So I find it really funny that there is a 'saloon' (see below), but this is a 'salon'. Yes, they are two different products, but this one is more of a salon hair dryer, don't you think? I have no idea if this was just a naming accident, or if Otto Simon employees were having a little fun.

Age-wise, this item is first, because it was sold since 1979, as shown in the Speelgoed toy catalogue from that year. The back of the box shows a photo of a 1970s Fleur (wearing outfit 1214 if you are interested), with the words "hairdressing salon' printed over the picture - but note that the colour of the hair dryer is different! In the second promo photo, the hair dryer is the correct colour. And if you look at bottom of this page, you will see a pink hair dryer made by Playwell. So, this item is not unique to Fleur.

This hair dryer really blows air, and it's highly amusing to see. The air is even strong enough to dry Fleur's hair! It makes a very realistic noise too. You need to insert two AA batteries into the base of the chair and then plug the wire into the hole. Mine still works after all the years. This is an amazing little piece of furniture.

In 1982, Otto Simon released this Hairdressing Saloon. It seems to serve a dual function of hair salon workstation and bathroom sink. I guess it had to be both, because Fleur never had a separate sink for her bathroom. Some people remove the stickers from the mirrors (they show a price list for hairdressing services and adverts for hair brands). This is a little risky as the stickers cannot be put back again - but then, you can't have a bathroom without a sink, right?

The saloon comes with the following accessories:

- two white-green striped towels

- silver comb and mirror (same as bath above)

- blue smock for the hair stylist (very cute)

- green-white chair

As you can see below, Fleur saloons/salons are not exclusive to her. The same designs - in different colours - were used by other toy manufacturers for their stock, as you see here examples from Lundby and Playwell.

The image of Playwell is from this completed Etsy sale, Petra sink from Pinterest.