Go ahead and mention reborn dolls the next time you're with a group of friends and just watch the conversation pick up.
Also notice how the conversation will almost always be divided into two sides.
On one side you will have the men, who will insist that the women who make, buy and hold dear these amazingly real and lifelike dolls are either obsessed or downright crazy.
They simply refuse to understand.
Then on the other side, will be the women who will argue the point that they are simply adorable and collecting dressing and keeping them is a truly heart warming past time.
Something that just makes them feel good.
The fact is that dolls have been around and being collected and cherished by women and girls for time eternal.
What has changed though is that technology and artistic styles have advanced to such a degree that they are far more lifelike today.
In fact today's reborn doll can resemble a real baby, right down to the most finite details.
Hair can be and often is individually rooted for complete realism and even rashes, tiny wrinkles and blood vessels complete the total look of realism.
The bodies can be made from a wide variety of materials, ranging from vinyl to stuffed cloth.
Unlike dolls of the past they are also weighted to give each one a realistic feel when they are held.
Even electronic features like crying and cooing are not uncommon.
The dolls themselves come in several sizes and price ranges as well, starting with the "minis" that are generally around six inches in length.
Newborns and preemies tend to range between fourteen inches to seventeen inches and your standard doll will generally be around twenty inches.
Also there are toddlers that will be even larger.
Girl dolls tend to be the most popular for some reason and collectors of reborn dolls also tend to fall into two distinct categories.
These two categories tend to be women who enjoy creating them as well as possessing them and women who are just strictly collectors.