I’ve never really gotten why some adults want to dress like their childhood dolls. Frilly collars and lace trim just aren’t my thing—even when I was young enough to pull off that First Communion look, I wasn’t interested.

Lately, though, something’s changed. Over the past few months, I’ve found myself drawn to the very details I used to avoid. But instead of pristine doll-like perfection, I’m inspired by the eerie charm of thrift store dolls—the ones with glassy, unsettling stares and dresses yellowed and frayed with age. Their worn-out style feels more real than the untouched collectibles meant to stay perfect forever.

I’m not alone in this fascination. Haunted doll fashion has been everywhere lately. (Remember the bloomer shorts trend from a few years back?) At Chloé’s spring 2025 show, Chemena Kamali sent lace tiers and billowy pantaloons down the runway, while Seàn McGirr’s McQueen featured dramatic collars and shredded hems. In New York, Zoe Gustavia Anna Whelan’s deconstructed designs look like a doll left out in the rain, and Colleen Allen’s Victorian-inspired pieces echo old, delicate undergarments. Even mass retailers like Free People have jumped in with lace-trimmed bloomers as an affordable take on the trend.

The ultimate haunted doll style icon might be Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. Abandoned at the altar, she spends her life decaying in her tattered wedding dress, her banquet table gathering dust. And yet—there’s something undeniably striking about it. Helena Bonham Carter’s portrayal in the 2012 film captures it perfectly: a wedding gown swallowing her whole, its organza skirt and drooping sleeves a mess of faded grandeur.

Clothes carry so much emotion—they shape how we present ourselves to the world. Wearing something feminine yet weathered feels like wearing your heart on your sleeve. It’s a good reminder that beauty doesn’t always mean perfection. So while I never dressed to match my American Girl Doll as a kid, now I’m happily taking style cues from their haunted, timeworn cousins.