Dollfie and its accessories

This week, let's move away from major American company products to something closer to the east, or rather to the country of the rising sun, Japan. Originating from a company based in Japan called Volks, "Dollfie" is mainly a doll made of vinyl or polyurethene resin, a hard, dense plastic, rather like a Barbie but have more joints therefore they are much more flexible. "Dollfie" originates from the words "doll" and "figure". They measure 27cm in height or is called playscale. Another type of doll is called Super Dollfie, a larger version measuring 60cm in height.

Source: http://www.pandollmonium.com/dollfie/buff/index.html

Now you know what Dollfie is. But what exactly is it for? Is it a new doll soon to replace Barbie as little girls' favourite companion? Far from that, actually.

Dollfie is designed for adult collectors, mainly fans of Japanese manga and anime. Dollfie were first manufactured in 1997. Their flexibility and ease of movement is designed so that they can be posed and dressed up in various fashions and characters. Their body parts like heads, limbs and body can be bought separately and attached together for easier customization according to one's desire. The inside of Dollfie's body are strung together by strong elastic band and the joints must be handled with care as they are sensitive.

Dollfie can come in male and female form as well as child-size. They are also available in different "skin" tones. All body parts can be customised by the collector. The head can be opened to change the eyes and adjust the string of the elastic band. The eye colour for example can be changed by the collector to suit the Dollfie's character. The hair can also be changed as the doll's head has rooting where it's hair can be attached.

Most collectors have invested alot of time, money and effort on developing their Dollfie's character. They can change the Dollfie's outfits regularly due to its ease of customization and new clothes and accessories can be added on the doll to personalise it. The Dollfie's fashion is heavily influenced by Japanese anime, thus attracting hordes of teenage collectors and has a following from cosplay enthusiasts.

A check with ebay reveals that if you are interested in investing in a Dollfie, be prepared to spend around S$70 for a basic doll while all other accessories are available to be added on. There are various of outfits and accessories available online that one can add to one's Dollfie to beautify it. It requires the collector's own skill, sense of fashion and craft to develope a complete character. For cheaper solutions, try tapping into your own creativity and sew Dollfie's outfits yourselves!

Coincidentally, a friend of a friend of mine is a Dollfie enthusiast and according to her, she spent around US$500-600 on a Super Dollfie with its custom outfits and accessories. Here are some of the looks of the Super Dollfie.

I have never been interested in anime or Dollfie before this, but due to my friend's strong influence and some researching on Dollfie for this post, I found this hobby to be rather interesting and I found myself liking it. The dolls are very life-like and beautiful, plus one can play around with posing the doll. It takes a lot of skill to fully customised a Dollfie from scratch and I'm not artistically inclined, so if I do delved into Dollfie collecting, I would prefer a customised completed doll along with its accessories. That is ofcourse, if I have around US$600 to spare.

For more information on Dollfie and customization, visit Volk's homepage where you can also order the different Dollfie's body parts and accessories. If you prefer to get a customised Dollfie complete with accessories, visit Amy Brown's Dolls or nDoll.com. Get tips for collecting Super Dollfie here. Do check out Arastal Alastei's blog on Dollfie. There are some great pictures there and the author has also uploaded a video on how to customised the doll's head. Also check out PanDollMonium to check out more dolls.