Several months ago, I saw these wonderful new dolls advertised on one of my favorite on-line doll shops, Petalina. They are designed by Sylvia Natterer, who creates some of the most beautiful faces in the doll world, I think. These are the 13" cuties in the series called "Minouche":
From left to right they are: Joelle, Natalie, Samira, Jeane, & Luc
The "Finouche" series is so far comprised of these three 19" beauties:
Alice, Zoe, & Smilla
After falling in love with these dolls, I put in my order and waited. And waited. And waited. A few weeks ago, I was notified by Petalina that the dolls had finally arrived and were ready for purchase!
The hardest part was choosing which ones I just had to have, although I pretty much new from the start that gorgeous, red-haired Zoe would be coming home to live with me. But the little ones? That decision was much harder. I mean, they're all just so CUTE. At first I was leaning heavily towards little Natalie, another red head, but in the end I decided on Joelle because I really did want a little blondie, and I loved her sweet outfit.
After placing my order, I waited another 13 long days before the postman arrived at my door with a rather large package. My dolls had finally arrived! Oh, the excitement. It almost felt like Christmas! Here is my first glimpse of Zoe, through her box:
And here is little Joelle:
Poor little Joelle's hair had become pretty mussed from her long journey overseas from England.
"Please, stop taking pictures and get us out of our boxes!" they cried.
The back of Zoe's box, which is written in French and English. Petitcollin is a French company which now manufactures their dolls in Spain.
Joelle's box
Finally! Released from the confines of their boxes.
Little Joelle is just the sweetest. She will definitely need some sort of hair bow or clip to hold back her wavy locks. Her hair is nice and thick though, cut in layered waves.
Joelle stands 13" tall. She is jointed at the neck, shoulders, and hips. Her head can tilt in many directions.
And here is Zoe:
Zoe's hair is some of the loveliest hair I've ever seen on a doll. The color is gorgeous. It is silky and shiny and thickly rooted.
But it does like to hang across her pretty face, so I think I'll need to tie it back...
There! That's better. Now we can see her hand-painted features.
Back view
I think they make sweet sisters. I like how their legs bend when they sit down, and don't splay outwards too much like some other doll brands. Their bodies are nice and sturdy and stand on their own.
Out of curiosity, I brought over one of my Hearts 4 Hearts dolls, Lauryce, and my Corolle Les Cheries doll for comparison. Lauryce is the tallest, at 14", and has a chest measurement of 6" and a waist of 5 3/4". Joelle's chest is 6 3/4" and her waist is 7". My 13 1/2" tall Corolle's chest is 5 3/4" and her waist is 5 1/2". So Joelle has a chunkier, more child-like body than the other two, but I think they are still close enough that they'll be able to share clothes.
Speaking of clothes, Zoe and Joelle's outfits are adorable and beautifully made. The fabrics are quality cotton with cute trims. They each wear a one-piece type knit underwear. I would have preferred that their clothing fastened with snaps or buttons instead of Velcro, but I guess that would be more labor intensive and end up costing more.
And here is a comparison of Zoe and a slim-bodied Gotz doll, Louisa: both stand 19" tall. Louisa's chest measures 9 3/4", and her waist is 9". Zoe's chest is 9" and her waist is 8 1/2". So Zoe is more petite but close enough in size to Louisa that they should be able to share clothes nicely.
I ordered my dolls from www.petalinadolls.com.uk I highly recommend this doll shop as they have so many beautiful dolls to choose from and excellent customer service.
I love my new dolls and couldn't be happier!
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