Past tense of doll: to dress up or make oneself look attractive (usually with 'up'); to divide into portions.
From doll (originally a child's toy, from the name Dorothy). 'Doll up' means to dress like a doll, all fancy and artificial. Also used in distribution contexts.
When someone 'dolls up,' they're literally making themselves look like a toy doll—perfect, plastic, artificial—which shows how fashion words often carry hidden judgments!
'Dolled up' emerged in early 20th century, infantilizing women's appearance and reducing them to objects. It implies performative beauty is women's natural role.
Avoid 'dolled up' when describing appearance. Use neutral terms like 'dressed formally' or 'got ready' instead.
["dressed formally","got ready","prepared"]
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.