Last month, Lottie celebrated her two year anniversary having made her appearance in 2012 as the first ever ‘pro-girl’ doll. They are designed for girls aged 3 – 9. Lottie was developed with scientific expertise from leading British academics, alongside consumer research, to address parental concerns over negative body image, an increased perception of premature sexualisation, as well as a desire for a return to good old-fashioned creative and imaginative play.
We have received Butterfly Protector who is from the Year 2 range. She helps introduce science and conservation in a fun and engaging way. Each doll comes with a set of collector cards detailing the stages of the life cycle of a butterfly which is a basic science unit taught at Key Stage 1. She also comes with a binoculars, a butterfly net, a cap and four mini cardboard butterflies. She only measures 18 cm tall and is a solid doll with moveable limbs that enable her to sit or stand. Her long brown locks are smooth and easy to style. She portrays a healthy childlike body with no scanty clothes, high heels, jewellery, tattoos, make up etc. Her clothing and boots are removable and easy to put it back on. Ms C loves helping Lottie Butterfly Protector catch butterflies and we were able to chat about the butterfly life cycle. It was great to refresh their memory as recently we were sent a butterfly kit for review where we were catching caterpillar and butterfly.
This is a great concept for portraying a healthy image for girls and it teaches the children to look at things differently. The Lottie dolls retail at £16.99 and accessory sets at £7.99. The doll is made of great quality materials and should last a long time. Some of the accessories such as the butterflies and collection cards are made from cardboard so may not withstand too much handling.
Lottie has a Year 1 and Year 2 range. The Year 1 range features six dolls: Pony Flag Race, Spring Celebration Ballet, English Country Garden, Branksea Festival, Autumn Leaves and Snow Queen. The accessory packs included: Picnic set, Biscuit the Beagle Dog, Pony Flag Race accessories and Seren the Welsh Mountain Pony.
The Year 1 range provoked international debate over the issues Lottie had set out to address, receiving approval and praise from parents, professionals and campaigners alike. She won multiple awards and became a best-seller in over eight countries across the globe.
In 2013, Arklu, the company behind the Lottie brand, took the original ideals a step further, with the introduction of their Year 2 range of dolls that, not only enjoy a fuller lifestyle of mixed and varied activities, but wholly embrace the motto ‘Be Bold, Be Brave, Be You’. They subsequently created a set of six female dolls which defy conventional gender stereotypes by exploring inspiring, empowering and adventurous themes. It featured Robot Girl and the Busy Lizzie Robot, Pirate Queen, Lighthouse Keeper, Kawaii Karate, Butterfly Protector and Pandora’s Box. Year 2 accessory sets included Busy Lizzie Robot, Pirate Queen, Pandora the Persian Cat, Girls United Outfit, Body Boarder Outfit, Blue Velvet Outfit, Raspberry Ripple Outfit, Raising the Bar Outfit and Sweet Dreams Outfit.
To date, Lottie has won 15 awards in the US, UK and Canada including three prestigious Oppenheim Portfolio Platinum Awards and now sells in 30 countries worldwide.
Disclosure: We have received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own.