I don’t remember seeing Bratz in shops before I started collecting dolls. But then, I wasn’t looking at dolls in shops either.
When I eventually came across them second hand, I knew straight away that these were dolls I wanted to take home. They looked cool, they had fantastic hair, and they felt like quality dolls to me.
By “cool,” I mean that little bit of attitude in their faces. They have a different expression. I tend to prefer dolls that don’t show their teeth and whose eyes don’t feel as though they are staring. With Bratz, it is the whole face that appeals to me. When they still have their clothes, I often find the overall look thoughtfully put together, too.
I have found them in all sorts of conditions, and if the price isn’t too high, they tend to come home with me. Most need a wash. Many have now been washed and put away because I don’t yet have clothes for them.
I have made attempts to identify them. The ones I could identify through their styling and clothing have been photographed and put on display. But I don’t know enough to match every unclothed or redressed doll with her original outfit, so restoring all of them to their original appearance isn’t my goal.
The others will wait until I find a fashion combination that I like. Perhaps one day I will decide to make clothes for them myself. For now, they are wrapped in acid-free tissue paper in storage boxes.
Two of my favourites are the dolls in these photographs, which I have identified as Pop Divaz Cloe and Sweetheart Dana.
Aside from being very pretty, they are relatively complete. All I needed to do was comb their hair.
There is plenty to enjoy in their outfits: the purple dress and headset on one, and the denim, pink trim and red details on the other. They also show what drew me to Bratz in the first place: expressive faces, lovely hair and a look with some attitude.
I don’t feel a need to define myself as a Bratz collector, and I don’t collect with the aim of having everything. I collect through inspiration and possibilities.
Sometimes that means finding a doll who only needs her hair combed before she can go on display. Sometimes it means washing a doll and putting her away until the right clothes turn up.
Bratz weren’t part of my own childhood memories. I discovered them later, second hand, and they simply appealed to me. That was enough to bring them home.
Which dolls caught your eye long before you knew much about them?
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