A Meditation on Spending

    Lately, SartoriaJ has caught my attention with their newest Golden Apple-themed clothing preorder. In particular, the Hera and Athena sets have piqued my interest because, first, these goddesses have such strong metaphorical parallels to Amara and Cori respectively, and second, their colour palettes feel like they could complement my girls beautifully.

    However, the full collection—including the crown and cuirass—would cost me about as much as purchasing a new doll. That's a lot of money to spend, especially since I paid for Cori's Freedom Teller suit barely over a month ago and most recently put down the full payment for the Corinthian.  

The Athena set and Cori.

The Hera set and Amara.

    I wonder if it's simply FOMO and my growing comfort with consumerism and high spending—both of which feel at odds with my frugal roots. So I asked for opinions on the Den of Angels SartoriaJ thread and received votes both for and against the sets being a good fit for my girls. The main point of contention seems to be that my girls' modern styling may conflict with the more classical aesthetics of the Greek goddesses who inspired these outfits.

    Here is my response afterward:

    Thanks everyone, for your input!

    I'm very much split down the middle [...]

    Perhaps the outfits run the risk of looking like cosplay on my girls—I know I have a few purchase regrets—but I also don't expect them to embody Hera's and Athena's characters perfectly. Amara could, but Cori, that gremlin, absolutely won't 😆

    I was thinking of treating the outfits more like a fashion editorial instead. The biggest consideration will be the cost versus how much mileage I'll actually get out of them.

    I probably seem very determined to buy the sets, as if money were no object to me. But I do, in fact, care a lot about buyer's remorse. While I did buy a doll for a necessary body swap, I don't love the fact that I now have an extra doll sitting in storage, waiting for someone to take it off my hands.

    Then there are the two SartoriaJ outfits I thought I would absolutely love, only to discover that they didn't suit the intended doll at all. After the first disappointment, I swore off buying any more historical pieces in favour of sticking to modern styles. Even then, a modern outfit isn't guaranteed to be a good match. Case in point:

Amara is not impressed.

    The right colour and size? Check. The actual presentation? Bzzt!

    The lace overlay and ruffle details on this gown were one texture too many, battling for dominance against her curly wig. Somehow, the gown also made her look bobble-headed. Not to mention the shorter skirt, which made her look oddly juvenile.

    So how can I know for certain whether something will suit one of my dolls or not? Even with my best educated guess, I don't. Unlike shopping at a retail store, it's not possible to try something on before purchasing, especially when it comes to preorder items.

    But gosh, those Hera and Athena sets are gorgeous! I've also been waiting this long for SartoriaJ to finally produce what I consider to be the perfect "girls' couple" set (and armour!). With the drought of tailors who can accommodate my dolls' sizes and proportions, I don't know when another opportunity like this will come along. 

Update mid-writing: holy shit, they added a sword! 😭

    Let's then consider the economic value of the total expense. I'm in the low-middle income bracket, but I consider myself fortunate to have neither dependents nor debt, and I don't need to budget too tightly around my living expenses. Before the BJD hobby, my biggest motivation for saving money was travelling, with the occasional concert or two. But now that the hobby has taken over so much of my mental bandwidth, I've almost completely cut back on those experiences. Partly because I'm trying to save money, but mainly because my creative pursuits have taken precedence over everything else.

    That said, there are still practical things I could invest in, such as photography lessons and equipment, or perhaps even creative writing classes.

    So if the only things I care to spend my money on besides doll-related purchases are classes, those opportunities will always be there. But these clothing sets have a high chance of never being released again. I must also consider the fact that, after the Corinthian, I will most likely be done expanding my doll family. Any future spending will likely go toward developing the characters I already have rather than adding new ones.

    Clearly, I really want these sets, and my biggest deterrent is actually buyer's remorse. This is essentially a gamble, but I'm hoping they will be worth it in the end.

    My final verdict?

    Layaway purchase.