- About Fleur

Springtime, one of the first Fleurs issued in the late 70s, came in a nostalgic long summer dress.

About Fleur

Fleur was made in the 70s and 80s by Otto Simon company for the Dutch market. The first two Fleurs were released in 1978.

Wim Remken, one of the founding fathers who worked in the 70s as chief purchaser for Otto Simon, recalls that Fleur was born out of anger over Pedigree's decision to stop their license to sell Sindy in the Netherlands. Fleur then was designed overnight by Wim Remken, purchaser Ruud Bok and the advertisement company. They were personally involved in the creation and production of the dolls.

Fleur was aimed to look nothing like Barbie, more like a European version of Sindy. Little girls would have to think of Fleur as their friend. Their mothers had to approve of her appearance as well. Her outfits were inspired by everyday fashions as appeared in women's magazines like Margriet and Libelle.

The new doll was an instant success and in the next decade over a million dolls were sold. In her heyday, Fleur's success was bigger than Sindy's and even Barbie's.

Belle Fleur, the same hardhead type Fleur as Springtime, wore a brown velvet historical costume. She was the first Fleur issued, in 1978, together with a standard doll.

By 1983 Otto Simon wanted to internationalize. The first attempts looked promising, yet the doll would never repeat its Dutch success. The major export country was Denmark, followed by Belgium, England and Germany. Fleurs were also exported to Norway, Sweden, Austria, Australia, Greece, and France. Fleur was also seen Eastern Europe, for example in Poland, where it was sold in shops which had a licence to carry imported goods.

Fleur was originally sold in dark green boxes with flowers sprinkled over them. In 1986 the dark green of the packages became a lighter green, and the flowers got a more fresh and modern look. This was possibly an attempt to update Fleur's look and make it more eye-catching among increasing competition from other fashion dolls available at that time.

By the end of the 80s Fleur herself changed. Buhrmann Tetterode (owner of Otto Simon) decided to professionalize and outsource Fleur's design to England. The result was New Look Fleur (Disco Dance, Look Around), who was released almost simultaneously with New Face Sindy. Two ranges of designer clothes were issued.

The people from Otto Simon disapproved strongly, for this new doll and clothes had nothing to do with the Fleur they knew. But they couldn’t stop the new developments. New Fleur didn't appeal to the Dutch audience. Sales began to drop dramatically. Almost simultaneously, Buhrmann Tetterode decided to concentrate on their core business (graphic systems) and discontinued the toys line. Fleur production stopped quite suddenly in 1988.

Links:

With thanks to Marja, you can see and buy Fleurs on her website: http://home.zonnet.nl/marjab/fleur.html

Some Fleur dolls can be bought on: http://www.magictoybox-online.co.uk

One of the nicest doll sites on the net is Martha's site on many different fashion dolls and their clothes: http://www.123hjemmeside.dk/Marthas_dolls/

The most elaborate site on vintage fashion dolls from the 60s till the 80s, you will find Sindy, Fleur and many many others: www.sindy-dolls.com/

One of the few Sindy sites in Dutch (and for those of you who don't master Dutch, you will find lots of pics): freewebs.com/sindysite/links.htm