I have a girl whose mind is sharp as a needle. A girl who loves to ask questions and learn about the world. A girl who is not satisfied with the appellative princess and who dreams of being a scientist or an explorer when she grows up. A girl for whom Lottie dolls are absolutely perfect as role models and appropriate toys.
What sort of dolls are the Lottie range and what sets them apart form the crowd?
According to the Daily Mail, they are:
“…A range of dolls created to defy gender stereotypes and encourage girls to be adventurous, inquisitive and sporty.
Lottie is billed as a ‘fashion doll with a difference’ because – unlike a Barbie doll which has an impossibly slim figure – Lottie has been designed to look and dress like a child.”
Our love for the Lottie doll range started exactly one year ago, when Emma got the Lighthouse Keeper Lottie for her 5th birthday. I chose it as a significance-filled toy, for Emma as a surviving sibling to Georgie and as our own Lighthouse Keeper, the one who kept us going through the pain of her brother’s cancer diagnosis and the agony of his loss.
Lighthouse Lottie came with us everywhere we went last summer, Greece included, as it is small and light and fits easily in a suitcase or carry on.
Emma loved her for her clothes, so different from the usually pink and frilly “girly” clothes dollies wear these days and for her normal girl size, no over the top boobies nor exaggerated long legs. She loved her for the adventures they got to imagine themselves in, as sailors and airplane pilots when we flew over mountains and endless seas.
The amazing team behind the Lottie dolls saw our pictures on Instagram and understood that they had a real Lottie fan on their hands so this autumn, after we returned from Greece, we were offered the very privileged and much coveted role of Lottie Doll Brand Ambassadors!
As part of our new role, we were sent (coincidentally the week Emma turned 6!), three Lottie dolls of our choice to review and share with our readers as well, as part of a giveaway, here, on the blog!
So, what did we choose from the impressive list of Lottie dolls and why?
When the solar eclipse took place last October and she got wind that there would be a new Stargazer Lottie, Emma literally begged me to put our names down for one. She wanted to look at the sun through the lenses of imaginary play and have a mighty Lottie, expert in all things stellar, show her the stars.
So, of course, the Lottie Stargazer was at the top of our wish list and Emma loved getting it, even a year later! As soon as she saw the box, Emma remarked on Lottie’s warm and comfy clothes, perfect for outdoor activities and as soon as she was out of the box, she asked daddy to put the telescope up so they can gaze at the stars together!
The dolly comes with a mini set of planet cards which will help any aspiring astronomer to remember their names and also, with an information sheet about notable women in astronomy and ways to make the most of what the European Space Agency has on offer for children.
The second Lottie doll we chose was the Fossil Hunter.
I knew Emma would love to learn more about paleontology as from when she was young and we visited the Museum of Natural History in New York, she had shown an inclination for fossil hunting:
What did Emma think of her Lottie Fossil Hunter?
Once again, Emma was impressed with the appropriate clothing and footwear and the handy backpack, any self-respecting explorer has to have one in which they carry their tools! She loves the little shells that come with the doll and has them stored away safely in the above mentioned rucksack.
The doll comes, just like the Stargazer, with a information sheet for budding fossil hunters and explorers. The sheet also provides a list of notable women in paleontology which will come in handy for older girls who love their facts and can draw inspiration from such remarkable role models!
The last doll we chose, and this one will be going to one of our readers, is the Butterfly Protector Lottie.
Just like the other two, this Lottie has a well proportioned body, looking like a young girl rather than a model from a magazine. She wears appropriate clothing for outdoor adventures, is stylish and would make a beautiful toy for any little girl out there.
As I was telling you above, we are truly pleased to be able to offer it to one lucky little girl, all you have to do to win it in time for Christmas is enter the Gleam competition here.
Lottie is available online at http://www.lottie.com (UK Store) and on Amazon. Lottie is available in store at Debenhams and independent toy stores. Lottie doll retails at £19.99. Accessory sets and outfit sets retail at £7.99.
To find out the latest news about Lottie and enter the very exciting competition team Lottie runs regularly, you can sign up to the Club Lottie here.
Lottie can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Mama's Haven 
What a refreshing take on dolls! This is heartening to read about and so long overdue. I’ve only got boys and they’re well past playing with dolls or figurines now so I’d never heard of these, I hope they’re really well known and it’s just me being out of the loop who hasn’t heard of them. Anyway, thanks for reviewing them, I can see 3 little nieces getting them for Christmas this year!
Phoebe, they are great dolls and have a great following on social media but I do think any extra exposure will make even more little girls happy! I am so glad your little nieces will benefit from my review, please do enter the giveaway as well, who knows, maybe one of them will win it!xx
Congratulations on becoming their Brand Ambassadors! That’s awesome! I love the idea of these dolls to show girls that they can become whatever they want to be and don’t have to wait for their ‘prince to come’!
We love Lottie, they are amazing with such a great message for little girls.
Oh these are perfect for girls. They give out such fantastic messages
I’ve never heard of these dolls before. So refreshing from the norm and they don’t look scary. I find a lot of them these days quite scary looking. I think top of our list would be the lottie stargazer one. We have a telescope at home so she’d very much fit in x
these are a lovely idea – such variety which is brilliant!
Love their normal-girl proportions and the cool accessories.
We have three lottie dolls too! they are fab and my daughter would like to collect more! We have the ballerina, snow queen and pandora dolls. They are awesome and my daughter plays with hers all the time! Sorry to hear of your loss.
Angela
Angela, the teacher and the snow queen are on the Christmas list here too, our Lotties will need a home of their own soon :-).xx
What a great collection. I know my little girl would love Autumn leaves lottie
I love these!
What a great way to let little girls be little girls!
Thanks for sharing these as I’ve never heard of them before but my niece will definitely be getting one of these for CHristmas x
This is a lovely idea. But they’re doing this for girls toys, but not boys? They don’t have boys dressed in skirts or as ballerinas so it upsets me a bit.
The range features a boy as well, do have a look. I do not understand where your frustration streams from, empowering girls can only be a good thing in my opinion and does not equal feminizing boys just for the sake of the game.
I just don’t see it very often to be the other way round. Like I said dressing action man in a tutu but Barbie gets to be a superhero. Why doesn’t that happen?
Have no clue, lovely. Maybe you should write a blog post about it, it is a very interesting take on the subject, indeed!xx
These are so very cute.I am sure any little girl would love them for christmas.
I love these little dolls, how cute are they but also a great message too.
I love them, they are such a genius idea and so inspirational for Young girls.
These dolls are brilliant, and congratulations on being chosen as ambassadors for the brand. I think that lots of little boys would like these dolls too.
What a fun sounding set of dolls for girls! Congratulations on your ambassadorship! x
I had never seen or heard of these prior to your post Oana but thank you for bringing them to my attention. My husband hates dolls and toys that stereotype girls as figure perfect princesses. We are away on holiday for my daughters 4th birthday next year and I have been looking for something I could take for her to have and open whilst we are there, these will be perfect for her!
I am glad you think they would be suitable for your little one, Helen! We saw them in fancy shopping centers in Dublin (Arnotts and Dundrum) last weekend and I do think they could do well in similar places like Debenhams in the UK as well, not only online!xx
Hopefully they will reach the UK soon, I really think they would do extremely well. I will definitely be buying her some fir her birthday. I love the Pandora’s box and autumn leaves ones, so think I will aim to start her off with these.
They look awesome, such a fab selection. I wish my daughter liked to play with dolls x
These look fab and such a great idea! Well done on your ambassadorship, great news! x
These look great and it’s wonderful that they are making dolls that showcase that women do real jobs as real role models not just being model perfect.
She looks very pleased with her new role as a Lottie Doll ambassador. Have fun xx
Thank you Oana for introducing me to Lottie dolls. My daughter is 4 & I’ve had reservations about Barbie so I’m delighted to read your review & discover Lottie. Hopefully I can start her collection of Lottie’s at Christmas.
Oh I love these dolls! They are much nicer than some of the others on the market and I love the different outfits they have. Lighthouse keeper would have been my favourite. Congratulations on your role as an ambassador!
Oh, I love these! When I saw this was a doll review I wasn’t that interested – they’re all a bit sameish to me. But these really are different, what a fabulous idea. I encourage my children to play with whatever they want to, whichever gender it is aimed at. Today they were allowed to choose a toy each from father Christmas. My youngest chose a doll – she has been envious of her sister’s dolls for ages and is delighted to have her own. My eldest went for a drum kit. Awful though it sounds to have a toy drum kit in the house, I’m so glad she is making up her own mind rather than filling a stereotype.x
I love these, what a brilliant idea and a fab message to send to girls! I usually can’t stand dolls but these seem totally different, will definitely be looking into these once SB is old enough! x
What great dolls, I love that they are realistic and aspirational for girls too. It sounds like you have a wonderful daughter
I absolutely love these and would be so happy for my son and daughter to play with them. I am really impressed with the characters and design – what a breath of much needed fresh air!
Lottie dolls sound brilliant! I’m sure POD would absolutely love one of those. She’s obsessed with dollies at the moment and often plays with them (when she should be sleeping!). They seem really varied too which is great 🙂
As Mummy to a little girl who wants to be a Marine Biologist when she grows up these sound right up my street, I love the variety and the fact that they aren’t just all about the sparkly pink!
I love the look of these, the older 2 are too old though and Lexie too young. I want the butterfly protector one!
definitely the pirate queen. she has a big brother who loves pirates so i bet she’d love her own little pirate!
Rebecca Phillips
Your little one looks so happy with her toy! What a fabulous doll – anything to encourage the breakthrough of gender equality! H x
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