Identify dolls by photo.
Shelvy is a doll identifier app: snap one picture and every doll in it gets a name — character, line, edition and year. One doll from a thrift-store bin or a whole shelf at once.
Download on theApp Store
How it works
From a picture to a name in three steps.
Take one photo
Point your iPhone at the doll — or at the whole shelf. No barcode, no box, no typing a description into a search bar.
Shelvy finds every doll
Each doll in the picture is outlined and matched against a catalog of about 15,000 releases by face, hair, outfit and accessories.
You get the exact release
Not just “a Draculaura”, but which one: line, edition and year. If Shelvy isn't sure, it asks a quick question instead of guessing.
What it knows
Built for modern fashion dolls.
General “identify anything” apps can tell you a doll is a doll. Shelvy is a doll identification app for one kind of collector, so it goes down to the release. Every brand below has a full catalog inside the app — and most of them are open on the web as doll checklists you can browse right now.
Monster High
Skullector, G1 and G3 lines, SDCC exclusives
See the checklists →Barbie
Fashionistas, Silkstone, Dolls of the World and 100+ more lines
See the checklists →Rainbow High
main series, Pacific Coast, collector editions
See the checklists →Shadow High
series 1–3
See the checklists →Ever After High
Royals, Rebels and every themed line
See the checklists →L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G.
fashion dolls
See the checklists →Bratz
in the app — web checklists coming
My Scene
in the app — web checklists coming
Better results
How to photograph a doll so she can be identified.
- Face to the camera. Face paint is the single most telling detail; a doll turned sideways loses most of it.
- Daylight, no flash. Flash flattens vinyl and blows out hair colour — and hair colour separates many releases of the same character.
- Keep the original outfit if you have it. Two editions often share a head mould and differ only in clothes and accessories. A redressed doll can still be identified, just less precisely.
- Give dolls some air. On a crowded shelf, a doll half hidden behind another is the one most likely to be missed.
- Don't rely on the year stamped on the body. It is the copyright year of the mould, not the release year — a 2008 stamp can sit on a doll sold in 2014.
Questions
Doll identification, answered.
Is there an app that can identify dolls from a picture?
Yes. Shelvy is a doll identifier app for iPhone: take or upload a photo and it finds each doll in the picture and names it — character, line, edition and release year. It works on a single doll or a whole shelf at once.
How do I identify a doll with no markings or box?
Most modern fashion dolls carry only a manufacturer stamp and a year on the back of the head or lower back, and that year is the mould copyright, not the release. What actually tells dolls apart is the face paint, hair, outfit and accessories — which is what Shelvy compares against its catalog. A clear, well-lit front photo is enough; the box is not needed.
Which dolls can Shelvy identify?
Shelvy is built for modern fashion dolls: Monster High, Barbie, Bratz, Rainbow High, Shadow High, Ever After High, My Scene and L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. — about 15,000 catalogued releases. It is not an antique or porcelain doll identifier, and it does not read maker's marks.
How accurate is identifying a doll by photo?
It depends on the photo and on how complete the doll is. A doll in her original outfit, photographed from the front in good light, is identified far more reliably than a redressed doll or one half hidden behind another. When Shelvy is unsure it says so and asks a short question instead of guessing, and you can always correct the result.
Can it identify a whole collection at once?
Yes — that is what it was designed for. One photo of a shelf can hold dozens of dolls; Shelvy outlines each one, names it, and adds it to your catalog, so a collection that would take an evening to type up is done in about a minute.
What can I do once my dolls are identified?
Identified dolls become a catalog: you see how many you have, which lines and years they come from, which releases are still missing from each line, and what comparable dolls have recently sold for.
Find out who is on your shelf.
Shelvy is on the App Store. The catalog is open here too: browse the doll checklists.
Download on theApp Store