of yaoi. Every time I went by (even when I wasn't in that aisle) he would call out how pretty she was. No idea if he actually thought that or if he just wanted me to buy some doujin, but it made me grin.

This past weekend I took Raven with me to our DnD session... Not exactly public, but the other members hadn't seen BJDs before. X3 They all behaved very politely and only made a few vague comments about it being disconcerting that there were naked body parts strewn about the basement. I will admit that Raven being half unstrung was disturbing, but for different reasons. ;o;

I plan on taking Raven to my uni's anime/game/geek club meeting next week, and as soon as it warms up again, I'll probably head to this really gorgeous park nearby for some photoshoots or something.

(Holy cow, that was long... I ramble hardcore.)

[MieAga]

I'm extremely social and I love taking my dolls out just about anywhere. I find pure joy in showing people what BJD's are about. I've even turned potentially negative people around to being at least tollerable towards dolls. I have several converts to my credit. I will take however long it may be to answer questions and I've been known to go horse due to the fact I can't shut up. LOL! So my expereinces have been widely positive.

I take the dolls out all the time. I even took our lati's to the Ritz Carlton when my company had their christmas party. The Entire 18 dolls have gone on outings a couple of times. I require a 'controlled' environment if I'm taking more dolls than I can carry, like a meet up or a Convention. I go to about 4-6 Conventions every year. The dolls make it to most of those. I've even done some of the gardens in Los Angeles. I do bring bags so that the kiddos don't get too much sun light.

[okamishoujo]

Well for me, it really depends. When I'm in my neighborhood, people don't seem to notice them (they all know of my weirdness >3 ), But when I go to some lovely-er place to take pictures, I more than likely get the 'WTF is that!?' stare, people comming up to me asking is one of the brats is a puppet or something. I mostly get curious stares and questions, to which I explain what BJD's are and usualy give links.
But I also get the rude people, its a bit harder to explain everything to them. I try to ignore them, but its so difficult (I'm kinda easily intemidated ^^; )

But on regular trips to places (fabric stores, craft stores) The people are a bit more excepting and whatnot. Last time I was in Joanns, the girl who was cutting my fabric asked what I was making, and I told her 'doll clothes', she asked "What type of doll?", to which I replied, 'Asian Ball JOint Doll' She stopped cutting and looked at me with her mouth gaped open "You collect them?! : D!? What types do you have?!" It made me feel happy to know someone else knows of them, I'm just upset I didn't give her my email (and I had to run back to art history class >>; ) next time I go in I'll look for her and maybe bring one of the brats..

(^^; sorry for typing alot, kinda a habit )

[Sammie-Ma]

Photos from the "Wings on an outing."
Photos of my Dollzone WS Megi-01 and Felian old tan skin Felian at Starbucks.

http://www.abjds.com/forum/showthread.php?p=35971#post35971

On New Years Eve I took my Megi-01 WS to a little town just across the highway from the outline area of the city I live in. The town square has several quaint buildings and the days was windy and clear. A perfect time to take photos of the "Wings" Megi and his wife Felian Lily Yuu on New Years Day. From there we drove to the near by Starbucks. Yes I did explain to the baristas that I was a doll collector the day before. This manager I knew from another Starbucks and he even played along with me and pretended that Megi was the one ordering the coffee. I told him how photography was so important in this hobby and that haft of the fun was taking them in public to make photos. One middle age lady did rush past me and rather quickly ....(I am in my mid fifties also) And as we know all too well some see this hobby as childlike, and so what else is new. I hav a double problem with this and one of my other hobbies I do not fit the "age and look" so I am a little use to this from anime conventions and my GM (mature GL for those of us who are over the "correct" age") costumes.
A young adult who was dressed in her own special way had to ask me about the dolls. I could see her intrest as soon as she walked in to the Starbucks. Experiances like this make it a worth wile endivor to buck the "rules" of society

[kazuki]

I never bring my doll outside if they are not in a bag or in a desert place.
I live in a small city and people dont have open mind so I'm scared to bring my doll outside.
When I go to a big city for a meet because we are many people I dont scare to show my doll and in a big city the people dont care what you do.
I'm so sorry for my bad english!:sweat

[Mekou]

I haven't had my girl out in the open very often, but I normally just get a few stares. ^_^ When we have our local mini doll meets though, we usually have people coming up and asking about them. They find them fascinating. :D

However, if ever faced witha dumb question about the dolls I'd probably give a dumb answer. XD I'm so used to people asking dumb questions when I'm cosplaying out in public.

[Emera]

I'm usually very shy about bringing my doll out, but the one time that I've been to a meet-up, in a shopping mall, reactions were very positive. Of course we got assorted whispers, snickers and stares (usually from passing groups of teenaged girls), but several older women and at least a few children were very interested in what we were doing, and stopped to ask what kind of dolls we were playing with, what we were doing with them, and so forth. :) It was pretty encouraging to get friendly, positive attention!

In general I find that if you're shy about attention, it helps to be in a group - as soon as you really have conversation and photo-taking going, it's really easy to focus on your dolls and just block out what other people might be saying or doing.

[Sameyu]

I'm usually ignored or get weird looks from people around me. ^^;

[kathrynmary]

i have never taken my dolls out. i look at them as pieces of art and i would worry too much about them being outside.

[coop52]

Last time I did a photoshoot in my front yard, one of my neighbors thought she was a cat. Other than that, I haven't taken her out in public. The people in my dorm that know about her never have said to me if they thought she was cool or creepy. They like the clothes I've made for her, but that's it.

[tessagi]

Mixed reactions...usually a lot of raised eyebrows and stares. XD
Though once a few dolly friends and I were at Jo-Ann's and Akina was sitting in the child's seat of the cart we were using...while we were waiting in line for our fabric get cut, someone's kid (who couldn't have been older than nine or ten, but old enough to know better) casually walked by and while she was passing our cart, yanked on my doll's foot - hard. :mad I was about ready to murder the brat but all I could do was rush over and make sure my doll was okay...

[ellynor]

First of all, I am a 6 foot tall, 40+ year old woman.... I have taken a few of my dolls out at different times. I have taken them to stores to check on potential prop sizing. I have had a woman grab my attention in order to ask if I would show my girl to her guy friend. He was a big fan of a particular character and my doll seemed to remind her of that character. It seems most people are amazed that dolls are not only plastic rubbery cheap things. AnnMarie

[shikaruchan]

well when i did have a doll i use to take that guy just about every where i went even to school,dollarstore,comic shop (etc.)
and most of the time i carried him with me i've gotten mostly good experience out of it ecept for the none anime or doll people what i'm saying is for the people who are not intrested in that stuff they would walk by and just ether glare at me or give me weird looks

[bbogacz]

I take photos outside and sometimes bring a tiny friend with me. Some people are curios and polite. Some think it is strange and then there is the people who ask the price. If I tell them the truth, usually I say the dolls come in a range of prices, but once I told them $300 for the doll I had with me, and they lectured me about how I spend my money!

[susiesadeyes]

I can't wait to take mine to the local Doll show and sale in March...strictly for show! This show is mainly antiques, the occasional vintage Blythe appears tho...

[Blizzard]

Over all reaction has been pretty possitive. I've gotten lots of questions and handed out business cards for Junkyspot and over all had a pretty positive experience. We even had a meet at a pizza parlor in our area on a day when lots of people were there watching college football on the TVs and no one really was bothered by it. And the fact is I've made some really terrific friends by coming to these meets; though I am a minority IN THIS HOBBY, they have never made me feel discluded.

In about a week and a half we have a meet in public at a local public event... we're ALL very much looking forward to it.

[tommieandgary13]

This is alittle of the same sort of..... I am new to Bjds and was going to the post office to pick my 2nd doll up and was waiting in line. Saw this lady grab a few boxes and the lady behind the counter said to her ur excited getting these boxes and she stated that she had gotten two resin dolls heads. I was in shock and watched the lady walk out the door. I all sudden thought thats my chance in meeting someone that has this hobby! So I left the long line and ran out the door and got to the lady in her car! I never talk to strangers its just not me. I got the lady to roll her window down and I asked her if I heard correct and if it was for bjds and she was like yes! She was excited as I was! I went in got my doll and she opened her boxes and she shared her new doll heads and I my new doll. Then she showed me pics of her dolls on her phone! I new still no pics of my guys. Its great making friends thew bjds! wow I love people that collect!

[Karie Chaos]

I take my two guys everywhere and I've mostly gotten nothing but positive reactions over them. I take them out with me when I go out to eat, or to Walmart or anywhere else I go. The people at my favorite chinese place love them, they always ask if I have another one yet, or where they are when I don't have them. People at Walmart always ask questions when I have them, the girl at the door the other day couldn't stop calling them 'awesome' which made me happy. ^-^ Its pretty good here. But then again I'm pretty unabashedly weird, I don't look away when people look at me weird I just grin and wait to see what they have to say.

[HedgeMage]

I took my boy out today to lunch with my wife and friend. as soon as we entered the restaurant a little kid said "look, that boy has a pony tail."
Apparently my hair was more of a shock than the doll...

[Nikittin]

Obviously, experiences will vary based on who you're with and where you go, but I'd love to hear how you've fared when on doll outings or public photoshoots! Did everyone point and stare? Did you traumatise any small children? Did you manage to entice anyone to join the hobby? Tell your stories here! :D

So far, I haven't had any negative feedback when taking my dolls out publicly to photograph them/participate in a meet. I've taken dolls on several outings throughout Southern California and while traveling in Asia. When I've got my doll out ready to photograph, I'm focused on the doll's look and safety -- I'm not looking around to see how people react. When you're focused on those two things, it leaves little attention left to how some close-minded people might be reacting.

From time to time I will get asked about them and why I'm photographing them. I say to blog/working on an art project, which is both true. I also will get asked where I bought them and that gives me an opportunity to promote the local doll retailers, Volks USA and Artmaze. ;) It'd be great if it brought a new person into the hobby.

One interesting story I have is when I took one of my dolls to the Getty Center (large art museum in Los Angeles). The lady at the gift shop asked me if she (the doll) was my traveling gnome! :lol She further said that there are some travelers that like to take a keepsake like a gnome or even a vase out to different places they visit to photograph them in these places. So I suppose I have another potential "explanation" of what the dolls are now! :p

[Raouken]

Haha, that is funny about the traveling gnome! But it could be used for that, I think it's quite interesting.

Also reminds me, I was once asked if I was a ventriloquist. The man was sorely disappointed when I told him I wasn't.

[Kaymonstar]

Everytime i take one of my dolls out i usually take them to the craft store. The ladies at the cutting counter daw and admire them and ask lots of questions.

Me and my friends have been to a few meet ups out in public, like panera, and gotten glances, but no one goes out of the way to say that they are creepy. I find it funny though because it has to look odd with 10+ Girls with 20+ dolls all over the place.

[warmkitten]

Well i just took my boy out today for the first time. I have been kinda scared :sweat of what might happen, but after reading these posts I had courage. So i took him with me when I ran some errands, and I got a few curoius stares :shifty ,but no questions , also nothing negative. So now i'm going to take him with me from now on :clap.

[gelfling21]

I have taken my bjd to work, the mall, and a couple of other shops, a meet up, my family members' homes, and the airport.

Basically, the reactions I have gotten have been mixed. Most people find him attractive or 'cute' and ask me questions. One girl in a shop at the mall fussed a great deal over him and wanted to know where to find them. I gave her websites, etc. so she could find out more.

I do get stared at, even in hobby shops where you'd think people would expect to see such things in other peoples' possession. Most people stare and then look away, even if I smile back at them. But some do ask questions.

One friend had a strange reaction to him... She saw him and immediately remarked on a what a beautiful doll he was. She asked to hold him. She is a person who is very into arts and crafts, so I had no fear that she would mishandle him. Suddenly, she had turned him around and pushed right on his eyes with her thumbs!

I told her to be careful, please, that the eyes could be pushed into his head, even scratched. She was of course apologetic. She just wanted to 'feel his eyes.' Go figure.

I've never had a negative reaction...

[toshirodragon]

I've never had anyone bother the boys' eyes but a lot of people pet their wigs. Usually if I mention the cost, they will leap backwards and clutch their hands. Pretty amusing.

I tend to take at least one with me nearly everywhere. I'm often to be seen in the local Wal mart with my Yuu, Hajime. He has fangirls there :D

Haj has jointed hands so a lot of time I pose him so he's waving or crooking a finger or something similiar at staring passersby.

[FairieGirlDancing]

I've only taken out my girl a couple of times, and usually she just goes to the Volks store, but the few times we've been a non-doll setting nothing terrible has happened. Occasionally somebody will point and whisper...once a man made his children stay away from my friend and me even though they wanted to go see "the pretty dollies". After I smiled, they got out of line and left. Apparently I'm a scary doll person...

[IamGears&Lace]

Hmmm...I am super shy about them in public just because I am a private person and do not like having to explain myself . None of their Bees-Kneez I guess. When I take pics it is usually in stealth mode.
I just feel that people have really weird ideas about"dolls".
Tho if you look through history every culture has created loved and at times worshiped some form of DOLL.
We are so adamant about growing up that to play and nurture with dollies is child like.
But is it not a child that is innocent and loving?
we need more innocence and love in this world!
Play ON!

[Jesslynne]

I've had mixed expieriences, most just look at me strangely and move on. I don't pay them any mind.. I usually have at least one doll on me at all times whether going on a photoshoot or busing to work/home. Having them with me helps with my anxieties strangely enough.

Others have showed great interest in learning about the dolls, some I've linked to DOA, and the sites I'd bought my dolls from when they'd shown interest in learning more. They're a great conversation starter with some.

Though I don't feel the need to have to explain why I have dolls at 21 though, I usually state in my explanation if they ask that they are characters I write about so not only are they beautiful to me, but they also help my inspiration.

[Tosspot]

I've had a doll blessed in ritual, and have on other occasions had to pack them up due to some of the same people getting 'the creeps'. I feel that the group should be consulted as to whether or not the doll comes along.

The public is a group that is so large that consent is impossible. Therefore, I do not bring them out in public.

[HisLittleGirl]

Weird looks and rude comments. I still take them out alot though

[Foxxian]

I dont usually take my dolls out with me. Im a very shy and self concious person, but I have wanted to take them with me a few times.

I have taken my doll Kiyori out with me a couple times when I first got him. He rode around in the car alot, and occasionally would go into the craft store if I ever went. Didnt get any notable reactions from people.

I did take Rail to the doctor with me once. That was interesting. The female doctor wasnt interested at all, but the nurse got a kick out of it. She really liked Rail. He even went back with me when I had to go back to get blood work done. The man taking my blood was really amused, especially when I told him Rail was a vampire. He got this scared look and jokingly said "He doesnt want all our blood, does he?" It was funny.

I also took Glyph with my on my last trip to PA. He went everywhere with me and my dad while I was there, no one seemed to care at all either. He went exploring caves with me, to base ball games. He even went to the arts and crafts fair they have there. A woman at the fair was rather interested in him, but I cant quite recall exactly what she said, I remember cute was mentioned alot though.

[toshirodragon]

aA woman at the fair was rather interested in him, but I cant quite recall exactly what she said, I remember cute was mentioned alot though.

Obviously a woman of refinement and discerning taste. ;)

[Tygati]

*giggle* Recently at work one of the ladies who works at the bead shop where I like to get dolly-jewelry-making-stuff was shopping at my store and asked how "the boys" were. ^__^ Too cute.

[kalcia]

I had only positive encounters, both from male and female.
Some seemed very interested.
I never tell how much exactly those dolls cost, usually just say that they are expensive and not for kids.

[Ruki]

I've experienced a bit of both negative and positive. There has been those people who's shouted "Freaks!" and those who's curriosity's gotten the better of them and gone asked questions like what kind of dolls it was, what the use for them is, where they're from etc.

[Saraqael2000]

I've taken a couple of my dolls out to a anime con so that I could attend a doll get together at the con. Lots of people at the con complimented the dolls. I also belong to a Japanese doll making school. I took my first doll there to show him off (a Luts Moon). Naturally all the doll fans at the school loved him. Aside from that, I've never taken any of my dolls out in public. I'm too nervous about one of them getting damaged. I'd be perfectly horrified if someone pressed on their eyes, as gelfing21 mentioned above.

[aernath]

Well, while waiting for my last plane yesterday, I got a quiet spot in the center of the pedestrian aisle between the gates, and plunked Ranma down for a shot. While taking the shot I heard: What In The...?!
But when I got up to put him and the camera back up in my carry-on, one lady came right up to me, all smiles, telling me how sweet he looked, but could she see his face? She loved him. :)
I get both ends of the spectrum.

[Ms Kittys Closet]

I am relatively new to BJD's and have only taking my dolls to an Anime convention thus far, and am hoping to make it to a doll meet this month in my area. At the convention I don't think many people even notice the dolls in a basket I was carrying and I only saw a few other dolls at the event. I did however take them into a sushi restraunt while I was there because I didn't want to leave them in the car. The waitress loved them and said she wished she had brought her camera.
I plan on getting them outside to do a photo shoot once I get them finished, right now they are shoeless and do not have face ups yet. So I'll be sure to come back and post more when that happens.

[Gamachii]

I haven't taken my doll out yet, but I'm planning to soon. One of my friends(partially responsible anyhow) is coming up to visit, and we want to take our dolls out with us while I show her the town. I'm planning on making some scale food and utensils, since we will probably go out to eat when she visits, and it would be cute to have them eat with us.

[Humbug]

In my home country I've just had people staring and pointing and yelling out "Doll!", so not particularly exciting there.

But when I was in Australia taking a flight home, some people came up to me and actually told me how lovely my doll is. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. :)

[richila]

I take a doll everywhere I go. Most of my dolls are tinies. In particular, I take Shriara with me. My students notice what Shriara is wearing and ask about her if I bring another doll to school. She has her own chair and table in my classroom and a little rug to sit on in the car. The ladies in the postoffice are fascinated by my dolls and ask to see Shriara when I come in. I try to have her in a different dress each time I go.
I consider Shriara my companion/travel doll. Her role is to be a goodwill ambassador for bjds everywhere. I have never gotten a negative reaction to Shriara or any doll for that matter. I had all my crew out last spring by the side of the road taking bluebonnet picturtes. (It's a Texas thing.) People slowed down to look and a couple of people stopped to ask about the dolls.

The only negative with Shriara being a travel doll is that she requires a lot of maintenance. She gets cleaned every other week and I touch up her faceup once a month. She also has 3 of the same wig, so I can shampoo one
while she wears another and have a backup. She will soon be the first doll who has to have her entire wardrobe washed.:sweat

[Linda52]

Well, last night at meetup at Dennys, the manager came in to close the blinds on our private room and shut the door. It was kids eat free night. Dennys loves our business, but we tend to freak others out.

However, when our server was Idealian Brandon in all his (eh) glory, she yelled 'I have to get one of these!"

[toshirodragon]

However, when our server was Idealian Brandon in all his (eh) glory, she yelled 'I have to get one of these!"

You have to admire her good taste!

[MollyKerr]

Eh, I had a bad experience... You see, I have a clear hello kitty bag and one day I decided to take my doll to school to show my friend. The whole bus ride in, this one boy would not stop picking on me for having a "Barbie" doll (Jem, my doll is a 27cm obitsu). Sure, I'm a senior in high school and I shouldn't have brought her to school, but I wasn't expecting to be teased about it...

[waytodawn]

I'm too shy and I care way too much what other people think.
I've never even been out to a meet up because I can't find any other doll owners near where I live.

[MollyKerr]

So, those kind of con goers piss me off! All the doll owners I've meet were nothing but nice and helpful when I ask questions. One even gave me her DoA name!
It's gotten to the point now, that if I don't take my dolls out with me to eat, (Especially Saturday mornings to our every weekend hangout) I get looked at strangely and asked "Where are the kids?" People have come to associate me with my dolls where I eat, shop, at Starbucks, rehearsal for plays, and at church.

Yes, Cha (and sometimes Lorelei as well, when I can manage them both) goes to church every Sunday, sits up front in the choir with me right behind my preacher. At greeting time people will actually speak to him, shake his little resin hand and ask him how he's doing. They think he's great. XD

Everyone once and a while I still get the " O.o " look when I go somewhere we don't frequent much.

The only time I ever received a rude comment about my doll, was actually surprising because I got it at the anime convention that I'm staff for last year. (Like the blazing Yellow staff shirt wasn't a clue to him, that I wasn't someone he needed to be pissing off.) He was all "What's up with all these f-ing Barbie Dolls, and why are they here?" When I told them that there was a pannel on them and that they were a part of Asian culture he looked shocked and said that I was lying because he'd never heard about them. "They must not be as relevant as I thought they were."

I proceeded to tell him they were more relevent than smell Otaku fanboys and that if he didn't go take a shower I was going to kick him out of the con. XD

[RROSS]

In a sewing store, I may get a few looks to see what type of doll I have but nothing crazy but we had a doll meet in a restuarant and the people stared us down and a few asked questions about the dolls and our group but it was really weird.

[angeliue]

I have been looked at weirdly and smirked at.when me and my friends were sitting and drinking our smoothies at the food court some highschoolers went up to me and one started to talk to my friends then they had the nerves to snatch my romantic dimo(Yuuki)and started to run up the stairs with it.I told my friends to take care of my other little ones.I started to chase after the d**n b*****d;i caught up with him and got my yuuki back.Now i know that i shouldn't bring them to any teenager public places :/

[Cainesrose]

I've taken my minifee to work a couple times when I was working on clothes for her. I got a couple people asking about her, mostly because she is a drow (dye mod+elf ears) and they were d&d geeks. I've taken her to conventions before when I still went to them, and got either positive responses or ignored. I think her modifications kept most of the negative people away. If my doll is a Drow, they must have been intimidated of the idea of what I would be like if they were jerks!

[Hugobopp]

For this story to make sense you need to know that I am a forty-something year old man that looks like someone's father. I was invited for a "girls night out" with some friends from work, which was supposed to be like Sex In the City, which made me the gay side kick. I took my Mir with me into the Sushi Restaurant and suddenly became the center of attention.

Wow, free saki and everything. Lesson: Take BJDs out for nights on the town.

[pixieweed]

I took my doll to a restaurant too! I'm not a man in his forties; just a girl in her thirties.. but friends, family & strangers alike tend to let me do my thing, which is great! I took my SD13 girl Anuk to a birthday dinner. I think the person made most uncomfortable by this was likely Anuk, having to watch her mum get drunk and make an ass of herself :)

[Hugobopp]

Pixieweed,

I got drunk too and ended up going home after the restaurant and not out dancing. I do look like a Latino Stantin from Sex in the City, but with a goatee.

[RedFaery]

I've mostly had positive experiences. A couple of times, ladies have complimented my dolls' appearance. One teenage girl said she thought they were "really pretty." It's mostly just curiosity. As for doll shops, I bought all of mine from the only one nearby, so I don't get any negativity from them.

However, I've had one negative experience. A guy in a fast food restaurant became loud and pushy, and kept asking to hold my doll! I ignored him, but it kind of shook me up.

[Hugobopp]

Red Fairy, that's odd that the man would want to hold your doll. If you saw someone with a violin, or say a small statue, would you ask to hold it?

You were right to be upset.

I've mostly had positive experiences. A couple of times, ladies have complimented my dolls' appearance. One teenage girl said she thought they were "really pretty." It's mostly just curiosity. As for doll shops, I bought all of mine from the only one nearby, so I don't get any negativity from them.

However, I've had one negative experience. A guy in a fast food restaurant became loud and pushy, and kept asking to hold my doll! I ignored him, but it kind of shook me up.

[yukifrein]

I only bring my doll at conventions, and most people admire it or will say, " you're so lucky you we're able to buy this kind of doll" or something like that..and sometimes I meet some people with the same hobby..I don't like bringing it on public, like malls or restaurants, 'cause I don't like those stares as if i'm a geek or a weird grown-up girl that still play with dolls..:D

[roxythekiller]

Eh, I had a bad experience... You see, I have a clear hello kitty bag and one day I decided to take my doll to school to show my friend. The whole bus ride in, this one boy would not stop picking on me for having a "Barbie" doll (Jem, my doll is a 27cm obitsu). Sure, I'm a senior in high school and I shouldn't have brought her to school, but I wasn't expecting to be teased about it...

You have every right to bring your doll out where you want to. Even under the most authoritarian regimes, people found ways to keep and display dolls. For example, young girls often took their prized dolls with them to Nazi death camps, and carried them around for comfort and other reasons (as a sign of culture and a reminder of their pre-Nazi lifestyles.) Some of those dolls are now displayed in Holocaust museums.

Dolls are so much more than children's playthings: they are pieces of art and a part of our history and heritage! They are the oldest toys in existance, and were independently developped by cultures in every continent. Nearly every recorded culture has people who collect or make dolls, or similar statuettes. In fact, some of the first pieces of art ever produced were dolls (see: Venus figurines used in fertility rites.)

So this guy's teasing only shows how little he knows about history and cultural traditions. Don't ever be ashamed to bring a doll with you in public, only very ignorant people believe they're "just for kids." Also, on a random note, teasing might mean he "likes" you. ;)

[ChibiJaime]

I've never had any bad experiences taking my girl out in public, really. I usually do so when I'm with friends, and they have dolls too. I sometimes get people who are afraid to come near me, like they're afraid of the doll itself, but more often than not, I get curious looks. In the fabric stores I frequent and take her with me to match fabric to skin tone, I get a lot of questions about what kind of doll she is and how heavy she is and what she's made of and such.

Weirdest comment thus far was when I was in Wal-Mart and some lady who'd just given me a passing glance while I was carrying her started loudly stating that I was a horrible mother and not feeding my baby enough and she was going to call child services right there. I busted out laughing, caught up with her, and said "Ma'am, good luck, but I really don't think my resin doll is in need of much sustenance to keep on existing." She was mortified and shuffled off, all red-faced.

[DollyGirl]

Weirdest comment thus far was when I was in Wal-Mart and some lady who'd just given me a passing glance while I was carrying her started loudly stating that I was a horrible mother and not feeding my baby enough and she was going to call child services right there. I busted out laughing, caught up with her, and said "Ma'am, good luck, but I really don't think my resin doll is in need of much sustenance to keep on existing." She was mortified and shuffled off, all red-faced.

That is hilarious!!


I've only taken one of my dolls out in public once, to a local park for some pictures. My daughter came and brought her Liv doll along, too. I heard one man say to another as they walked by, "One for me and one for you" referring to the fact that both myself and my daughter each had a doll with us. I didn't get the impression he was trying to be mean because he didn't say it with an attitude.

[MyAngelCy]

I took Seraphina out into the city a few days ago! It started to rain D:

I was walking around with her perched on my arm. I had a few looks. Some people thought that when I had her wrapped up she was a baby! Lol!

Her wig kept falling off so half the time I was carrying a bald dolly :(

My doctor thought she was amazing and that she had never seen such a pretty doll before! :)

[wordfiend]

Since I have a little girl, we don't get any attitude when we're out in public with the dolls. A lot of people are just enchanted by them and others think they're just hilarious.

I love some of the fun stuff that happens when you're out with a doll. A waitress at a sushi bar in Chicago fell in love with our Jareth doll and carried him all over the restaurant while she took orders, the counter guy at Freddie's Frozen Custard brought Doctor Who a milkshake and an older lady at Target kissed Halo on the top of her head and told her what a pretty girl she was!

[ChibiJaime]

I posted here before, but I have to share this, mostly becausethis week has been something of an experiment for me.

I work in a call center environment, and as a result, I sit there at my desk just kind of doodling or writing, depending on how busy we are. This week, however, I took a bunch of fabric, a needle and several spools of various colors of thread, and Marmalade. I've been trying to learn how to make dresses for her (one's almost done), as I'm a horrible seamstress, and at first I was nervous about having her on my desk.

Pretty much everyone loves her, though. I've got one of the older ladies who asks me if I have my "baby" with me, and makes sure I remember her when I go home. A lot of people stop and ask if I'm making doll clothes, and comment on how pretty she is. One of my coworkers had her sitting on top of his monitor while I was at lunch because "she looked lonely."

Maybe it's just an environment that breeds familiarity and friendliness, but it's been nothing but a great experience and has made me much more confident about taking her out. Not so much Sakiyo, unfortunately. I carry her at cons, but as much as I love her, she's too huge to carry around regularly. XD

...and in retrospect, this all started because one of my podmates - a former coworker of my parents - wanted to see one of my dolls. XD

[V chan]

The first time I saw one was in College. I take mine out to conventions. But once when I was living in FL. The sun is soo hot their it can melt resin feet right off their little bodies in a car no less so I don't leave them in their if I'm going to eat. I took my girl out with me to a dinner and I think the cooks though I was mentally challenged. They we all "Aww look at her baby." I just smiled. I'm sure they meant well.

[kurea]

I've had mostly negative responses, but then again that's just where I live. People here feel anything different needs to be beaten with a stick, shot, and killed D: Though there are the odd few positive comments/generally curious people.

That sounds a lot like where I live, where are you from?

[AGH-RMS]

There is this nice little Restaurant & Pub in the next town over called Garfield's. Great environment and mood to the whole place. I'm planning on taking my daughter (Dollfie Dream Aoi) out for a celebratory dinner once she arrives ^^ I am going to have her sitting next to me... I'll post the reactions I get.