A while back, one of my followers (thanks, Linda!) brought my attention to a new line of dolls that had come out. The dolls were called "Lottie" and had sweet faces and fun outfits. I thought the idea behind the dolls was great and recently decided to contact the company. They very graciously sent me a Lottie doll to review.
This is "Snow Queen Lottie". She comes in a beautifully detailed box that brings to mind "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" from The Chronicles of Narnia, especially with the lamp post in the corner. ;)
A closer look at some of the box details:
Lottie's sweet face. :)
Each box comes with a handle on the top.
Side view
A closer look at the side.
Here is the back of the box.
It features fun artwork of Lottie.
It also has a spot for a little girl to write her name.
Here's a little mini story to go along with the doll.
The bottom of the box shows the other Lottie dolls and pets that are available for purchase.
The other side of the box.
The bottom of the box.
The Lottie boxes are sealed with what appears to be the same clear tape used on Lalaloopsy boxes. This makes it very easy to remove without damaging the packaging.
Once the tape is removed, there is a tab that you pull out to open the top of the package.
The handle on top of the box slides out from a slot in the top, and then the box is open.
Lottie and her inner packaging slide out quite easily.
Lottie is held in place with a twist tie and tape on the back...
...and another twist tie on the bottom.
Once the twist ties are undone, it is very easy to remove Lottie and her little clear plastic holder from the inner packaging.
As you can see, the packaging is still quite nice even after everything has been removed.
Lottie's purse still in its plastic...
...and her mask, also in plastic.
Her shoes are held on by rubber bands.
This is the same thing the Disney Store does with their dolls, and I kind of wish they wouldn't. The rubber bands always leave marks like this on the doll's soft plastic legs, and it always takes a while for them to go away.
My Lottie had an extremely crooked crown.
You can see that this side is much farther forward than the first side.
It doesn't look too off from the front, but I still decided I would fix it if I could.
Here she is, completely deboxed. She stands at just a little over 7 inches tall.
Lottie's sweet face.
Her mask fits over her eyes and is held in place with an elastic band.
It was a bit difficult to get Lottie's mask perfectly centered without messing up her bangs. I also had a hard time getting the mask off again without messing up her hair. This shouldn't be too much of a problem. I actually prefer her without the mask, so I probably won't be using it much anyway. ;)
Lottie's purse fits nicely over her shoulder. It works better underneath her fur cape.
And speaking of her cape, it is removable.
It is held in place by this "pearl" (plastic) button and a loop of string.
Now we can see the pretty details of her bodice.
I love the look of the pale blue bows on the white satin.
There is a nice white overlay trimmed in silver on Lottie's skirt.
I love the glittery snowflake detail and silver trim on her skirt, too.
A view from the back
Lottie's bodice opens and closes from the back with Velcro.
Underneath the skirt is this pretty blue-toned tulle skirt that makes Lottie's dress nice and full.
Lottie's hair is rooted (I moved aside the hair to show you in the picture) and looks very nice.
The hair is very smooth and will be great for play. I did notice it had a different feel to it. Ashley at
Confessions of a Doll Collector's Daughter described it as kind of "oily", and suggested that it was probably because she had saran hair instead of nylon hair. It's not necessarily something everyone would notice and it doesn't feel dirty or anything, but I thought I should mention it for other collectors.
I decided now would be a good time to remove her crown so I could straighten it. I was a little nervous about cutting the plastic that held it in place. I didn't want to accidentally cut her hair. Thankfully, I was able to slide the crown right out from these little loops on one side. I still had to cut these out of her hair, but it was a little easier to do without having to work around the crown.
That's better. :)
I was pleased to discover that she had such cute eyebrows under her bangs. Sometimes, you lift a doll's bangs and the eyebrows are not so complimentary. :}
Lottie's crown has some very nice detail. It is made out of plastic.
My crown had a few gold spots that looked a little discolored.
Lottie moves at the head, shoulders, and hips. She does not have articulated elbows, but can still move her arms all around:
Her legs can spread from side to side. This was as far as I could get them without feeling like I was going to break her. ;)
She sits, but unfortunately her poofy tulle skirt underneath makes it difficult for her to be very ladylike. ;)
That's a little better.
Lottie has clicky knees like a Barbie's.
She can sit nicely on an edge.
Here's a look at her little feet. :)
Her head turns from side to side but does not go up or down:
One of the wonderful things about Lottie, especially for the young girls that will be playing with her, is that she has a body based on the proportions of an average 9 year old girl. As such, Lottie has no curves and no unrealistic proportions like Barbie or some of the other fashion dolls. You'll also notice that her styles are very little girlish. There are no mini skirts, high heels, or low-cut tops in this line, and Lottie has a sweet, makeup-free face. This doll is a great option for those of you out there who want your daughters to have a little plastic doll to dress but are not interested in Barbies, Monster High, or any of the other lines that focus on teenage fashion.
In a time where teens and trendiness are the name of the game for so many doll lines, it is very refreshing to see a sweet little doll that celebrates girlhood. This is a doll I could whole-heartedly recommend to pretty much anyone. :) My girls adore her and have already let me know which Lottie dolls are their favorites. ;)
Here's another look at everything Snow Queen Lottie comes with.
When I redressed her, I thought it would be interesting to see how her skirt looked without the tulle underskirt. It still looks very nice, as you can see from the picture.
It was also a lot easier to get her into a sitting position without the tulle. :) For those of you who get this particular doll and plan on displaying her in a sitting position, you might want to consider removing the underskirt.
Here she is sitting on the edge without the tulle.
Lottie Love:
Lottie reminds me somewhat of the Takara Jenny dolls from Japan with her large eyes and sweet face.
To give you an idea of Lottie's size, here she is with some of my other smaller dolls.
Lottie and Belle (my Barbie-sized Disney doll)
Lottie and my childhood Jenny doll
Lottie and mini American Girl Elizabeth
Lottie and Emilie (a Barbie sister Chelsea doll from 2012)
Lottie and Kelly
I also wanted to compare Lottie with my Stacie doll (Barbie's sister in the 90s version). I was curious to see if they'd be able to swap clothing.
Lottie could wear Stacie's dress, but it was a bit roomy. She could not wear her shoes (Stacie's feet are longer and narrower).
On the other hand, Stacie could wear Lottie's clothing (and actually looked pretty cute in it), but it was very snug. I don't think I'd dress her in it again or she might stretch the material too much. Stacie is also a bit thicker around the middle, so I don't think that a Lottie skirt or pair of pants would fit her well.
One of the nice things about the Lottie packaging is that it is meant to be reused. At the end of my review, I put Lottie and her accessories back in the inner packaging...
...and then put it back in the box. Now Lottie is ready to be transported wherever she needs to go. :)
I don't know how well this idea will work for display without some adjustments, though. Every time I moved the box or tried to set her up, Lottie fell over, so this idea may be better just for travel. ;)
I think Lottie is a sweet little doll that will make a wonderful companion for children. Her small size makes her easy to carry and take along on fun adventures. Her young, innocent face, realistic body proportions, and cute but age-appropriate styles will make her a very desirable doll for many families. Her pricing is reasonable ($19.99 for the dolls and $9.99 for the accessory sets) and she is well-made. There are several different Lottie dolls and accessories available, with more on the way.
As a collector, I would love to see a Lottie with a little more articulation. However, her sturdy limbs will be a good thing for her target demographic, so I don't think it takes away from her positives.
I'm giving Lottie a 5 out of 5, and would highly recommend her. :)
For more information about Lottie, check out the following links:
And now for the surprise I mentioned. The makers of Lottie very graciously provided an extra Lottie doll for me to use for a blog giveaway! :) (This will serve as my 3 Year Blogoversary Giveaway.) The winner of the giveaway will receive "Autumn Leaves Lottie", pictured below:
To see a great video review of this particular Lottie doll from Confessions of a Doll Collector's Daughter, click
HERE. :)
For the sake of keeping things a little less complicated, I will be publishing a separate Lottie Giveaway post right after this one. The giveaway post will share all of the details you need to know about entering and so on, so stay tuned. :)
I received this doll as a free sample product from the Arklu company. All opinions and ideas expressed are my own.
