Fleur Dolls - T V W
Tennis Fleur Doll
catalogue # 385 - 1024, year 1986
body: non-ballerina (no bending elbows or ankles), legs move to front and back (not side)
hair: blonde, red, brunette, centre part
shoes: blue or red running shoes
The second tennis-playing Fleur doll (look below to see the first one called Tennisstar) comes in a choice of two outfits - red or blue. The outfits are retro in style, but they wouldn't look out of place on a tennis court today. Tennis Fleur wears a white top and skirt, with red or blue inserts in the front. The shirt also has a yellow stripe.
Tennis Fleur is match-ready - she has a towel, a Dunlop tennis racket (same as Tennisstar Fleur's below), and a silver trophy (presumably to intimidate her next rival). On her head, she wears a red or blue headband, plus a matching wristband on her left wrist.
Fun fact: both promo photos (top row) show Fleur wearing red or blue socks and white running shoes. But in the box, Fleur wears white socks and red or blue shoes. I think the dark socks look better. If you have an NRFB Tennis Fleur with dark socks, let me know, I'd love to see her!
Tennisstar Fleur Doll
catalogue # 385 - 1007, year 1985
body: non-ballerina (no bending elbows or ankles), legs move to front and back (not side)
hair: blonde, red, brunette, centre part
shoes: blue running shoes or sandals
The first of two tennis dolls made by Otto Simon, the Tennisstar Fleur will obviously win a tennis match against any doll - she is a star, after all. This doll is far cuter in real life than any pictures show. Of her entire outfit, the Dunlop racket is the easiest to find today.
A word about shoes: my two boxed Tennisstar dolls are wearing different shoes! One has blue running shoes, and the other - blue sandals. Could it be a factory mistake? Or a temporary shortage of blue running shoes? I think we can all agree, nobody should ever play tennis in sandals (especially not a star!).
Travel Fleur Doll
catalogue # unknown, year 1985 (?)
body: ballerina (bending elbows and ankles)
hair: blonde, red, brunette, centre part
shoes: red knee-high boots, extra pair of red sandals
This Fleur doll is a big mystery. What is her catalogue number? I don't know. What year was she sold? No idea (1985 is an educated guess). What is her actual name? No name - but everyone calls her Travel Fleur because this is obviously a travel set. Where is her promo photo? It doesn't exist (I just made my own).
Despite all these unknowns, this is a stunningly beautiful Fleur doll set with amazing accessories. There are two bags - a large duffel bag and a small shoulder bag; two pairs of shoes - boots and sandals; an umbrella and a raincoat. Her dress and coat both have a belt, and she also wears a red scarf.
Fun fact: the Travel Fleur doll outfit is very similar to (and often confused with) Fleur outfit # 1233. Here's how to tell them apart: Travel Fleur is wearing a dress, and her coat is made of nylon. Outfit 1233 has a top and skirt, and the coat is made of cotton. You can take a peek at the difference at the bottom of the coats page of my Fleur blog (I will write more about it in the future).
Volendam Fleur Doll
catalogue # none, late 1970s - early 1980s
body: 1970s body with long legs, tiny waist and small hands
hair: any colour, centre part
shoes: wooden Dutch clogs
In most tourism-heavy cities, among the many souvenirs, you'll likely find no-name dolls. They are mostly dressed in the country's national costume and sold in unlabelled boxes or plain plastic tubes. It is very likely Volendam Fleur was one of those dolls. She was sold in the late 1970s or early 1980s in the Dutch fishing village of Volendam (a beautiful place, top photo by Nazim Coskun on Unsplash).
It's impossible to find any consistency among Volendam Fleur dolls, and their outfits come in dozens of variations. The bottom photo shows just one example, with all parts of her costume. The dress and the black part of the apron are made from a very thick, almost felt-like material, and the decorative floral parts are made of regular fabric.
For a thorough investigation into the mystery of Volendam Fleur - and many more photos - I invite you to visit Lulemee Art blog post on this extremely interesting topic.
Wedding Fleur Doll
catalogue # 385 - 1020, year 1983
body: ballerina (bending elbows and ankles)
hair: blonde, red, brunette, centre part
shoes: white kitten heels with small flower
There are two Fleur brides - this Wedding Fleur was the first one, although she didn't have anyone to marry (her boyfriend Danny didn't appear until 1988). The second was Bride's Happiness (she also had no groom).
Wedding Fleur's gown is a beautifully designed satin halter-top dress with three layers of fluffy tulle and lace over the skirt, and another layer covering the shoulders. The dress is very fragile, it takes some luck to find it today in perfect condition. Fleur's veil is a flat cap trimmed with lace, with two pieces of tulle - one in front, one in back. She also has a white satin bag with a lace trim, and a graduated pearl necklace.
And then there are the flowers. My Wedding Fleur isn't NRFB :( and her original flowers are missing. See the middle bottom row for a pic of another boxed Wedding Fleur I found online, holding the bouquet she is supposed to have - pink fabric flowers wrapped in tulle.
Fun fact: the satin part of Wedding Fleur dress is made from the same pattern as Miss World Fleur dress. This kind of makes sense, because they are from the same era - even their boxes have the same graphic design.
