Next to the annual Islandshire Wool Week experience, taking “wig photos” is definitely my favorite part of handling the dolls. It took us years to amass this many wigs, but we always end up wishing we had one which we don’t. It generally takes a full day of photographing, the better part of another day choosing which ones to keep, and a chunk of a third day to turn them into a blog that anyone’s going to want to look at. It’s a labor of love, though, because we’re just crazy about doing this. There’s nothing like putting a wig on a doll and holding it up for Mom and Elizabeth to ooh and ah over. When we first started doing this, we had an awful time, sure that every single wig was the perfect one which we needed to keep the doll in. Now that we’re resigned to the fact that we can’t have that many dolls (we have a lot of wigs), we’re a little more mature about it. A very little. But we’re more used to it now. Let’s just put it that way.
There are some of the wigs in our drawer which look good on every doll. Seriously. The color might not be just right, but that isn’t the fault of the wig (smile). Which are the never-fails? It’s easy: Ruthie, Nellie, Saige , TM#13 with revised bangs, Melody, and any CYO medium wavy. If the color works, they’re stunning every time.
I wish you could be at just one wig shoot. It’s a lot different to see them in real life. If you have two dolls which you just haven’t “bonded” with or don’t warm to, maybe you could try swapping their wigs. You’ll be amazed! It’s like getting new dolls! In the beginning, it takes a bit of nerve and hard work to get them off. But once your dolls are “bald”, you can give them a new look every time you need happiness points. There are lots of good wig swappers online, so don’t be afraid to ask any of us for suggestions. (And, no, before you ask. The wigs do not fall off very often, usually because of poor fit.)
Some dolls are better at wig shoots than others. And it’s funny who the good ones are. They’re rarely the ones you’d bet on. If you put your money on this light Nanea, though, you’ll go to bed a happy person. It’s one of those few dolls that actually looks like a different doll each time, depending on which wig it’s wearing. I refer to these as “wig horses”. The new TM#117 was another one. Her wig photos will be ready soon, but I need some time to cull and upload. And they’re tearing out a glass door and closing in a wall in the computer room this next weekend, so everything has to be packed up. Oof.
We had to stop shooting TM#119 when we ran out of sunlight, but we got enough photos to make a decent slideshow for you (must be 38-40 wigs). The slideshow can also be found now on the Customizing with Wigs page. As usual, the pictures are pretty much organized by length and color (starting with short hair in light blonde).
It’s just been brought to my attention that I never photograph the wigs with center parts, even when the wig was made for one. I prefer side parts on a doll so just naturally put them on like that. My feeling is that a center part generally rubs the personality out of even the cutest doll. I think you can get away with them on a historical doll, if you have to, but I still think it takes some of the oomph out of the doll’s expression. It’s funny, but Saige’s wig is one of the top vote-getters in my wig shows. It gets a lot of comments, and people often wish they had one. But Saige’s wig was made with a center part, and I think it makes for a boring doll (and Saige should never look boring). So, all the wig photos that people love with the Saige wig on different dolls has only ever been seen using a side part. Still, I’ll try to remember to include a few center parts in the future.