If you thought the fashion blog business was over-the-top, meet the doll bloggers.
These Instagram photographers create elaborate shoots for American Girl dolls in stylish outfits — and like their counterparts who photograph humans, they have an influential fan base of thousands.
Their dolls imitate the poses of fashion bloggers: leaning against a graphic wall, riding a bike or playing with dogs, and showing off accessories such as flower crowns or crossbody bags.
“It’s mind-blowing,” says Gloriana Bonillo, whose New York-based label, Little Gloriana, sells the trendy doll clothes that many of these photographers and bloggers use on their miniature models.
“When we discovered this world, we saw a lot of them are playing with the dolls, but a majority of them are in high school or college,” she says. “They are recreating what fashion bloggers do. There are thousands of these accounts.”
According to Bonillo, the three most popular are @5hensandacockatiel with 11,200 followers; @agandme, which is run by a mother and daughter and has 10,700 followers; and @karaleels, shot by Karalee Scouten, who has 29,800 followers.
And like fashion brands for real humans, Little Gloriana offers gift boxes of clothes (dresses can fetch $22 while trendy shoes are $10) for the most influential photographers about every two weeks.
“We call them photo stylists, and they bring in a lot of money with sales. They will do one posting, and every girl who follows them buys something,” says Bonillo, adding that a posting can result in up to $15,000 in sales a day during the holiday season.
Scouten, a 23-year-old out of Natchitoches, La., started her @karaleels account in the fall of 2013, posts almost daily, and says that perks, such as a big fan base and free doll clothes, are simply gravy. It’s her indulging in her passion: dolls and photography.
“I don’t really follow fashion blogs, but I keep an eye on what’s popular and new styles,” says Scouten, who has about 30 dolls and more clothing for her models than she does for herself. “Most of what I do is very child-like or whimsical, so I follow kids’ fashion and photography. A lot of my inspiration comes from wishing I was still a child.”
Scouten has a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and marketing and says her Instagram success is a fluke. She eventually wants to become a photographer. She says her friends are supportive.
“All of my closest friends know about my doll photography and are very supportive. I’ve managed to talk a few into taking trips to the American Girl store and assisting me on some of my shoots. I’m not very [shy] about any of it, but I don’t bring it up in general conversation either.”
“When people discover this, they are blown away that it exists,” says Bonillo. “Basically they are making it okay to play with dolls.”
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