I have been using a Stable Diffusion A.I. as a kind of sketchbook to plan out paintings. But there are some fairly severe limitations – at least when using the free version, as I have been. I thought I could demonstrate these limitations by creating a “Fashion Dolls of the Last 200 Years” scrapbook. Since Barbie wasn’t invited until 1959, I prompted the A.I. to create an image of what a fashion doll might have looked like for each decade since 1820.

In the images below, you’ll see some of the repeated problems that the A.I. had in creating images – the hands are TERRIBLE, and the dolls often have either no legs or else 3 legs! The faces mostly don’t look like Fashion Dolls at all – and are sometimes kind of SCARY …

Overall, I was impressed with the costumes, although I didn’t check for historical accuracy! Most of them looked sewed by hand, in a very my-doll kind of way – and I was often amused by the rooms, which often include portraits or weird dolls in addition to some ‘period’ furniture. I scored each image out of 10 for how ‘normal’ it looked and for creative elements that I appreciated.

Here’s the website for Stable Diffusion, in case you want to play with it yourself: https://stablediffusionweb.com/#demo

More info: stablediffusionweb.com

For each doll, I included a prompt like this: fashion doll dressed in 1820s clothing & 1820 hairstyle sitting in a dollhouse room. After that, I only changed the decade. I mostly like this one, aside from the 2-tone hair – I actually Like 2-tone hair, but don’t think it was historically appropriate. 7/10

1830s – not too bad, aside from the hands. 8/10

1840s – hands wrong, scary face, and only one leg. 1/10

1840s – hair wrong, 3 legs?? (I liked the doll ‘portrait’ to her right, as well as the diorama behind her.) 6/10

1850s – not bad overall – the hairdo was fascinating, if not accurate. I find it interesting that this particular doll was made bustier than most. 9/10

1860s – not bad, overall. The face isn’t very fashion doll-like, and the hands are weird, but overall, I give this one a thumbs-up. 9/10

1870s – interesting haircoloring! This costume is one of the ones that remind me of the costumes I used to sew by hand for my own fashion doll. 8/10

1880s – interesting hair, sort of a normal face – but a split skirt?? And, of course, lobster hands. 7/10

1880s – when you input your prompt, you get 4 images. I usually just download the best of them, but I downloaded this one because of the weird Mistakes! (See next image for her cleavage!!) I wonder why the A.I. put miniature dolls into most of the rooms – and what kind of creature is in this one?? 7/10

1880s – closeup of ‘cleavage’ and alien hands 0/10

1890s – pretty good overall. I’m not sure why all of these dolls have articulared arms and legs – Mattel first came out with these in 1999 and “Made to Move” Barbie was released in 2015 – so maybe there are more source images for the A.I. to use?? 8/10

1900 – otherwise known as Hooker Fashion Doll? I LOVE the haircolor – but suspect it wasn’t that common in 1900 … 6/10

1900s – this one seems more reasonable for the time – except for the short skirt! 8/10

1910 – you might have noticed that the fashion doll’s EYES are WONKY in most of these images. 8/10

1910 – hairdo and dress type are wrong, but I’m fascinated by the cowboy behind her in the corner – and, actually, I find her face more likeable that a lot of fashion doll faces! 8/10

1910 – aside from the wonky eyes, I liked this image. 9/10

1920s – there is just SOOO much WRONG with this image! Scary murder-face, giraffe neck, hands for feet, and a Mini-Me doll with an oversized head. This is the stuff Nightmares are made of! (Just scroll past, please!) 0/10

1930s – wonky eyes & hands – but cute outfit. NO LEGS, though …. (I do love the little half-doll with the lavender hair on her side table …) 5/10

1940 – What’s with the eyeshadow/eyebrows?? And the small detail of 3 LEGS?? (It seems to me if I was programming an A.I. to make images of people, I would limit the number of human appendages to 2 Maximum …) 3/10

1940 – I love the hair and outfit! Eyes are wonky, but I give this one 9/10.

1950s – suddenly, we’re inspired by 1950s TV shows in black & white?? (Not to mention the fact that one of her arms ends in the chair and the other in the doorway…) 5/10

1950s – this one is kind of Adorable! I like the hair, outfit – and even the side-eye! But she has been given Karashian hips – Why?? 8/10

1960s – Barbie was invented in 1959, so from here on out, I expected that the images would be more realistic. I mean, if the A.I. images are amalgamated from a database of images, there were actual fashion dolls to use at this point. So while I give this one 10/10 for cuteness, makeup and hair – it doesn’t really look like a Barbie, does it? 9/10

I960s – in the late 1960s, Mattel introduced the first black fashion doll. I would have wanted this doll – but why does she have a bird’s nest her head?? 9/10

1960s – Too bad Mattel hasn’t released an older, magnificent black fashion doll like this one! Love her hair! – and outfit, and makeup (aside from the wonky eye) 9/10

1970s – I mean, lots of people in the 70s were doing drugs, but the A.I. was TRIPPIN’ when it made this fashion doll with extra arm parts and scary legs … 3/10

1980s – overall, actually pretty good (giraffe neck aside). She looks a bit like Britney Spears. 9/10

1980 – Mattel released a hispanic fashion doll. The A.I. did a pretty good job on this image – aside from the TINY feet – and the miscegenation of a dollie-toy … 8/10

1990 – Nice face and hair – but extra hands and no legs! 3/10

1990 – so I tried again. Good face and hair – but the camera angle looks like a paparazzi shot! And those Calves!!) 2/10

1990 – third try. At first, looks mostly normal, at least. Until your realize that her legs are the same length as a real human being (short), and they don’t actually LINE UP with the rest of her body … 4/10

2000 – I did notice that as the time I was inputting got closer to the present, the dolls looked more and more realistic. This one is actually one of the best! 9/10

2000 – I call her “New Age Dashion doll” – she could have her own YouTube channel to talk about chakras and crystal healing! 10/10

2010 – again, pretty good – if a bit buck-toothed … 9/10

2020 – Yoga Fashion Doll (wonky eye and extra fingers aside) – I would join her for yoga, wouldn’t you? 9/10

2020 – I updated the black fashion doll to see what the A.I. would do with the prompt. LOVE her hair, makeup and outfit! 10/10

2020 – known as Oriental fashion doll when she was released by Mattel in 1980. The A.I. messed this one up majorly! I even added “realistic hands and feet” to see if the wonky images were my fault for not asking for normal appendages! But NO! Spider hand, hair hanging in mid-air, and NO LEGS! Cute face, eyes, and hair, though 2/10

2020 – another prompt for an Asian fashion doll – and I get this cliche. Cute face, hair and outfit – but NO LEGS again! 2/10

2020 – I prompted “curvy fashion doll” – released in 2016, this doll was working against the complaints about fashion dolls setting unrealistic images for girls. I like the Adele hair on this one – but it loses points for the wasp-waist … 7/10

2020 – I prompted “hijab” fashion doll – because Mattel released a Muslim fashion doll in 2018 – but got Error. So I tried “ethnic fashion doll” and got some like this one. Amazing hair, nice makeup an outfit. Excellent overall 9/1010

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