I feel your pain and it’s an additional reason my collection stayed in storage for over a decade and a half; it bothers me more than is probably rational to pick up a beloved pony and see her with a layer of grime. At some point a few years back I realized that there wasn’t anything stopping me from displaying them in a plastic ziploc bag. (They were all individually bagged when I stored them anyway.)
It’s certainly not super aesthetic but they’re being displayed in my bedroom and I don’t need to care what anyone else feels about it. I love looking at them AND knowing that their hair and bodies are staying pristine, especially when I pick one up and the bag is really dusty. I’m pleased that the dust can’t make it to them and the bag itself is easy to wipe off.
My mom lives with me and she has an African Gray parrot which makes for a massive amount of dust, exponentially more than normal. Plus we have two dogs. I have an altar space with crystals and knick knacks which gets super dusty super quickly and I don’t clean it nearly as often as I should.
People have said to me that having them bagged feels wrong - like the pony can’t breathe. I figure they’re plastic so another layer of plastic is practically natural, right?
But really I figure they’re equally as happy to not be getting dusty and dirty so it’s whatever.