J-Doll Aiguo East Road

Mr. BTEG likes to get me dolls as presents for Christmas and my birthday, as he knows how much I enjoy them. For Christmas 2014, I received another J-Doll, Aiguo East Road. Aiguo East Road is located in Taipei, Taiwan, and is home to many wedding boutiques. I love this doll; I think she's become my favorite of all my J-Dolls. This post is going to be very picture-heavy, so I'll put it below a fold.

As you can see, she has auburn hair and dark blue eyes. Unlike what I've read (and seen) about many J-Dolls, her hair is silky smooth. It's swept away from her face, and rolled into a huge curl on the left side of her head. The curl does have gel in it.

There is one slight problem about this hair do, in that the style is so carefully and tightly set, that sections of her hair stick up if you try to move it around a little. I took a picture of her with hair pulled away from her face, so that you could see all of it well.

She is wearing a white wedding dress, mermaid style, with a bolero jacket that has long lace sleeves. The upper sleeve of the bolero jacket is unusual. It's pointy, with two plastic pieces in the shape of a marquise diamond adorning each sleeve. The upper sleeve is also stuffed, so it keeps its pointy shape. I'm not sure that I like it, because it's too unusual. To me, it looks like something that a Star Trek alien might have on his clothes. But I still like the overall effect without focusing too hard on the sleeves.

The stockings are cut up pieces of lace. I don't like how much extra fabric there is on the end of the toe, but I've learned not to expect too much from J-Doll stockings. What's strange with these is that one of the stockings appears to have almost as much plain netting as lace. Both stockings have lace on the other side of the leg, but they look rather different on the side you can see in the pic. I was having issues keeping the seams in the back.

The scale of the lace is also rather off, but whatever. The stockings are mainly there so the shoes fit properly. Remember the J-Doll whose shoes were a catastrophe before they even came out of the box? These are the same style, but useable. They fall off a little too easily, I think, given that they are kind of tricky to slip onto the foot. I hate having to search around on the floor for a doll shoe that's made the leap.

Her outfit is gorgeous. If I'm going to be picky, the applique bow decorations here and there are a bit over sized, but there aren't too many, so the overall effect isn't ruined. The dress is so closely fitted that it takes an extra push to get her to sit up straight. Also, the cotton lining underneath is very, very thin. You can pretty much still see right through this dress, but she can pass for display. In certain poses, her lace underwear does show through in a manner that would be inappropriate in real life.

Like a typical Western bride, she comes with a veil and a bouquet of flowers. Although a quick online search showing many pictures of Taiwanese brides wearing a white dress and white veil as well. I'm glad, since I like to redress, that she is not wearing something as delicate as, say, this Kurhn doll, even though the veil with my J-Doll is a bit problematic. One, the scale is again off. It's two pieces of lace, very tightly gathered. It's huge when it's on her head, almost to the point of being overwhelming. Two, instead of elastic, it ties with a ribbon. The ribbon would, I think, look ridiculous in front, but it is hard to tie it on under that massive curl in the back. Plus the veil wants to keep sliding forward while you're working behind the head. I could have used a third hand for sure. I ended up by accident having the bow on the side of the head, so I went with it.

Lastly, a view of the back of the dress as she tosses the bouquet.

Honestly, I may be a bit over picky here, given that I think J-Dolls are made primarily with display in mind. Her outfit looks good, her limbs seem sturdier than some J-Dolls, her shoes haven't fallen apart and they fit. The things that I think detract are only an issue for when I want to pose her in different ways, or put her in a diorama. The more realistic, the better, for me personally. Of course, at a reasonable price point for the quality, I think she's much more tempting as a play doll. So there's that. Frankly, I think Mr. BTEG got his money's worth on this doll, and I love her face more than any of the other J-Dolls that I had. What more can you ask for?