Revisiting The "Dark Ages" Of Doll Collecting

[@BloodyBraces]

Long ago the toy companies lived in perfect harmony But everything changed when Monster High got rebooted

[@bratzscene3131]

That's actually untrue, Barbie's reboot in 2014 was the beginning of the fashion doll downfall. Then the Bratz reboot and then the MH reboot. It got progressively worse.

[@notthemama6937]

Only barbie, the queen of all dolls could've save them

[@cloed0ll]

​@@notthemama6937 but she couldn't LOL

[@hisokamorrow44]

Matel and MGA were definitely NOT in living perfect harmony lol

[@BloodyBraces]

@@cloed0ll when the world needed her most she got rebranded into a real basic bitch

[@berrystein9197]

This era really gave us only 3 doll face types: 😃 🗿 👁‿👁

[@blacksun1594]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@Iampregnetwithringosbaby]

And 😀 👕 👖⚽️

[@sharonthompson672]

🤣

[@randomy2bhandle]

LMAOOO

[@Itsgay2read]

It still bewilders me that DC Superhero girls didn't just recreate fashions from the comics, they had 70+ years worth of fashion AND themes to work with. Easily could have gotten the true comic nerds with that.

[@qwgsd]

sadly, the toys being marketed toward children really hindered the ability of the creators of the dolls to give them more comic-accurate designs. because most comic designers r out of touch (when it comes to women's comfortability), most designs for the characters they used were mostly racy outfits. i totally wish they made comic-accurate collector dolls that could display the different outfits from the different eras, without having to basically dumb them down for like.. preschoolers :3

[@PlaystationSimmer]

Fr. Alot of characters have simple enough outfits to recreate too, like Poison Ivy and Wonder Woman who basically have leotrards in a lot of appearances.

[@ghhoulx]

agreed! still mad they didn’t add zatanna to the original line before the reboot ^^; my girl never gets the spotlight

[@angrybidoof847]

I thought they where based off the cartoon?

[@Joolieannie]

I’d argue that the dark ages actually started in 2014 with the decline of quality of several brands , bratz EAH MH Barbie etc and encapsulates the reboots as well

[@fableagain]

Good point! Maybe we can call those the grey ages? 🤭

[@I-lunakit-I]

I would argue that that’s the fall of the roman empire

[@Lemon_Lime_Lily]

I think that hairdorables were one of the first signs that nature was healing. Even though they were surprise toys, they still had hair and fabric clothing.

[@myra0224]

And the Hairdorables Hairmazing dolls are SO underrated 😭

[@VeronicaStorm98]

@@myra0224 Agreed. The non-budget Hairdorables Hairmazing dolls were really good for what they were.

[@Lemon_Lime_Lily]

Yeah! I had hairmazing willow from series one and the prom two pack. I had like 10 of the little ones from basically every series lol.

[@dirtypoptoxic]

I bought so many of those…

[@xeno_p0ny]

@@myra0224seriously. The Hairmazing Willow doll is like one of my favorite fashion dolls :D

[@rosesoehngen1483]

"Kids wanted to develop intense gambling addictions" - the way I cackled 😂

[@curlytoes22]

more like companies wanted kids to develop intense gambling addictions - that part is probably true and disturbing 😣

[@magnafoxodyssey2127]

I do wonder if the precise boom in blind bag toys coincided with a lot more kids with their parents ipad being fed video after video of blind bag opening channels that directly appealed to the overstimulated part of the brain Cocomelon does. Which led to a lot of kids buying blindboxes, which led to the goldrush

[@Corgipon]

And social media addictions apparently with so many toylines becoming so ultra-contemporary, even more than in the 2000s and 2010s.

[@Pinkywinkykinky]

Me and my brother did like shopkins a lot though

[@karenflieger7529]

I have a theory the “gender reveal” trend may have played a part in the “surprise” gimmick.

[@HardcastleMcC0rmick]

I have to wonder if the fall of Toys R Us helped usher in the dark age doll period. Fashion dolls are relatively expensive to produce, in comparison to action figures, so perhaps when toy companies saw a major toy retailer go down, they wanted to nip back costs even more than usual.

[@ToyCircle]

I think you're right

[@hannahisapalindrome44]

Oh definitely, losing the last big standalone toy store scared toy companies from trying anything to ambitious. They've basically been left pandering to wal-fart. The way wal-fart operates is that they require a guaranteed profit. Which means they are very unwilling to take a chance on untested toy lines. Toy-R-Us was much more willing to experiment.

[@Futurebound_jpg]

I mean toysrus didnt even truly go down tho. Theyre still successful and running in all the same locations as before here in Canada. They sold to a Canadian owner. The brand just became Canadian instead, why does everyone act like they died 😂

[@An_Almond]

@@Futurebound_jpg trust me, live in Canada and one time I went to a toys-r-us cuz why not (I just bought a pack of Pokémon cards) and it was in the most sad and pitiful state I have ever seen

[@cacaumassipanoficial6203]

When I saw these unicorn that make slime a few years ago, I genuinely felt bad thinking someone could get a repeat one since it was a surprise doll, and they were expensive too...

[@myra0224]

Anything over €5 should have AT LEAST codes on it so you know which ones you're getting ://

[@Alexandraadftxr7052]

I hate both that it was a suprise toy, and that it even existed.

[@classcloe5769]

I do feel bad for the parents paying like 70$ dollars for a doll you can get a repeat of it’s a big waste of money

[@tessfabled4115]

They were very easy to hack luckily - you could open the top of the package enough to see inside from memory ;)

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

I REALLY want to talk to the person who came up with...the unicorn smile thing... Like....why does THIS exists?

[@morganqorishchi8181]

This is utterly unrelated to the video but as a guy whose dad recently threw away a good chunk of my doll collection, it's so nice to see your plethora of dolls behind you. It feels good to see another guy who's into dolls and isn't ashamed of it, even if other people are.

[@nugumu3410]

I am so sorry that that happened to you. I too am also a guy who collect what is typically considered “for girls” but at the end of the day, it’s a harmless interest and there is nothing wrong with it. Gender stereotypes are what harms people, not interests like doll collecting or fashion. I genuinely hope you are able to acquire the same dolls again. Lots of scalpers out there on eBay, Mercari, and even in stores in general :(

[@barbatostea]

I feel you on some lvl you my mom threw out my whole lps collection and mlp dolls :(

[@morganqorishchi8181]

@@nugumu3410 When I told my French professor - she's great, she's like a second mom to me - about what happened, she gave me an old Monster High doll, the last one she had from before her daughter sold the others. It's a Monster High Create-A-Monster ghost doll. My professor spent two hours searching her house for it and brought it to me the next day in class. I also have one mini Blythe I was customizing and had hidden away. It's not much, but I didn't lose absolutely everything. My mom saved my Gooliope Jellington and Astranova dolls, too. So I have four. I had seventeen. I'm trying to treasure what I have left but I wish my dad understood me better. It's a harmless hobby. It's just plastic art, basically...

[@morganqorishchi8181]

@@barbatostea I'm so sorry to hear that. You didn't deserve that and I pray you'll be able to one day rebuild your collection. You deserve nice things and this is such a positive hobby, I can't imagine why anyone has objections to it.

[@fluorescentalien5204]

im the same way! I love meeting other guys who are into dolls.

[@DoIIyMama]

Project mc2 deserved better. Their fashion was sooo good. They really captured the 2014-16 era of fashion which MH completely missed.

[@psychotophatcat]

Agreed!! I have a photo from that time of me holding one of the Ember Evergreen dolls I had impulse purchased because we were wearing almost identical outfits. They were more on trend at the time than most fashion dolls are even now.

[@carobell8486]

-The whole show was made just to sell dolls? +Always has been

[@Lars1996]

I loved them, but hated the flimsy bodies with stick legs and arms.

[@danielmendes8975]

Mattel really pulled a thanos click and obliterated the entire play line doll market

[@doglover12345andfr]

I did not stop collecting during "The Dark Ages," I just stopped collecting play line dolls. This is when I started to acquire some higher end stuff like Tonner and Integrity. I'm glad the play doll market is starting to be appealing again. I love being able to walk into a Walmart and grab a decent doll.

[@kattriella1331]

This was the era when I got into Integrity as well, and around the time I discovered Obitsu. Now my 1:6 collection is incredibly diverse as far as dolls go. Funny how, if it weren't for the dark ages, I probably wouldn't have half of the dolls I have now.

[@Mintpuppy17]

That is funny you say that, because when Monster High petered out, I bought my first BJD and focused on those for a couple of years. Now I am back to Monster High.

[@bemorewantless]

Enchantimals truly are the Satan's Gravy of fashion dolls. I remember when things were getting weird around that time, and Poopsies came out, I was amazed at how such a dumpy concept could have such a high quality, and wished they would make them into fashion dolls. When they came out with Rainbow High, I was so stoked, it was like prayers answered. It's hilarious to think we have Poopsie and Rainbow Surprise to thank for Rainbow High. Now if only they would make Fantasy Friends into Fantasy High...

[@curlytoes22]

Imagine if they kept the poop aspect in the current line - fashion-school divas who are also Incontinent 😅

[@ariadnefrolich7243]

I liked some of the Enchantimals (I have a few). Yeah, they aren't the best quality, but they were cute. Also as a kid I would often pair my dolls with an animal sidekick, so the Enchantimals reminded me of that. I didn't care for the fact that some of them had 2 different pairs of ears though.

[@Curiosweet]

They might have some issue using Fantasy High because the name might be already trademarked (Dimension 20/Dropout has a series called Fantasy High). But absolutely agreed. I feel like RH dolls required a monkey's paw to get.

[@sissysovereign1294]

It's like they evolved from unicorns instead of apes. Imagine knowing your common ancestor was a pooping unicorn

[@Hanako-Kun-t9b]

@@sissysovereign1294 I guess that explains all of the unnatural hair colours ( and to a much lesser extent eyes colours and by this I mainly mean Ruby )

[@dolljunk]

I find it interesting that no one has mentioned how Mattel losing the Disney Princess license affected things in 2014, but especially how it affected the rest of their brands from that point on. The MH reboot was the most obvious result of the Disney money disappearing in 2016, but you could see how it affected things with Mattel's pivot to "girl power" brands happened beforehand including EAH's slogan changing to "Princesses are Powerful". I honestly wouldn't have regarded this period as the dark ages if Barbie maintained the quality level she had from 2014 to 2016, but in 2017 the quality of the Fashionistas and the Made To Moves took a massive dive that they never recovered from. The fact Mattel started using polypropylene everywhere, the UV print faces, and the way the fashions just changed to sack dresses because Mattel dropped the fashion packs to work on the individual body types was a massive disappointment as I had switched from the more stylised lines to Barbie around this time. Honestly I was close to quitting the hobby several times but the lack of choices made it easier to catch my breath both in terms of my wishlist but also to work on my project list.

[@maximillianlylat1589]

I think this channel mentioned the ordeal on their ever after high and descendants video. It really did suck. Because the cut in budget was extremely visible in the mh budget line and in their barbie lines. During monster high's golden years even barbie was looking real good at the time. The disney money was definitely helping them fund their projects.

[@skitterly]

Disney truly is the Ronald Reagan of entertainment companies. If there’s a problem it usually leads back to them lol

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

I love how Mattel changed Ever After High to be all about girl power, yet the last doll lines were the girls (Mainly Apple, Raven, Maddie, Ashley and Holly because they keep overusing those 5 characters while everyone else was almost ignored) doing typical girly things like ballet and tea parties.

[@CinnamonWithATwist]

10:36 this is such a pet peeve of mine. so so so often when I see attempts at body diversity, it's done in a more down-to-earth kind of vibe because people seem to only remember other body types exist when they're making a conscious effort to represent real people. maybe I as a fat chick want to also take part in hyper-feminine, over-the-top fashion honestly most of the time the only group I see making fun fat characters are furries because they often actually find fat bodies cute instead of them just being a moral obligation to include

[@barbatostea]

THIS whenever I went to the barbie section I felt as of something was missing it was this!

[@x_kittrix]

Honestly as someone hyper feminine it makes me kinda sad to see companies try and shy away from it. I understand wanting to have more than just hyper feminine stuff for their dolls but it feels like they’re completely trying to ignore it. It’s especially sad when that brand used to be all about hyper femininity. Also, I 100% agree on the whole “diversity” thing. Brands only seem to have more diversity in their characters solely to appeal to people instead of making the characters for the fun of it. I love diversity but when it’s forced it just feels wrong.

[@wetsockz3001]

No fat girls can’t dress nice (y’all ruin the nice clothes with your sweat stains😂)

[@barbatostea]

@@wetsockz3001 don't bring yourself down babe, anyone can be glamorous ✨️😎

[@Tiny_Koi]

Doll companies seem to think that fat women only wear buisness casual LOL

[@cold_hot_pocket2915]

I was 11 when monster high got rebooted and the dark ages of dolls came about. The sad thing is when all the high quality dolls began disappearing and when I couldn't find a new doll in toy aisles that interested me I simply assumed I was too grown up for dolls at that point and it made me embarrassed of ever having dolls in the first place. As a kid I simply moved on to Shopkins because that's what every other kid was doing, and I would hide my box of dolls anytime I had anyone over. I'm glad I at least saved the majority of my dolls now that I'm back into collecting at age 18 and have been collecting for a few years now.

[@sunettas9738]

I was a bit older than you when it happened, but oof, I felt that, especially since other play doll brands weren't up to par either at the time - I was starting to think I was just getting too old for them, rather than them just being subpar

[@tobbatticus]

As a general blind box collector, I can totally understand how LOL Surprise exploded and changed the market like it did even if I personally don't like them. Idk WHAT they're putting in blind boxes to make them so addicting, but once you start, you're a goner. Blind box mania is REAL. 😭

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

honestly as someone who doesnt gaf ab blind boxes i got TEMPTED sometimes to buy lol surprise

[@mossfrog9720]

It’s the gambling premiss

[@forsakenjones4695]

It's a gaming thing.Blind boxes are just loot boxes.you pay and get gear,it's like micro transactions.That's how they hook you.Yes it's basically gambling.So, these toy companies are teaching kids how to gamble.So can parents make a legit complaint?I wonder.

[@magnafoxodyssey2127]

It provides the same dopamine rush as gambling.

[@BB-bw8tk]

we love gambling addictions lolol

[@indiciaobscure]

I loved you how went into how 'The Dark Ages' is a misnomer on your doll video. As a history fan, it was unexpected and delightful

[@portobeIIa]

honestly, the dark times of doll collecting is around the time i got into... doll customizing, and OOAKs. They are such good hobbies that bounce off one another so well. Fake, cheap dolls can become ooaks while the originals in good condition can be preserved. it's all in all so great.

[@kat8559]

Okay um as a historian the little bit you put in there about the "dark ages" made me so indescribably happy

[@hogan3372]

I remember walking into shops and feeling depressed and almost disgusted at how cheap everything was. Felt like companies were spitting in our faces, especially in Australia where we get everything later and in much lesser quantity. I usually only buy 1 favourite doll from lines that don't interest me a lot or that would be too expensive to collect all of. I literally have 1 hairdorables, 1 lol surprise and 1 lol surprise fashion doll. I did a lot of customizing in that time. If companies couldn't make cool dolls i'd do it myself.

[@raventoney3376]

I'm not much of a collector, but I worked in a Walmart toy department in 2018/2019 and at a Target toy department a couple of years later. Even not being in the toy collecting world, you could tell there was kind of a shift going on. I remember seeing stuff like the Wild Heartz and Hairdorables on the shelves, but the LOL Surprise dolls outsold *everything* by a huge margin. We couldn't stock them fast enough, and the only thing that even vaguely competed with them were Paw Patrol toys for the younger demographic. This was also around the release of Disney's Frozen 2 toys, which I'd thought would do well, but even that paled in comparison. At Target in 2021/2022, it was kind of wild to see how much the LOL brand had grown. It and Rainbow High + Shopkins and a few smaller blindbox brands took up both sides of an aisle by themselves, and it was impossible to keep it organized. I think there was more variety overall for an older demographic at Target than there had been at Walmart, so there wasn't quite as large of a difference between the rate of sale for LOL dolls and other toys, but those and Rainbow High were still the top selling dolls. And honestly, I was glad to see that blindboxes weren't *quite* as popular as they'd been before. It seemed like that was most of what we had at Walmart in 2019. Parents hated them, but the kids were obsessed with them. It seems like it's a little more common now for larger "surprise" toys to discreetly display somewhere on the box what toy is inside, like I remember at Target having these toys themed around adopting a surprise pet, but the color of the box or an image somewhere on it showed which one it was, which particularly helped parents a lot when shopping.

[@aliveslice]

Yes keep the surprise at the affordable price 😅

[@Lollipup-Toffee]

Yes! The surprise toys are hard, I have always liked LPS, and when they got canceled I was super sad, then I saw BFF pets and they were surprise toys, at first the packaging was semi transparent and I was so close to getting my favourite, (a blue border collie) it got changed and now the pets don’t come in semi transparent pet houses, they come in opaque suitcases (the ones on wheels) and I can’t tell which one I’m getting, which is sad because I love two (a pink cockatoo and a ragdoll cat) and they cost $4 each so it gets expensive when there are a lot you can get. Codes and pictures on the packaging would be amazing!

[@wunderkind7762]

I think the dark ages is what made me get into Korean and Japanese doll lines over US which is super interesting to look back on. With nothing cute or pretty on US shelves and some of the bigger fanbases being dead, I became enraptured by brands like Pullip who were still releasing gorgeous, iconic dolls. Pullip still remains the one brand I collect (albeit sparingly because they are PRICY)

[@lemonono1182]

I hadn’t heard about Pullips until I read this comment. Now I have my first Taeyang (Richt) and want to buy a Pullip! But like you, I’ll definitely collect sparingly. It doesn’t help that I’m in the middle of preparing to move too :P thanks for accidentally introducing me to a new fashion doll line to collect from!

[@wunderkind7762]

@@lemonono1182 oh my gosh!!! I feel so honored to have inspired you to get into pullip 😭 It really is such a pretty line. My first doll from the line was pullip romantic alice (pink)!

[@veen-a2092]

I remember during this age OOAK dolls were rising(the content creators) Hextian,Dollightfull etc... and there was that one who created LOL dolls by using Fashionistas I don't remember this person channel but she sure make a movement her content I think inspired MGM to step-up their game in the Fashion Doll line and I would like to personally thank that content creator

[@psychotophatcat]

Was it Cupcake Squad?

[@kerisaltchannel3817]

@@psychotophatcat I think so I used to watch her a lot at 10

[@phoenixofmetal]

The rise of OOAK dolls probably was tied to just how sparse on the ground good fashion doll lines were at that time. Your best bets at the time for cool fashion dolls were to take an idea and make it yourself with an OOAK doll or watch others take an idea and make something cool with an OOAK doll.

[@tessfabled4115]

I was drawing adult LOL Surprise characters that I planned to make as customs using Bratz dolls around the same time too, and was over the moon when OMG released!

[@End_Orca_Captivity]

"Kids, wanted to develop intense gambling addictions!" 👏🤣 I'm glad that the huge success of Rainbow High and LOL OMG dolls shows, there is still very much a place for FASHION on dolls! After selling my MH collection of 27 dolls, I went on to collect dolls in the Japanese market - Blythe and Momoko and later on Smart Doll. Really enjoyed your analysis!

[@ColeChickering]

I saw that unicorn girl group poopy play commercial for the first time ever just yesterday! Astonishing - I can't believe we didn't hear more concerned parents groups raising issue with the inescapable kidsbop scatology.

[@sunnythemartian]

i really feel like we're in the golden era of mga with all the lol and rainbow high dolls, and i'm honestly living for it

[@sapphirenightshade2682]

You are so right on the shopkins part during like 2017 - 2019 ( when Monster high and Ever After High wasn’t around) I was a huge fan of the shoppies dolls and collected almost all of them when ever a new doll was on the shore shelf, yeah the quality wasn’t there, but they were very affordable for what they were, the designs and colors were just so pleasing to look at plus they had a cute theme over all. I like to think that Shopkins was kind of the start of the blind box trend which probably got a lot of other toy companies invested in that because of Shopkins success at least in my view.

[@DarlingDollz]

I honestly kind of regret not paying much attention to the shoppies tbh. I'm not the biggest fan of the faces (and I recall them being misprinted a lot too) but they do make some pretty adorable display pieces. The polly pocket-esque playsets in the later years were phenomenally well-done though

[@hexprincess9582]

It's a shame that some of these doll lines during the dark ages didn't last long, I really like some of their designs! I'm kicking myself for not getting the DC Superhero Girls when they first came out. Hopefully I can find some second hand for a decent price.

[@DarlingDollz]

They do go for pretty decent prices secondhand in my experience! Some good-priced lots too

[@imaginefun13]

I constantly see them at my local thrift store! The dolls are out there somewhere!

[@smegellimes]

My favorite part of the Star Wars dolls still remains that you couldn’t even remove their clothes aside from like, one selected piece of fabric (ie: one had a removable vest and that’s it) I genuinely don’t know what they were thinking on that one.

[@blondbraid7986]

They got fashion dolls confused with action figures.

[@idunnobutyay2520]

@@blondbraid7986 I think they were trying to do both? But yeah, a Forces of Destiny reboot would be nice

[@39peevedturtles19]

I swear I remember there was a kylo ren doll later released and it was utterly cursed. I just have a vague memory of someone on Tumblr posting a cursed ken/kylo hybrid and going "oh dear lord".

[@idunnobutyay2520]

@@39peevedturtles19 there was a Kylo doll, and a Luke one. I just wish they made a Finn one

[@rinina]

What??? That sucks sm, they look really cute in the pic and sw fashion dolls is such a good idea!! Especially with prequel costumes. Sucks that they fucked it up that bad

[@juliusmaloney]

The catalyst for this “dark age” of doll collecting, especially at Mattel was the loss of the Disney Princess line in 2016. The release of ‘Ever After High’ tipped Disney over the edge & they pulled it’s license. This was a massive cash cow for Mattel & the loss was felt across the company. This hugely impacted Mattel financially & you saw this across their surviving doll lines. It was much of the reason for the loss in quality & the need to “reboot” their toy lines as they looked to cut costs. Hence Mattel working so hard to get the license back. 👸🏾👸🏼👸🏽

[@TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

This period is actually when I started getting into dolls! When I was a kid, I wasn't really into dolls. I played mostly with Furbies, Hot Wheels, Lego, and Thomas the Tank Engine toys. I wasn't actually into many "girlie" toys throughout most of my childhood and was sort of a tomboy. But I did get into MLP when I was a teen through the G4 cartoon. Started collecting G4s in 2011, and from there quickly branched out into the previous generations, too. I did buy some Equestria Girls dolls as part of my MLP collecting, but still wasn't really into other dolls. I finally got into dolls properly in 2016, unfortunately right around the time the Monster High G2 reboot was going on. I had thrifted a couple G1 Monster High dolls and I really liked them, and this sparked a desire to get more MH, as well as Ever After High. I had my parents buy my some G1 MH and EAH dolls online for me, during this time where the secondhand market for them wasn't too bad, and some could even still be obtained brand new on places like Amazon. I did get a couple G2 MH dolls from stores around this time, but not many. I think the stand out for me personally during this period was Shoppies. I did get some regular Shopkins, but the focus of buying from this toyline for me was absolutely the Shoppies. I think they have really cute faces, fun designs and color schemes, and the wide variety of hair styles really appealed to me. They had molded on tops, an aspect I'm not usually a fan of on dolls, but I find it much easier to look past this on smaller scale dolls like the Shoppies than I do on 12 inch dolls like Barbie or Monster High. I have a decent amount of Shoppies that I bought when I was working my first job back in 2017 and 2018. I had a goal at one point to buy every release the line had, and while that still sounds appealing, some of the aftermarket prices are just more than what I'm willing to pay. Add onto that the younger demographic of the dolls, and most of the dolls available in the aftermarket that aren't still in their package aren't in very good condition. And I find myself to be very picky with the condition of my Shoppies dolls, especially when many of their unique hair styles are a big draw for me and I'm not good at restyling doll hair. That's about it, I think. I did buy I think three Hairdorables when they came out but I'm not really a fan of spending $10+ on blind toys so I didn't get many of them. Blind toys are one thing when you're spending only a few dollars on them like Shopkins or bling bag MLPs, but once you get to the price of Hairdorables I find it harder to justify buying a toy when you don't know what you're getting. I definitely would have picked up more Hairdorables had they not been blind. I did also buy some Barbie Fashionistas during this time, but that's definitely a line where I buy for the doll itself, and not the boring clothes they come with lmao.

[@Luminiera]

im sorry this is completely off topic but omg a shizuku secret mind pfp im so glad there are still show by rock fans out there

[@TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

@@Luminiera haha, happy someone recognized it!!! Shame the second game shut down. :(

[@nevertoooldfordolls]

It's sad that the dark ages of collecting ended right as I graduated high school. I had a job all through high school so I had disposable income as I was only paying my phone bill at the time. Once I graduated high school and had to pay more bills is when better dolls started showing up. I'm 21 now and I still collect dolls but I rarely get a new doll it's mostly thrifting and eBay.

[@alicemadness999]

Funny thing, the dark ages where a pretty good time for me as a lalaloopsy collector and strawberry shortcake collector, because mga was just doing whatever with lalaloopsy and even if it meant the quality dipped in favor of lol surprise i managed to get more mini dolls, not only that but the vintage ssc line was poppin tf off during this time so :D

[@deadearbuds]

The dark ages were so nice for me as a MH collector. That's actually when I dusted off my childhood collection and started collecting seriously. I got some of my grails (wave 1 ghoulia, holt, DOTD, etc.) for around their original retail prices. I miss it...

[@Swewolves]

Aaaaa the Ocean shirt is so cute on you. Honestly your outfits is amazing every time. ❤️

[@candyphonecosplay]

I agree, makes me want to create fanart

[@Star_sweeper]

American Girl’s horrible Beforever reboot came out around this time too and totally killed the historical line. Also, remember Cave Club dolls? I remember seeing them around 2020 and thinking they were kind of cute, but they disappeared off the face of the earth.

[@anonexe646]

I cannot empthasize enough how much I relate to the disgust/cringing about having to talk about p**ps*e slime surprise I was one of the rare people that was trying to collect during that time, as I had just discovered that I liked/wanted to collect dolls and those were.... desperately sad times. Like I got into it when monster high the reboot died and I was awaiting the howling hoodies dolls to come out for that to never happen LOL hairdorables and shoppie dolls were honestly my saving grace of that time. I remember like watching toy fair stuff and catching up on news for dolls and a lot of the stuff was so... bottom of the barrel. like "heres 20 doll brands with sculpted/molded on hair and if their clothes isn't it's plastic/rubber that looks TERRIBLE in the back" like don't mean to diss them but hatchimals pixies blume purristas, secret crush, candylocks, probably a lot more before those being most of the new dolls coming out was... yeah. dark ages.

[@zackbling]

this era was.. something. i bought the occasional snapstar or boxy girl, but i was mostly in the bratz community. the prices used to be so good so the community was booming, good times tbh

[@KittyOfChess]

Because of this coinciding with me going to middle school, I genuinely can't tell if I was outgrowing dolls or just got bored of what was available. Especially since I got back into it after the Dark Ages ended.

[@AllycatlovesAG]

It’s so sad how the quality dropped off during that period. I was exclusively an AG collector but I did own a few of the early shopkins. I watched a bunch of myfroggystuff videos about these dolls, but as you said LOL definitely dominated. I remember being confused why baby dolls with so much packaging were so popular at first, then the kids I babysat owned some and I was amazed to see them in person haha! Great video

[@laurendisney]

I feel like my kids got into playing with dolls a lot later than people my age did mostly because of the "releases" in this period. They weren't really interested in Barbie, and nothing they saw triggered them to ask for a doll. Rainbow High were the first dolls to grab my kids attention... when they were 4 and 6. Then G3 Monster High and Shadow High got me back into collecting, and my kids also beg for dolls from those lines (most of their gifts for holidays this year are from one of those three lines!).

[@Alexis-ul5wt]

I turned 12 in 2016 and I remember being so devastated by the Monster High g2 reboot. I was forced to stop getting Monster High dolls, I'd been collecting/playing with them since I was 7. I was also getting to the age where I thought, "I guess I'm too old for dolls now," even if I didn't really believe that. I almost nearly forgot about Monster High altogether until 2019, when I believe I saw a cool cosplay of one of the characters on TikTok. That simple video totally reignited the love I have for Monster High, and I've started collecting again. 2016-2019 was an extremely difficult period of my life and I can only imagine how much better it would have been if I'd had Monster High at that time. Maybe my lack of Monster High was the reason it was so hard.

[@lavendermarshmallowplant3229]

17:52 the deadpan delivery of this just made me laugh lmao. It's even funnier when you think about how the target audience for these toys have probably moved on to playing gacha games

[@monsterhighforeverafter7206]

Dark ages where when I was REALLY into dolls and it was so sad. So glad it’s gotten better.

[@lilmaeval]

I guess I can say that my interest in dolls sort of began in this era? My best friend gifted me both an Enchantimal fox girl and a Cori Cruize Wild Hearts Crew doll, and that was all the doll I felt I needed at the time. In the back of my mind, however, I always yearned for those days in my childhood where getting a new doll elicited pure giddiness in me. Around the time Rainbow High series 2 came out, my best friend and I were in Target for something else, and we just decided to look in the toy aisle to see what was new, and we were floored by how gorgeous both Bella and Ruby were, so we ended up picking them out. Now it's spiraled out of control, but I still get this rush of giddy joy every time I get a doll I really want in my hands, like with last night opening up my Clawdeen Wolf studio bootique. It's a sort of magic, can't get enough!

[@sarahcelik3738]

I LOVED and still love the Spacepop line. They all have goddess names, beautiful hands, and wonderful skin tones. Those are the only dolls I bought during that time period other than old EAH and MH dolls.

[@ariadneoliver4205]

I have Hera and I love her so much. her design is so appealing and she kind of reminds me of like a Punk Rock Mother Gothel 😂

[@sarahcelik3738]

@@ariadneoliver4205 Absolutely! Great connection you made there. I can totally see that! She makes me think of Deanna Troi from Star Trek the next generation :)

[@finleylaz7942]

Ngl I thankfully have all my Monster High dolls from when I was little, it only took a few years to get into collecting after Monster High gen 2 failed. You helped me care more about other dolls like LOL and Rainbow High when I genuinely hated seeing them in stores before. Thank you for helping me learn to love fashion dolls again, I only wish I had more room to put them all.

[@voilet-the-non-violet-vulpix]

I wanted to get into fashion doll collecting around that time, especially monster high dolls, as I had hit a dry spot in the local availability of porcelain dolls, my cousins’s love for MH had finally rubbed off on me, & I started watching some doll customizing content on YT that really lit a creative fire. My eyes were suddenly opened to the fact that they actually were pretty cool, & I had been dismissing them as “kids series/toys” way too hastily. But my eyes were opened just as we were on the precipice of these dark ages. My favorite things about them were: That different characters had unique color palettes. It can be pretty hard for me, as someone who is very picky about my colors, to love a doll that isn’t blue, green, or one of the very specific shades of purple I like. I also really liked the boldness of MH once I really started looking at them. In many ways, from the unnatural skin & hair colors, to the comparatively wild & usually kind of campy fashion, to the willingness to play with weird new bodies, which included see-through dolls, goo-textured 15¼in dolls, dolls with fur textured molds & gigantic feet, dolls with glow in the dark bits, mermaid dolls where each & every mermaid got a completely unique tail, dolls with *more than two arms!!* (one of the few MH dolls I do have is Kala, & I would kill to get a Wydona Spider doll, either the original or one in a future wave of the reboot), etcetera. And, as someone who only knew about Barbie dolls as a kid, I was astonished & delighted that some dolls had so much articulation & posability! I know some Barbies are articulated too, but Barbie just doesn’t seem as good at it as MH is. It felt like _all_ of that slipped away from the market just as I decided to get my hands into it. I still remember the feeling of utter defeat when I heard that the newest wave of monster high didn’t have articulated arms or knees. The Barbie fashionistas came out, & at first I was excited because they had a blue haired doll, so surely, they’ll eventually release a neon-haired & alt dressed doll, for diversity? No, all the dolls were wearing a pretty tame everyday city wear or business casual.

[@thebarbiediaries]

i find it really interesting how much the blind box trend changed the entire toy market in general and how that change can be traced back right here to youtube. kids were consuming so much unboxing content on kids channels that it was no wonder the blind box trend completely blew up. it makes me wonder how social media influences what kids want from toys now, since we are pretty much officially out of the blind box era. tv and movies used to be the #1 controllers of what kids wanted, but now pretty much anyone with a big enough social media following could start a trend in the market.

[@frankiiestan]

i genuinely think that if MGA hadn’t come out w lol omg, the fashion doll dark ages would still be on going cus they successfully transitioned the focus and appeal from surprise toys to fashion dolls which allowed brands to start picking up the pace and start making fashion dolls again which although i would like to see more lines other than RH/SH and MH i’m glad we’re in a good place.

[@sailorPinata]

19:52 You're hilarious 😭 I love the way you speak and crack jokes with a serious face

[@BoucheronsNo.1Fan]

Don't forget Shibajuku Girls! Of all the dolls of this era i think they were absolutely the most robbed in terms of popularity. They were so cute, and for someone who really wanted to buy more Pullip dolls but couldn't afford to, they were a really great alternative with fun fashion and lots of hair to style too!

[@tessfabled4115]

They were cute but from memory their bodies were recasts from another brand (I can't recall off the top of my head unfortunately) which they didn't actually have permission to use...

[@TiRAMiSUKiTTeN]

Shibajuku Girls was my obsession in that doll era, although I did buy a lot of enchantimals as they were cheap. They had terrible quality hair though but it's what you get for only 20$

[@sheralight95]

During the dark ages of doll collecting I had 1 doll left in tact from my childhood. It was a gigi grant from monster high. I would have dreams almost every night about going shopping with my little sister and finding old and new dolls on the shelves. Ever sense the industry got its crap together I now have 14 dolls some rainbow and shadow high, some old og monster high dolls and some new g3s. It feels like a dream holding them in my hands and seeing them irl.

[@MarquisdeL3]

This is so off-topic, but I deeply appreciate that you opened this video with a quick note about the myth of the historical Dark Ages. Made this historian very happy.

[@OtherxLives]

I was buying for my stepdaughter at this time (and living vicariously through her, playing with her toys). I remember only getting excited about a couple of dolls. Particularly towards the end of this period, with the lol omg girls. My stepdaughter was very into the lol tots and the blind boxes they were sold in. She inherited all of my monster high dolls (like 2010ish era, still had all the pieces lmao) and they basically spontaneously combusted in her hands. Xmas 2020, I got her the $120 set of the LOL rock band. It had 4 omg dolls and 4 tots. It took us an hour to open it properly. And we had so much fun. I remember the LOL dolls giving me so many Bratz vibes. It just reminded me of me childhood all over again. They just didn't feel as overly sexualized. Which I appreciated! Their accessories and stories were all about the music and love for art! I encourage that! The dolls of my childhood were very much more sexualized. I appreciate that despite this slump in doll collecting, kids have a pretty wide range of dolls to collect and choose from.

[@thisbeem2714]

Interesting. I feel it was the opposite, those LOL dolls, even some of the tots were pretty sexualized while Bratz were mainly make up and cute clothing. Anyway. It is neither here nor there. Just a curious difference in interpretations.

[@PocketDeerBoy]

Honestly i think the blind bags trend just took notes from the video game industry at the time. Usually there, a trend develops from free mobile games, which utilize a fuckton of psychologically manipulative strategies to get people to spend money on them. Then, they trickle up to big blockbuster releases. Lootboxes, if not originated, were at least popularized around the mid to early 2010's, even in video games with large young audiences (think fifa, for example. Though they did first get popularized in mobile games which - again, were already mostly targeted at kids). They probably picked up the gambling habit there, the toy industry probably saw how lucrative it was and how easy it was to get around gambling laws in this way, and copied their homework. I don't really remember blindbag toys picking up massive steam until the mid to late 2010's.

[@raffaelm6558]

Kids didn't want to brush hair or build cute outfits, kids wanted to develop acute gambling addictions. - I spit out my coffee when you said that line. I only came into doll collecting in the past 2 years so I missed all this but seeing the DC girls reminded me of how I wanted the Poison Ivy doll and listened to everyone around me that she wasn't pretty... that's also what prevented me from having Monster High dolls when they were still available here, listening to others. Now I want them 😅

[@katieeast369]

As a medieval history girlie, I love that you explained that the “dark ages” are a false narrative

[@littlecat6384]

I think as an American, one of the biggest things that got me out of collecting during this era was when Toys R Us went bankrupt. I was a teenager but still loved toys but my Amin shopping place was Toys R Us and when it closed I just didn’t bother keeping up anymore.

[@dorothys349]

When you mentioned shopkins, everything just clicked to me. Everything made sense! You see, when I was a kid I was absolutely obsessed with shopkins and would beg my mom to buy me one everything we go the the store. It never occurred to me how shopkins had affected the doll community, and even perhaps the entire toy community forever.

[@NoiseDay]

I spent those years staring hungrily at doll blogs and trying to convince myself that the dolls they reviewed were cute. I'm so glad I held off on Boxy Girls.

[@Sinc3r3ly]

I completely forgot about project mc2! I wasn’t COLLECTING collecting at the time, however I remember being really excited for the one with the volcano experiment cause I just loved volcanoes as a kid. I’m pretty sure I at least had one, I just can’t remember which

[@resolute_visit]

A doll I really liked that came out in 2019 was the “createable world” line by mattel the dolls came with masculine and feminine clothes and a wig to make the hair longer, varying in skintones and hair textures too. The focus was on opening up an avenue for children to learn and explore how clothes don’t have to be tied to one gender, how gender can change and allowed for creativity and freedom, granted the clothes weren’t exactly the best looking pattern wise they were still decent quality and the dolls themselves were articulated too. The wigs also didn’t sit right on some of the heads but aside from that they were really good, sadly I think they got discontinued but there’s still some available on Amazon, really wish Mattel had kept going with them because they really helped me to figure out who I was and would probably help othe children do the same

[@flivine]

The dark age was when I really got into collecting Asian dolls. It’s interesting to see what was happening in the western doll market!! Nice video!

[@medpie31]

Is it weird to say that most of the dolls you mentioned I have actually seen at discount stores like Ollie’s or Tuesday Morning?😅

[@ericasrainbow71]

That’s kind of pretty much quite the same at Ross.

[@dassysancal8895]

i remember the forces of destiny dolls! they were surprisingly cute despite their molded-on base clothing! i still have the jyn erso chilling in the back of my collection shelf, despite how different she is. i do wish they had been higher quality, though. the star darlings were also pretty good, despite their stiff joints and easily-damaged hair

[@BriIsTheFinestCheese]

"they're like monster high but they're aliens...... they're derivative of a lot of things actually" LOL i just happened to watch a video about the Novi Stars yesterday so i understood this joke

[@PocketDeerBoy]

Honestly? The Wild Hearts Crew looks like it slapped. Genuinely very lovely designs. Very cool.

[@possumqe9751]

It’s so weird how I NEVER see enchantimals anywhere anymore and yet they’re somehow still around, nobody ever mentions them either, its so strange

[@MillieZone]

At that time, I was ALL ABOUT the rebooted Equestria Girls dolls! I was there when they were unveiled at Hascon. Once they released in stores, I quickly snapped them all up. I was genuinely sad that they were discontinued. There were a bunch of neat characters and outfits in the animated series that could've been lovely dolls! Still have all my mane 7 girls and love them!

[@disneydork100]

Ok I agree that blind boxes/bags aren’t a very good thing, they teach kids about gambling and it’s stupid to not know what you’re spending your money on: On the other hand: opening secret bag to reveal surprise treasure makes monkey brain go brrrrr and chases away my depression for a fleeting moment :)

[@emmurphshine]

I started collecting at the end of the Monster High era. I wasn't collecting dolls yet. I was broke, so most of my collecting was done in thriftstores. I pretty much got all my Monster High from there when I started being obcessed with them. I remember going into stores and being sad there was no cute dolls on the shelves and laughing at some poor designs.

[@Ashimuro]

Truly is a renaissance of collecting dolls! It is overwhelming, my need and wish to be a fierce diva is now sublimated by living through these amazing fashion dolls

[@Garfieldfan032]

11:12 I remember going to Toys R Us when it was closing and seeing an entire shelf full of the dc super hero girls batwoman dolls

[@luckyotter623]

I am not even a doll collector, but I find your videos extremely interesting and addictive.

[@ErieRosewood]

i had just reawakened my interest in dolls in 2016 because i found dollightfully and got into doll customizing. i was literally like 12, so i didnt really have the income for buying ddolls, and i felt a little to old to ask my parents atp, but i did have a few monster high doll lots opened on my tabs. i regret not getting them. i couldve gotten dozens of mostly limbed dolls for like $4 a doll instead of now, where a lot of 12 with only one doll with all her limbs is gonna run for $100.

[@livingdeadteddy]

i started collecting in 2020 so im super appreciative to get a look into what the market/community was like before i got into collecting!

[@glowstickspinalfluid]

dude i remember shopkins!! they had to ban them from school because people kept trading them, it was like a huge thing. the dolls were also super cute, i had one that i literally loved

[@Ilsezwarts]

Ahh is that an ocean in space tshirt? I love your fashion sense so much

[@choerryb0mb]

I remember this era. I live in Costa Rica, meaning that well... a big quantity of things mentioned in the video never arrived to our toy stores. My sister and I would walk into the dolls aisle and pretty much it was only barbie and polly pocket, aside from the ocasional marvel doll, or maybe the disney princess dolls, but yeah, it was pretty sad for us.

[@MIKO_roma]

FORCES OF DESTINY MENTIONED 🗣🗣‼ God, I wanted one of those when I used to be a young Star Wars nerd.

[@plastikfluke]

Great video- another line that didn’t make it far but deserves some recognition was Moose Toy’s Capsule Chix. They are a weird hybrid between a fashion doll and a collectible figure but the concept and designs were solid.

[@snazzy9175]

Oh I remember wild hearts crew! I actually own one. I stumbled across them at Walmart while I think my sibling was looking for LOLs, and I wasn't plugged into the doll collecting scene at ALL at the time so I went "oh cool, mattel has a new line like monster high" and grabbed one. I was really puzzled when I never saw or heard about them again. I've still never unboxed her, and I kinda wonder how much it would cost me to grab some of the rest of the line secondhand

[@shelleydavis8350]

I hav all of them, i wish they had gone on w series 2, their faces are so pretty! But, sadly they sit in a plastic containet, bcause i dont hav shelf room.

[@joycebrandon]

I love the brief historical aside.

[@dragontatoes]

My interest in collecting dolls started right at the beginning of this era, and I never liked high glam looks, so I didn't miss the early 2010s dolls. I'm almost exclusively a pre-owned collector anyway. The monster high gen 3 is the first new line outside fashionistas that I've wanted to collect (even as someone that didn't like gen 1) because it's not high glam OR overwhelmingly kiddish. This seems like the first time that there's something for every taste on store shelves.

[@aino-kaisav5504]

Oh my goodness is that a t-shirt by Ocean in Space? Also as a history nerd I really appreciate mentioning the misconception about Middle Ages. A good video!

[@karmajaden2577]

one thing about miss darling dolls she always gonna have the cutest fucking shirt on

[@JennBenJLC]

Absolute deadpanned , " Kids didn’t want to brush hair or build cute outfits ." "Kids wanted to develop intense gambling habits .” 😆😆😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Sasalele_S]

Was scrolling forever to find a comment saying that cus it had me rolling 💀

[@xKagryx]

I hadn’t had my finger on the doll market pulse since the first Monster High days, but I MUST have needed to shop for my niece’s birthday during these dark ages because WOW this video really summed up my entire shopping experience. Poopsie. Dark times indeed.

[@Fidion]

The Hairdorables look cool, thanks for showing them to me

[@faitdusoleil2256]

I got into doll collecting right before the start of the dark ages. Those first few years were rough but I thought that was just what the doll community was like. It's crazy now to see how big and thriving the community is now that the market has picked back up!

[@hedgie_doll2314]

Those poopsy unicorn things were so expensive and now I see them at the thrift store all the time for less than $5

[@mamrelaadi4066]

I was a child at that time, and I remember really liking Barbie fashionistas. I never got any, but seeing so much diversity in a barbie line felt so cool, especially since I lived in a relatively small city in Finland, so the selection of Barbie toys we had in stores was pretty small. It's the same with monster high gen 3 now, the newest doll I've seen was wave 1. Lagoona

[@abbylarkspur]

Wild Hearts Crew is what got me to pull the trigger on a doll habit. Then Cave Club.

[@karenflieger7529]

My collection has been an on and off thing. I still ave most of the dolls from my childhood, but I got most of my dolls while I was working at KMart. That’s when I started with Holiday Barbies. I stopped after I left. I was in college and busy with coursework. My third phase started when my niece started playing with dolls. She got LOL OMGs for Christmas and I got myself one too. I got another one a couple months ago because the first one was “lonely”. 😂

[@kingofallhallowseve]

I have a Squirrel Girl doll from around the end of the ‘dark ages.’ I’ll be honest, I only bought her because she was posable and has a larger body type. Still don’t have a clue who she is other than spiderman except squirrel

[@redwhite9832]

For me for most of the "Dark Ages" I was buying dolls from the one thrift store by my house, and later on in 2017 and onward off ebay and occasionally amazon, again mostly older stuff. I think of my first frew Disney Store Anna Dolls and my vintage TNT Barbies I got from ebay, In 2018 I started buying from retail again for the first time in like years. It was mainly just Barbie and Barbie Fashionistas, just buying whatever I liked, as well as some of the Forces of Destiny Dolls and the Spider Gwen Marvel Rising doll, also bought a DC Superhero Girls Batgirl from Toys R Us as they were going under. Late 2018- 2019 was more thrifting since there wasn't much new stuff I wanted out on the market (until frozen 2), but I did get Rallee and Charlie from Wild Hearts Crew from Amazon end of 2019 and I was IMMEDIATELY in love with this line. I still need to get the remaining 4, and it's still sad that it only lasted 1 line.

[@teabee]

You should do a tour of your doll collection sometime! I noticed your Bratz Kina doll in the background, that’s a rare sight! She’s always been one of my favourites, but it’s super difficult to get your hands on one.

[@moistwrmonastring1017]

I was a young Monster High collector during the dark ages, and oh my god, I was heartbroken. I bought a few Gen 2 dolls and watched the only two movies the reboot had to offer, and I was just sad. I remember trying to get into LOL Surprise, loving the MC squared dolls during their short run, and enjoying Hairdorables as well. Unfortunately, since I’m Australian, a lot of the releases you mentioned never game here. Shelves during that time, at least here, were genuinely empty. Im forever greatful that Mattel decided to give us Monster High again last year, because my passion for doll collecting has come back full force for not only Monster High, but the many dolls that have come out since. I genuinely don’t know how I’d feel if they hadn’t come out with generation 3, but so far I’m overjoyed to practically relive my childhood through these wonderful releases!!!