Fleur Dolls - Special Offer
There are a few Fleur dolls known as 'special offer'. These were usually simple dolls, sold in slim boxes with no accessories - at prices around half of a usual Fleur price. Only some of these dolls were sold with a 'special offer' label on their boxes. The other two dolls commonly called 'special offer' - Logo Fleur and Striped Dress Fleur - are shown on their respective L and S pages, because their boxes did not have a 'special offer' label.
Special Offer
Bermuda Fleur Doll
catalogue # 385 - 1003, year 1984-1985
body: non-ballerina (no bending elbows or ankles), legs move to front, back and side
hair: blonde, platinum blonde, brown, brunette, bangs (fringe), ponytail, Fleur logo on back of head
shoes: black or red high heels with a flower
Bermuda Fleur doll landed right in the middle of the 1980s and many people remember her well today. She must have been very popular - very likely because, as a 'special offer' doll, she was inexpensive. Her outfits show up very often in Fleur's mixed clothes bundles (also sometimes Sindy's and Barbie's). She had three outfit variations - black-red, yellow-red, and pink-blue.
She was sold in two editions over two years (maybe another sign of popularity?), and one of the dolls wore rare red high heels. Visit Lulemee's blog about Bermuda Fleur dolls, where she explains everything in great detail (the top right photo of 3 Bermuda Fleurs is borrowed from her blog).
Fun fact 1: Bermuda Fleur's outfits are not of great quality - so don't be disappointed. The shorts are okay (real pockets!), but the shirts are made from low-quality cotton and sloppily finished.
Fun fact 2: the official Bermuda promo photo (top left) is a Baby Nurse Fleur doll dressed in Bermuda outfit! Bermuda Fleur does not have a ballerina body or short hair.
Fun fact 3: SURPRISE! If you find a Bermuda outfit in a strange colour, it belongs to an Italian doll Tanya by Ceppiratti, who had the EXACT same outfit, but in more colour variations - and she was also called Bermuda! See bottom row for Tanya pictures and Fleur in the same outfit for comparison.
Photos of Tanya doll are taken from this eBay auction.
Special Offer
Flower Skirt Fleur Doll
catalogue # 385 - 1009, year 1987
body: non-ballerina (no bending elbows or ankles), legs move to front, back and side
hair: blonde, brown, brunette, bangs (fringe), ponytail, Fleur logo on back of head
shoes: black high heels with a flower
Just like the Polka Dot triplets below, this Special Offer Fleur has no name - so I named her Flower Skirt Fleur doll. She was truly a low-budget doll, and the catalogue photos below (top and bottom row) prove it - she was sold for as low as 4.95 guilders plus a free outfit! She has no official promo photo, and the back of her box is completely blank (possibly another sign of low-cost production).
She was likely popular, because her outfit is still easy to find today in lots of fabric variations. As far as identifying this doll without her clothes, it may not be an easy job. My boxed doll has a very hard head and a smooth, shiny face, while her body is slightly more pink than other ponytail Fleur dolls. Other collectors have the same boxed doll with a softer head and regular pale body. All dolls have the Fleur logo on the back of the neck. There's no knowing why such a variety exists - most likely factory production variations.
Special Offer
Polka Dot Fleur Doll
catalogue # 385 - 1008, year 1986
body: non-ballerina (no bending elbows or ankles), legs move to front, back and side
hair: blonde, brown, brunette, bangs (fringe), ponytail, Fleur logo on back of head
shoes: black high heels with a flower
These Fleur triplets are some of the most recognisable Fleur dolls ever - even though they have no name. In the 1986 catalogue, they are called Promotion - but that's not a great name, right? Today, they are mostly known as Polka Dot Fleur dolls - a name inspired by their outfits.
Sold from 1986, colourful and cute, they had added fun of mix-and-match clothes in yellow, pink or blue. Every outfit had three parts: a reversible t-shirt (mock-neck on one side, V-neck on the other), a high-waist skirt (very fashionable in the late 80s!) and a loose overshirt made of the same material as the skirt.
The t-shirts always match another doll. When they all wear the correct colour (all blue, etc) they don't look as fun. To see this for yourself - plus more photos - please visit my Fleur blog topic dedicated to Polka Dot Fleurs.
