So being a Tuesday, I thought we ought to turn back time and have a look at all the history you might have missed (or attempted to repress.)
All the italic, dark pink titles are link to old example articles, so have fun checking them all out!
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There's been So. Many. Banners. The one we have now may seem like a classic, but it wasn't always on the top of the blog! It's such an iconic part of the blog, particularly with the pink-and-black scheme, it seems a little strange to see it any other way.
Almost all of them - and no, this isn't actually all of them - were made by blog members, writers, and friends, giving them an opportunity to show off a skill and make the blog look pretty.
Seasonally themed banners even had a moment - in fact, it was even a competition!
Speaking of Competition...
From Underneath Stardoll to Stardoll's Elites, howtogetfree,, the unofficial 'official' blog - and the actually official one - stardoll blogs were all the rage in the late 2000s and early 2010's
What separated SMW from all the other hotbuy posting, spoiler sharing, often gossip-clad other blogs was that it was designed to give back. Comps, giveaways, and raffles have always been a big draw for blog members, even when the prize was just your face on the sidebar.
One thing they all shared, though, was truly questionable banner choices:
As the post mentions, dolls went wild over these dresses. Why? Well, because they were given away seemingly at random, with some being incredibly wanted - to the point the dolls did, and still will, offer to pay real money to get their hands on one.
Lilly joins the team - a few months after SMW came to be, the first ever writer joined the team!
It marked the start of many, many different writers - from guests to permanent writers, interviews and more, the new writers meant more blog activity, and a little less stress for Jenna!
Monthly Covergirls & Featured Members - this style of post was designed to shine a spotlight on commenters, fans, writers, and particpants alike.
These days, they provide an entertaining look back at what Stardollian life and 'graphics' were like, long before Gimp and hair design ever existed.
So. Much. Shade. - These days, writers and mods alike try to keep posts civil, for the most part, and rage on in the comment section instead.
That definitely wasn't always the case, though, with some decidedly catty remarks, entire collections scribbled over in Microsoft Paint due to being 'ugly', and sometime, rather passive-agressive remarks about... well, everything.
But, seriously - there was a bit too much drama at times, particularly inter-blog stuff. I'm certainly glad that's not the case these days!
Members were no less creative - sure, we didn't have stardesigns just yet, and doll's features were questionable at best, but everyone gave it their best shot!
Just look at Jenna's (yes, the Jenna's) incredibly creative She-Ra, long before Cosplay, Coverdolls and Roleplay became the Stardoll mainstream:
The bazaar looked...different! Like, way, way different. And, even buying from it was only for SS members for a very long time!
Freebies, freebies, absolutely everywhere - seriously, it was considered a dull and sad week without them.
And, really, some were pretty cool! But others were truly something else - like this shark:
Dupes were called 'Look A Likes - and some went so far as to be double the price.
But, let's be real here - these days we'd kill for cute shoes for under 12sd!
Did I mention the questionable graphics? Because, we have to mention those.
For example - in what world are the shoes on the right, meant to look like the ones on the left? They may be cheap - but sometimes, you really do get what you pay for.
Dress up dolls were the bee's knees. And honestly? Some sad part of me wishes they still were.
Stardoll had genuine, actual, live chats will celebrities. Not only that, but these celebrities had their own dolls, which they made themselves, used themselves, and even interacted with fans on. It's hard to imagine these days!
Stardoll gave us free Stardollars for Christmas. 25 stardollars, to be exact. I wish this was still a thing!
Small face- big changes! It's hard to imagine it, these days - having half as many features, a very specific selection of colours, and no way to lighten or darken your brows. All things we tend to take for granted these days!
Hidden stores were the norm. From Otto to CatsVsDogs to Mary Kate & Ashley, hidden stores were entire brands that were only available to a specific country of countries. Sometimes, you could access the clothes through the catalog instead, but no always. Many of these clothes are still highly sought after, especially since not all of them can be sold.
Miss Stardoll World looked... a lot less glam! These days, we often expect crazy layered gowns, over-the-top hair, alongside plenty of spam mail. But back in the day, one could argue only the later point applied!
There were some highly controversial "advice" posts on the blog. From never mixing leathers, to avoiding socks with sandals, having a 'perfect' wardrobe (yes, really,) and even the old fashion value of never wearing blue with green, tips back in the day definitely raise some eyebrows now - just as they did back then!
That nudity phase... look, I'm not going to link this one, conscidering it's a bit NSFW. Just be aware - there was once a time when stardoll members loved making stardesigns and graphics featuring.. well, graphic imagery. Frankly, I'm sure most of us would rather forget that ever happened!
Then, we had that truly awful old dressing room! It was such a pain to have to scroll through every single item in one section. Luckily, we have filters to search through these days, as well as the ability to create room styles. The only time you'll come across this tragic closet is with the 'make your own dress up' tool.
Without Jenna setting up the blog, without contributions from writers and readers alike, we would never have had this awesome archive to look back on.
Feel free to share your favourite - or least favourite - memories on stardoll!
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