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The Wide-Eyed World of Blythe
Re-popularized by photographer Gina Garan, Blythe is the eye-color changing doll of the 1970's. The Blythe doll is based on the art work of Margaret Keane.
Today fans of Blythe customize her clothes, hair and make-up for fun. Hobbyists also take pictures of their Blythes in a variety of settings, showcasing their sewing and customization skills. Blythe is stylish, smart and sophisticated, reflecting the dreams of her owners.
Who's that Girl?
Can't get enough of Blythe photos? Me neither. I use flickr for all of my Blythe Doll voyering. :-)
Here's the control panel of Blythe goodness on Flickr.
Dillan and My Mom
~ Pink Petites ~
I don't collect doll...
I'm making one for m...
Dulces sueños
Blythe dolls mod dre...
Rojo y verde
Rojo y verde
Day 083/366 - March...
Kensington, my blyth...
Polaroid
Tranquilidad
Tranquilidad
Tranquilidad
Con la cámara de Ch...
Con la cámara de Ch...
Con la cámara de Ch...
MM: Caroline
Day 064/366 - March...
Day 064/366 Outtakes...
Day 061/366 - March...
Blythe
R1066925
R1066918
(reduced) my Blythe...
Moon - Custom Comiss...
Day 029/366 Outtakes...
Day 029/366 - Januar...
someone wants to sta...
a girl on the go!
ta-dah! new shoes to...
Thanks, Jodi!
Darla in new dress (...
Being Dramatic Again
She Smiles!
Enjoying the new orc...
for moline
Darla has a solution
puppers wants to com...
1st anthro sweater w...
Grace
Grace
Grace
Grace
Grace
Grace
Grace
new dolly clothes
her stock outfit is...
she's so...
cute. creepy. plastic.
Buying Blythe
Blythe Dolls can be purchased through a variety of on-line retailers, although in the United States Ebay appears to be the way most Blythe Lovers buy their dolls. When purchasing Blythe Dolls, there are several things you want to keep in mind:1.) Are you buying a petite doll or regular-sized (12'') doll? Petite dolls are in the $40,50,60 (US Dollars) and up range. Regular-sized dolls are in the $100,150 and up range (and I mean UP). If you are new to Blythe, you may not immediately notice that you are buying or biding on a petite Blythe, especially if no photo is available. So, make sure to ask or read through all of the product description to ensure that you are buying exactly what you want.
2.) Check Shipping Costs Before Buying. Blythe dolls are a bit expensive in comparison to, say, Barbie dolls. Be aware that the price displayed by on-line merchants may not include shipping. Shipping may be quite pricey depending upon where the item is shipping from.
3.) Even though Blythe dolls look about 95% the same (they all have the same body, same head, same eyes), there are over 40 different kinds of reproduction dolls available today; there are even more if you include petites and Kenners. Dolls include... Mondrian, Hollywood, Rosie Red, All Gold In One, Kozy Kape,Aztec Arrival, Sunday Best, Dottie Dot, Miss Anniversary, Bohemian Beat, Asian Butterfly, Piccadilly Dolly, Skate Date, Rouge Noir, Excellent Hollywood, Cherry Berry, Cinnamon Girl, Tea for Two, Disco Boogië, Love Mission, Bohemian Beat and Fruit Punch just to name a few! See if you have them all by using this checklist.
4.) Keep up with Blythe on Ebay via RSS. Here's a tip for any Blythe lover who shops regularly on Ebay. Add this Blythe on Ebay feed to your RSS Reader to view the latest Blythe items for sale.
5.) Are you paying too much for a doll? Check here for a list of prices paid for various dolls.
6.) Gina has recently opened up an on-line shop of her own. One advantage to shopping with Gina is that she is selling clothes & accessories in addition to dolls, which means you probably don't have to pay a bunch of extra shipping like you might on Ebay (buying different items from different sellers).
7.) Check the TIB (ThisIsBlythe.com) forum for dolls that forum members are selling
8.) Avoid buying from bad sellers by reading Bad Dolly Deals often.
Blythe on eBay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Blythe on Amazon
Blythe Doll Brunette Mib and Shipping Carton Rare Doll
Amazon Price: $149.99 (as of 05/17/2008)
List Price: $99.99
Petites on Amazon
BLYTHE PETITE PBL-27 TEA FOR TWO DOLL TAKARA
Amazon Price: $34.99 (as of 05/17/2008)
Blythe Petite Pbl-24 Midnight Hour Takara
Amazon Price: $38.99 (as of 05/17/2008)
BLYTHE PETITE PBL-28 KITCHEN QUEEN TAKARA
Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 05/17/2008)
Online Doll Retailers
- CWC Group Online Shopping
- Straight from the source... "You can shop for original goods by CWC related artists and Blythe at Junie Moon and GalleryLELE location in Daikanyama, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo.
For those who can not make the trip to Japan, On - Line Shopping is available." - Toy Tokyo
- Dolls & petites along with assortment of toys.
- Magic Pony
- Ships internationally from Canada.
- Hobby Link Japan
- Ships internationally from Japan. Many petite blythes available.
- Beans Gifts and Toys
- Dolls and Sugar Mag clothing as well.
- Valley of the Dolls
- Accepts Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Paypal. Sells Pullips as well --see below.
- Nasty Nip
- ... has several dolls available. Out of the UK.
she is different.
Customizing Blythe: Clothing, Hair and Makeup
Even for the seasoned seamstress, making doll clothes can be frustrating. Tiny armholes, hems, bows, and embrodery work make doll dress making difficult (and painful). Patterns are few and far between. Check out the sites listed below for patterns and inspiring example work. Dress Patterns
- XOXO Blythe
- Patterns for two dresses, a shirt and skirt in PDF format. I've used the aloha dress pattern; very simple.
- Puchi Collective Patterns
- Puchi Collective does it again...
- Make a T-Shirt for Blythe
- Step-by-step instructions for making a t-shirt for Blythe.
- Orriettacat Patterns
- Lots of patterns in jpg format available for download.
- Hand drawn patterns
- 18 hand drafted patterns for Blythe...
- Even more hand drawn patterns
- ...here are some more hand drawn patterns!
- How to Fit Doll Clothes
- This is an awesome tutorial on how to fit doll clothes. The general technique here is to baste the major seams and the darts by hand or with a long machine stitch and then put the garment on the doll with the seam allowances to the outside.
Where to Buy Blythe Clothes Online
vote for your favorite clothing shop
For some of us, sewing is great for the simple Blythe clothing pieces. But for more complex items, we require Sugar Mag or some awesomely talented Blythe fashion designers!
this is blythe
Outfits, dresses, wigs, Sugar Mag, coats, hats, sh more...1 point
Pomme-pomme
Inspired by vintage clothing styles, as well as lo more...1 point
++ dollsville shop ++
Dollsville Mini Street features different shops wi more...0 points
B Playland
Online store selling Sugar mag as well as their ow more...0 points
BlytheWorld.com
Blythe World ships worldwide, accepts paypal and g more...0 points
Pepamilk.com
Lets accessorize your Blythe on Valentines Day! - more...0 points
::::Wellcome to Amelie-tailor Dolly World::::
Looking for Sugar Mag?0 points
Blythelicious
Handmade Blythe Outfits0 points
eBay Store - Perline Design: Blythe, Handbag tote purse, Fabric
Buy Blythe and Handbag tote purse items from Perli more...0 points
Customization Tutorials
- Puchi Collective
- Eyes, hair and face... Puchi Collective has got it all.
- Gggroovy Dolls
- Sanding Matte, Changing Chips, Boggling, Lashes, SBL Surgery, Gaze Correction, EBL/BL Surgery, Chalk Pastels, Saran, Mohair, Caring for Mohair & Reattaching the Scalp
- Blythe Station
- Change eyechips, wash hair, cut bangs and sand face.
- Sweetles
- Doll House Tutorial!
- Hair Perm Tutorial
- How to give your doll oodles of curls. Navigate to "The Clinic" and then click "How to give a boil perm".
- Hair-Make
- Braiding, Hair transplantation & Hot water permanent perm instructions found here.
- Brainworm's EyeChip Tutorial
- Change Blythe's eyechips.
- Misc Tips from SqueakyMonkey
- Tips on how to deal with STAINING, how to remove stains on legs and arms, color treat clothes yourself, how to get boots on easily & how to store your dolls.
- Blythe Rescue
- Blythe Rescue Tips: hair, lashes, eyes, scalp, makeup...
- The doll custom material
- Eye and lip stickers available for sale.
- Special Toy Box
- I can't read japanese, but these photos by themselves are very illustrative. Instructions for scalping and cutting bangs.
Blythe on YouTube
Will you make some memories with Blythe?
Take Her Picture
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Price: $39.99
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VuPoint digital cameras are considered to be a good value for the money, innovative and quite reliable digital cameras.
Learn how to take better pictures of Blythe
The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 05/17/2008)
The Digital Photography Book
Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 05/17/2008)
Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 05/17/2008)
Online Communities
- This is Blythe Forum
- A very active forum on Gina Garan's site.
- The Blythe Doll Community
- on Livejournal
- Den of Angels
- another blythe forum
- Addicted to Plastic
- an Australian blythe forum
- BlytheKenner
- on Yahoo! Groups
- Dolly Time
- A doll collector's community
- Wardrobe Remix for Blythe
- A Flickr group to share what your Dollies are wearing...
"Have fun combining different clothes on your dolls. Tell us who made them. Are they Barbie? Handmade? Is there a story behind it? dress by Jam Fancy? stockings by SqueakyMonkey? poncho by Funny Bunny? skirt by Par Avion? scarf by Blythe Republic? Blythe Dressing Room? 525? shoes by Coco Shoes? etc. You get the picture. ;)"
Blythe on The Collectors Show
Blythe on the Collectors Show
Linda Kearns and her Blythe dolls on ABC Collectors show Australia July 20, 2007.
Runtime: 3:36
7564 views
10 Comments:
Blythe Convention?
It was only a matter of time before someone started planning a US Blythe Convention. WooHoo!
she has quiet a history.
Inspiration for the Blythe Doll: Margaret Keane
"Margaret Keane is an American artist. She is an illustrator and painter, and mainly draws women and children in oil or mixed media. Her works are instantly recognizable (although often imitated) from the doe-eyed children that are depicted in the drawings." -- from Wikipedia entry on Margarert Keane Articles about Blythe
- FredFlare interviews Gina Garan... complete with cute video
- "Hey peeps, I'm so excited to announce another brand-new episode of The Fred Flare Show video podcast. We got all dolled up to interview our idol, Gina Garan, the super talented New Yorker who single-handedly brought Blythe dolls to international fame! Gina gave us a tour of her incredible doll studio that's packed with amazing Blythe dolls..."
- Blythe doll meet at Meltdown in LA
- "Jenny of Sew Darn Cute told me about a Blythe doll meet she hosted at Meltdown Comics in LA, that took place yesterday. "We had over 70 dolls there, and did customizing tutorials, swapped fabrics, ate cupcakes and took a ton of photos. Such fun stuff. Here are some group shots!" "
- Blythe Spirit
- "Sweet charity and a supercute toy
Friday, April 21, 2006
Form's Blythe Doll
WHAT: Blythe's charity fashion dolls" - In the New Yorker...
- "The robots at Toy Tokyo are not the biggest-selling items. The dolls are-Blythe, for example, a foot-tall doll with a big head and big eyes. Junko Matsuno, the manager at Toy Tokyo, says that the store is divided into sections and that each section has its collectors. The Blythe section is a good one for beginners, she says, because the price is more reasonable-a hundred dollars."
Kenner Blythe Complete Line
"Blythe was produced by Kenner in 1972 and designed by the Marvin Glass Associates, one of the foremost toy design studios. You could change her eyes with a pull of a drawstring at the back of her head to blue, pink, green and orange. She came in four hair colors and with an assortment of 12 groovy fashions that strongly reflected the style of her time. She also had wigs in crazy colors, sunglasses and a wardrobe case you could store everything in." -- Kenner Blythe Guide Bloggin' Blythe
Keep up with what the blogosphere is saying about the wide-eyed girl
- Clothing For Your Blythe Dolls
- Blythe Dolls are so fun. I'm always envious of the girls who have them and how they modify and dress up their dolls! Check out etsy seller joeykblythe who makes the cutest clothes for her dolls. This particular dress is $18 but be sure ...
- Romantic Paisley Dresses for Blythe Dolls
- Full length summer dress for Blythe. Collection titled 'Summer of Love'. Spring/Summer 2008. This is my first 'experimental pattern'. I wanted a boho look, but I don't like 'granny sleeves' which are so common on paisley print dresses. ...
- New Blythe Dolls Available From Japan!
- Limited edition- 3000 dolls 3990 yen Two adorable new Blythes to add to your collection via Rinkya Stores! Or check out Yahoo Japan for a variety of past releases, clothing and accessories for your Blythe Doll! Blythe News Section ...
- Article about blythe dolls
- I just published a second article about Blythe Dolls and their trend in popularity. I would love to have members of this forum read the articles and comment at my blog. Thank you, ...
Blythe, but not Blythe
Dolls that aren't Blythe, but are closely related to Blythe...
- Ginadolls
- Gina Garan and orriettacat have created a new line of cute plush dolls called Ginadolls!
- Pullip Dolls
- Like Blythe, Pullips have large eyes, but unlike Blythe, Pullips' bodies are flexible.
- Sekiguchi Coco
- from the Coco Doll Company.
What is your favorite Blythe Doll?
Share your Blythe-love
Face Models
Each of the different Blythe dolls fall under one of six models. There are some subtle differences between the different models' face plates.
Vote on the Best Blythe-related Books
Del.icio.us Blythe!
Discover even more Blythe sites. Check out pages tagged as 'Blythe'...
Blythe Squidoo Guestbook
Hey, I don't know it all...
Feel free to leave site recommendations or tips!
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beachbum_gabby
gorgeous dolls. Best as gifts for my niece. ^__^ Posted May 13, 2008 |
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ms-giggles
I remember the big eye ceramic dogs but I don't remeber these dolls, Now I know what a Blythe doll is. Congrats on your lens. Stop by sometime and visit my lenses. Beth Posted April 21, 2008 |
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wildrosetreasure
Great lens. I too remember the art but not the dolls. Posted April 21, 2008 |
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DarcyShaw
Amazing lens. Congrats on a great job! I agree though, the dolls creep me out. Don't remember them either although ... hmmm .... I am of the age. Posted April 21, 2008 |
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heatherblakey
An amazing lens. The dolls creep me out but I will be back to use the concept for a writing prompt :-) Posted April 21, 2008 |
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beeobrien
I don't remember these dolls, just the Margaret Keane artwork. Very nice lens. Posted April 21, 2008 |
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Fritzy
Well done! Lense, looks beautiful and fitted to my daughter. i hope someday i can get one for her. Posted April 21, 2008 |
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ddixonart
I remember the big eyed children art, but I don't remember these dolls. I would have been the perfect age for them too...were they more popular in some areas than others? Posted April 21, 2008 |
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MillionaireBoyzClub
well done, very detailed lens! I agree with some of the squidooers some do look pretty creepy, and am I the only dude here? haha Posted April 21, 2008 |
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AuraBackdrops
Great Lens I must admit. Rightly the lens of the day..btw..I have one question..who decides the Lens of any particular day? What are the criterias? Posted April 21, 2008 |