The mysteries of goodwill stores

To be honest, complaining about goodwill stores feels a bit wrong. I'm sure they're doing a great thing, and I've made some amazing finds there - but still: I really really wish they woudn't split up sets! Sometimes I wonder if they do it on purpose. You know: put the jacket on one Ken doll and the pants/shirt combo on another and hope that people buy both? (Spoiler: I won't, because I'm kind of poor.) Or when they package random doll furniture into bags, maybe the're just trying to portion similar amounts of good stuff/meh stuff into each one, regardless of whether it fits together or not? That would explain how Sindy's bathroom sink ended up with the patio furniture and the bath tub with the Sears Beauty Salon (which is missing the floor section that has the power sockets for the battery-operated hairdryer. That piece doesn't look much on its own, and I'll be forever wondering whether it got lost somewhere in the sorting process).

The weirdest thing is when stuff gets split up over larger distances in time and space: weeks apart, in different stores. There's a certain goodwill organization that has at least 5 stores in different parts of town, and whenever I'm near one I try to take the chance to pop in.

Today I when I visited one of them, I found:

• 1 brown Bratz Kidz boot (found the other one at another of their stores last week, but left it after having spent 10 minutes digging through the crate in vain for the other one), 
• the top from 1990 Babysitter Skipper's outfit  (found the skirt two weeks ago in yet another of their stores)
• a 5cm (2'') strip of white fabric. Doesn't sound like much, I know - ecxept I'd bet my head it belongs to the slightly mutilated Hollywood Hair Barbie outfit worn by one of the dolls I bought three weeks ago from yet another store.

So then you're standing there in line with one tiny boot or one single piece of doll clothing, wondering whether they'll insist they're only allowed to sell a complete set, and if they do what will become of those odd bits and bobs (thrown out at the end of the month?). Also, I have a sneaking suspicion lately they sometimes simply cut up doll's clothes when they're too small to fit (like putting a Barbie shirt on a babydoll), or cut a dress in two and split it between dolls just so you can sell it as a dressed doll. (And then there's the parents who let their kids play with all they toys until they break and then leave them strewn all over the shop for others to step on/trip over, but the staff are probably more annoyed at that than I am.)

Yeah, I know: I can't really complain. Honestly, if it weren't for goodwill stores, my doll collection would be a rather meagre affair indeed. But all my doll photos lately have come out looking like grainy garbage, so I'm frustrated and have no content of substance to post! So instead, you get moaning. And I guess in a way these little annoyances are a part of what makes thrift store shopping interesting. It's like a carefully designed quest in a video game: that little neon pink polka dot skirt will be worth much more to you after you've had to spend weeks searching for it all over town.

ebay yukata dilemma

Never mind me, I'm just complaining again... about doll stuff.

She also needs a better photographer

This is Aya. Aya needs a yukata that doesn't end by her knees, like this one from Daiso does. Well, perhaps not needs, but we both agree she would look good in one. Aya is one of my favorite Jenny friends, and one version of her that I think is particularly beautiful is the one that comes dressed in a kimono by designer Yumi Katsura. She's way out of my price range, of course, but it made me think it would be fun to have some traditional Japanese clothes for my Aya - sort of replicating the look on a budget. Because I'm not made of money, and my dolls don't sit safely in their boxes or behind glass doors, what I've been looking for is a simple, cheap yukata or kimono that will fit 27cm Obitsus.

Now I happen to have a bit of money over this month, so I checked ebay and there seems to be two options within my price range: a red Jenny kimono released in November and the purple Jenny yukata from this summer.

 (stock photos - the print on the red isn't that bad in the finished product)

The kimono comes with the traditional shoes and socks, which is great because I don't have any. The yukata is slightly cheaper and actually the one I like the most, mainly because the color matches Aya's makeup and the floral print is cute (is that peonies?)  -but it didn't say whether shoes are included. As I don't want poor Aya to go barefoot, I asked the seller, and they told me shoes are not included. BUT. Then I checked TakaraTomy's site, and unless Google Translate is messing things up even more than usual, the yukata is indeed supposed to come with shoes! (or sandals, which I guess is a better English term for zori). User reviews on Amazon.co.jp seem to confirm this too, although I wouldn't bet on it since, well, Google Translate.

So - now what? Do I ask the seller why there are no shoes, when according to the manufacturer there's supposed to be? To be honest that seems like a bad idea. Do I hope they were just being super picky with the terminology ("Oh, you meant zori sandals? I thought you said shoes haha"), or that the sandals were hidden inside the packaging and they didn't see them or something...? Or do I just accept the fact that they probably removed the shoes to sell them separately? After all, breaking up fashion packs seems to be pretty common practice on the second hand doll market.

For example, I've noticed the Daiso fashion packs sold on ebay are usually shoeless. Initially I assumed it was because the shoes apparently fit older Licca dolls and so are in higher demand, but then I bought three intact packs from FoundIinJapan and basically threw the shoes away immediately, since they're were so sticky and smelly I knew right away I would never use them. So I don't know.

So I'm sort of annoyed that if I actually buy the yukata I probably won't get what I'm supposedly paying for. Then again, I'm not sure exactly how annoyed I should be, because fact is that the zori and tabi that come with these sets don't actually look very good on a doll that doesn't have toes! For me it does ruin the apperance a bit when a Jenny doll has a big elaborate kimono in a beautiful fabric - and then her zori sandals stick out a centimeter in front of her feet... Of course, that's always the problem with sandals and playline dolls - my Triad Omega guy has separate big toes, but he can't exactly share shoes with Barbie. So if the set comes with zori it's possible I would end up not using them anyway - and then what am I complaining about??

This wouldn't look good even if they were her size

The best option for shoes would probably be these Obitsu zori that come with soft plastic tabi socks - normally I avoid awkward plastic versions of fabric objects - like bunny slippers or knitted hats - for my dolls, but in this case the pros outweigh the cons. But of course they cost a lot, and first I'd need to find someone who sells them. Plus they come in three colors and none of them the traditional plain black and red, so matching options would be more limited. And the sandals would still look weird without the socks - but apparently nobody wears tabi socks with a yukata, so I'd be stuck with weird-looking footwear either way...

So I'm not quite sure what to do yet. Maybe I'll just wait a month and see which one sells out and then buy the other one? And then wait another six months for the planets to align with my economy and the ebay sellers' stock for a chance to buy a matching pair of Obitsu shoes.

...sometimes I think half the fun of this hobby is in complaining about ridiculous details. :D

2013: Year of the Face-Up

The eyes in question.

...I really have to do something about those eyes. It didn't bother me when she was on her original cheap knock-off body or when she was a floating head, but now with a proper body and clothes the look is downright disturbing. Maybe this will be the year I finally get it together and start repainting faces.