Today I want to share a product with you that I think you’ll love. It’s the Lottie doll by Arklu. Arklu is in what they describe as a David versus Goliath fight against toy giants like Mattel and Disney. Their mission: to bring a fashion doll to the market that kids will love because of the fun, trendy clothes while also providing a developmentally appropriate play experience. That means no sexy clothes, no make-up, and no ridiculous thin ideal proportions. Their motto: Be bold, be brave, be you.

What Lottie does have is realistic child-like proportions, cute and trendy clothes, fun accessories and a background story for each doll that encourages imagination. The stories emphasize adventure, activity, and creativity rather than the usual shopping and romance. They are so much healthier and more relatable for young girls than popular dolls marketed to girls of this age that focus on themes that aren’t developmentally appropriate, such as the Monster High dolls.

We have two Lottie dolls, and my 8-year-old wants to get all of them! We have the Lottieville Festival doll who is going to an outdoor festival full of adventure and the Snow Queen doll who is preparing for a masked ball. Both come in packages that are incredibly easy to open and are cute and compact enough to reuse to store your doll.

We also love that the dolls have different skin tones and hair and eye color.

If you’re looking for a fashion type doll for your young child but worry about the sexualized, gender stereotyped messages inherent in many popular brands, check out Lottie. Lottie dolls fit the bill for fashionable, interesting fashion dolls that are developmentally appropriate for girls aged 3-8, and even older. My 11-year-old doll lover enjoyed playing with them and found their clothes cute and hip.

Find more information at lottie.com and arklu.com. To purchase in the US, try Amazon.