Blythe Doll Mania: Collection, Customisation, and Online Community

Words: Natasha Lopez

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Whatever it is, the way you tell your story Over the past year, dolls have become a part of the cultural zeitgeist once again. Greta Gerwig's Barbie (2023) release brought doll and girlhood discourse to the forefront, while the resurgence of Y2K aesthetics in the early 2020s inspired a Bratz rebrand geared toward the chronically online generation. Among niche internet fashion circles, another doll's image has quietly circulated, growing her cult following over time, and her name is Blythe.

Unlike Barbie and Bratz, growing up with a bunch of Blythe dolls to play with would be a rare occurrence for any regular girl. Since 2001, the dolls have only been available on the Japanese market, and acquiring one in the Western world would have required either being an internet savvy child with great taste and access to an adult’s Paypal, or having a parent with equally fantastic taste, who would have been able to bring you one home from a trip to Tokyo. Blythe was never a doll that little girls begged their parents for; she was a rare item that only collectors -  and older teens and adults who frequented platforms like Flickr, Tumblr and MySpace - would know to look for.

Throughout the early 2000s, Blythe became a symbol of indie style. While she suffered a fall from popularity during the 2010s, she has now returned as an iconic source of fashion inspiration and a medium for expressing self-perceptions, personal style, and connections with other girls. Today’s Blythe resurgence reflects an evolving relationship between online communities and style influences - it's the culture of customisation behind them and their connection to high fashion that makes them the perfect medium for exploring physical, digital, and emotional identity.
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While Blythe is often associated with the early 2000s, her origins actually date back to the 1970s. Originally designed by Allison Katz early in the decade, Blythe had a brief presence in the US market, being distributed for just one year by the Kenner toy company. The dolls were pulled off shelves in 1972 after their large, doe-like eyes were deemed too "disturbing" for children. Ironically, this feature, which supposedly condemned them to extinction, has now become a defining characteristic that both fuels their popularity and makes them the perfect emotional focal point for photographic storytelling. Blythe dolls have a feature where, by pulling a string in the back of their heads, their eye color and expression can be interchanged.

“Today’s Blythe resurgence reflects an evolving relationship between online communities and style influences - it's the culture of customisation behind them and their connection to high fashion that makes them the perfect medium for exploring physical, digital, and emotional identity.”

At the turn of the millennium, Blythe entered a new era of pop-culture iconography with the publication of the photography book This is Blythe. In 1997, New York-based photographer Gina Garan received an original Blythe doll as a gift. Captivated by her unusual, waify appearance, Garan was inspired to capture Blythe’s essence through photography, leading to the creation of the book "This Is Blythe" in 2000. 

The book depicts Blythe as a worldly enigma. She’s showcased in various locations around the world like Paris and New York; in wild situations, like frozen in a sphere of ice; her and a friend playing with a Ouija board, naked outside of Hooters, or in a tree holding a sign that reads “Some shall be pardoned. Some shall be punished.” The back inside cover of the book tells Blythe’s semi-fictional origin story as fabricated by Garan, “Born in Cincinnati in 1972, she was the doll every other doll wanted to be: plucky, free-spirited, and well-accessorised. One year later, at the height of her powers, she turned her back on fame and now discreetly travels the globe amusing herself.”

Garan's photography style, appearing candid as if Blythe were a girl travelling the world, captured in spontaneous moments by a friend, wearing effortlessly chic outfits, forged a connection between weird girls and weird dolls. This connection validated the melancholy, aloofness, and nonconformity embraced by young women on the internet in the early 2000s. 

Amidst talks of the revival of indie sleaze, a term coined by viral trend-forecaster Mandy Lee, also known as @oldloserinbrooklyn, to describe the fashion trends of the mid to late 2000s, characterised by a raunchy and hedonistic ethos heavily influenced by the economic recession and anti-war sentiments in Iraq, it's not surprising that the popularity of a doll with ties to the era who is capable of reflecting both the emotions and fashion of the times, while providing an otherworldly escape would experience a resurgence. This revival aligns with the interconnected cycles of life and fashion, particularly evident now with global support for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the looming spectre of a recession.

As Blythe navigates our hyper-digitised world, far removed from her MySpace and Flickr days, her presence on social media platforms has evolved alongside ours. Instagram accounts like Suitcase City craft elaborate lives and storylines for their dolls using handmade sets and curated collections. On TikTok, girls entering the collector community film themselves unboxing custom Blythe dolls made to resemble replicas of themselves. Fashion girlies create videos like “outfits inspired by Blythe dolls” further demarking Blythe’s fashion into an aesthetic of its own. Blythe's online presence has evolved into a versatile medium for creative expression, embraced by dedicated enthusiasts and curious admirers alike. This seemingly distinct yet interconnected community extends beyond the digital realm to offline gatherings like local meet-ups and Blythecon, an annual convention held in cities in the US and UK, dedicated to Blythe and her following.

What sets Blythe dolls apart from other fashion dolls, and serves as the foundation for their cult following, is their emphasis on customisation. Plenty of other dolls offer changeable outfits, but the DIY nature of Blythe’s personalisation sets these dolls up to be fashion icons and creates a culture centred on the personal touch of collectors. More and more fashion girlies are joining Blythe’s world; case and point, internet darling Enya Umanzor received one as a gift from podcast co-host and bestie Drew Phillips. As Blythe’s image multiplies in today's digital landscape, the aesthetic and collective climate surrounding the dolls continues to shift in thanks to a lesser known collectible once deemed too creepy to sell.