Sometimes you love a doll's official photos, but in person you find you want to change things up a bit. At least, that happened to me with Luna. I like her official pale pink wig and eyes, but for now I've put them away for another doll.
I started making Luna a new dress back in late August, and because I'm the world's slowest sewer, I finished it today, exactly two months later. (I'll share more details in another post, but it's made of a navy cotton voile and is a self-drafted pattern.) I also already chose some new eyes for her, Makoeyes AM030 in 16mm with small irises.
Given that the weather is now lovely and cool, with falling leaves, grey skies interspersed with moments of bright blue sunshine, and acorns which rain down and hit you sharply on the head every time the wind blows, it felt very appropriate that my favourite wig for Luna ended up being SD13 Chloe's default, which is a very autumnal auburn red.
I wanted to take these photos outside for even more autumn-ness, but the wind was gusting heavily, so it seemed safer to stay inside.
I'm not sure of the provenance of the necklace, but it was included with a SDM I bought second-hand, and I knitted the shawl many years ago. I made the basket today out of raffia yarn - my first time trying this, so the final result is quite imperfect, but I would definitely like to make more! I filled it with tiny pinecones and fake autumn leaves I bought from a local home decor store a few years ago.
I'm really happy with Luna's restyle. It felt like everything came together perfectly, and she's like a tiny avatar of my favourite season.
Okay. Let's get right to it. In my last post, I said:
...frankly, I don't have room for any more [dolls], and my collection size is more than enough. I feel like I have every type of doll (mood-wise, size-wise, etc) that I enjoy collecting. That's a very nice and privileged position to be in.
Except. In the back of my mind, I had added a caveat. The caveat went something along the lines of "...unless a SDGou Claude the Beast pops up but that will never happen, so it's okay."
Reader, a SDGou Claude the Beast popped up. And then travelled at light speed from the lovely seller, through customs faster than I've ever seen any package go in my life, and into my waiting arms doll room.
So is this my last doll? I'm still running out of room, so probably we're very near it - but I'm not going to tempt doll fate again by making any sweeping declarations.
Anyway.
Today, I did a little wig and eye try-on session.
Top left: resin eyes by Ms. Stein (18mm/7mm). Stunning eyes, especially in person, but I wanted more contrast with his eyebrows and faceup.
Top right: resin eyes by ashuradark eyes (18mm/8mm). Really nice eyes, but not for him. If I went with resin, they'd need to have 7mm irises.
Bottom left: random resin eyes from a seller on Taobao. Too harsh, and they don't catch the light well.
Bottom right: glass eyes from SD13 Chloe's stock (18mm/~8mm) - my favourites and the ones I chose to leave in. The glass is the best at catching the light, and is a slightly softer look. If the irises were 7mm they'd be perfect, but they're pretty decent as-is.
Side note: I noticed that he has quite shallow eyewells, so it was tricky to get a perfect fit from any of these.
Top left: SDGrB Williams the Diligent Scholar stock wig. I think this could be a nice option with more piratey styling, but I'm not sure if the red of the hair clashes with the tan resin.
Top right: unknown Leekeworld. I think I need to cut this wig (it's suuuuper long). I've tried it on every doll I own and the length just makes it hard to style.
Bottom left: Leekeworld LR-041 (size L) in Maroon. The curls are quite stiff on this wig and fall down from the front to cover the eyes if you don't push them back. I don't think the shape is quite right for him and maybe the colour is a bit cool.
Bottom right: unknown wig from Dollyteria. Claude's in his Valyrian era or something. I think the white looks great with his tan resin, but not with this faceup.
Top left: unknown (from a shop on Taobao). This wig has always looked a bit mushroomy and poofy. Again, I like the white on him, but not with this faceup.
Top right: Dollmore Saiz cut, VL Gray. I really like this, but maybe in another colour. It's a bit purple for him.
Bottom left: SD17 Ludo's stock wig. This was almost my top pick! I decided against it in the end because I was putting him in a grey outfit and I thought the whole look could be a bit low-contrast with his grey eyes, but Ludo's wig is very nice quality, so I will definitely try this one on again as an option.
Bottom right: Leekeworld W121 (size L) in Natural black. It's a very heavy, long, dense wig with too much hair, but this was the contrast I was looking for. I think I'll try taking a few wefts out in the future, because there is just so much hair going on, and maybe his final wig will be short or shorter, but this is my pick of the lot for today.
And here's the finished look, taken with a proper camera. He's wearing Ludo's stock outfit - I really love the smokey grey scarf and open shirt with waistcoat. I think it suits him even more than it did Ludo. (My Ludo, Rufus, has been wearing this cropped pink and white sweater for the last year, and I don't see that changing any time soon.)
I really like the SDGou body. It's quite similar to the SD17 body, so you can really tell that it was a precursor. It has interesting shoulder joints that I'm still trying to figure out, and so far - though this may be user error on my part - he sits much better than the SD17 body.
The colour (Pure Skin Shadow, which I believe is between Volks's Pureskin Tan and their Ebony colour) is gorgeous. I've never bought a tan doll before and it is quite nice to realise that any yellowing is - well, not going to make him yellow. The doll was released in March 2013, so he's over 13 years old, and is in wonderful condition for all that.
His face has quite a strong look, especially with the original Volks faceup. I like it enough to keep it for now, but I think it would be interesting to see what he looks like without the very heavy shading and blushing. I think it's very stylised and maybe a bit overpowering for the sculpt, which I have seen repainted into something a bit more subtle.
Overall, extremely happy. And since there's no way I'm calling him Claude, especially these days, I'm glad that a new name popped up immediately: I'm naming him Jasper.
In Frances Hodgson Burnett's book A Little Princess, the main character Sara Crewe receives a really impressive doll for her eleventh birthday. She decides it's called the Last Doll, because she's too old to have any new dolls. The Last Doll arrives from Paris with a trunk full of expensive clothes made by a real Parisian modiste, and while she's only mentioned a couple of times in the book, she gives off a definite impression of superiority.
When I first saw the most recent Luna release from Volks, the Galerie de l'esprit 2025 version, I also felt she gave off a strong impression of superiority. I've been taking a lot more time to think before making doll purchases, letting the first feelings of excitement fade away, but I just could not forget about this Luna.
And so, I caved and bought her, but I at least managed to think about it for almost a year after her release.
Why am I calling her the Last Doll? Because, frankly, I don't have room for any more, and my collection size is more than enough. I feel like I have every type of doll (mood-wise, size-wise, etc) that I enjoy collecting. That's a very nice and privileged position to be in.
Now it's time to work more on the details and the parts of the hobby that I love: knitting, sewing, photography. This summer has been terribly hot and uncomfortable, not at all conducive to anything but trying to stay cool, but I have high hopes for autumn. Autumn and cooler weather always make me feel more active and energised.
Note: I do realise that by calling this post "The Last Doll", I'm practically begging fate to humble me, to crush me mercilessly under its (probably doll-sized) boot. But so be it.
