Doll Collecting: "This is about having glamour in your life."

I asked Pat Henry, founder and editor of Fashion Doll Quarterly, for her comments on the post below and the glamour of doll collecting in general. In response, she sent the following email (most links added):

Doll collecting is like art collecting; there are those who collect modern art, and some who like the Expressionists. In my experience, people collect for all sorts of reasons. Some like the fashions, some have nostalgia for dolls they had as children. Others collect because they didn't have dolls as children. One could argue in this bleak economy these are little luxuries. How many Americans really dress up and go out? How many have ever been on a red carpet for any reason? This is the chance to have a piece of that glamour. Recently, the Tonner Doll Company released a Joan Crawford doll and then a Bette Davis doll. Despite both ladies being long deceased, there is still a desire for a bit of that old Hollywood glamour.

Some artists enhance and repaint dolls to look like famous stars, and these dolls go for thousands on eBay. For others, they are drawn to the Asian BJDs  [ball-jointed dolls] because they are endlessly customizable and the collector can use the doll as muse to be creative. Some just want to dress like the dolls, but can't afford it or can't wear the type of clothes they would like to wear.

Jason Wu recently debuted a doll wearing a miniature version of a gown from his Fall 2008 collection. Since a small percentage of the population can actually afford or even wear his clothes, this doll is a small totem of the world of high fashion and glamour they don't have in their daily lives. 

Beyond the dolls themselves, the communities that develop because of the dolls bring these people together over common interests. There is an event in California this summer,  "Hollywood Ahoy" on the Queen Mary that is themed on old Hollywood. Guest speakers include several authors including Christian Esquevin, author of Adrian: Silver Screen to Custom Label. Collectors can then share their favorite dolls, movie stars and fashion interests in person as well as learn something and be entertained.

My apologies; that would be the long answer! The short answer is– yes, this is about having glamour in your life, even if it has to be in a smaller scale.