Bleu Who? Bleuette!

Bleuette is a small French doll who was made in Paris by the SFBJ (Society of French Doll and Toy Makers) from 1905 until the company closed in 1957. She is popular with collectors interested in French dolls and fashion history. More than 1,000 published clothing patterns and fifty-plus years' worth of commercial clothing made just for her make Bleuette one of the most fashionable in the history of dolls with their own wardrobes.

Bleuette was conceived of and sold by the publisher of the girls' magazine La Semaine de Suzette.
To launch the magazine, Bleuette was, for a limited time, sent free to each new subscriber.

The hat and jacket worn by this Bleuette were made from patterns published in La Semaine de Suzette in 1905 and 1906.  In some years there were more than 20 patterns for Bleuette published in the magazine.

Early patterns looked like this one from 1909 for a fur toque with instructions, pattern pieces, and a sketch of the finished hat.  The title of the pattern page was Nous Habillons Bleuette (We Dress Bleuette).

This one from 1935, still provides the latest fashion, but only a half page was allotted to Bleuette's pattern: Bleuette, Isn't She Elegant in Her Pyjamas?

Bleuette's ready-made clothes were sold from the Paris offices of the publishers Henri Gautier and his nephew Maurice Langeureau. From 1916 to 1960, the publishers mailed a catalog of Bleuette clothing and accessories twice a year to their subscribers.

This catalog is from the Summer of 1936.

This is a reproduction of the Bleuette ready-made fashion called Cranement ("Show-Off") from the Gautier-Languereau Summer 1932 Catalog of Bleuette clothing and accessories. Madame Yvonne Languereau was the designer of the clothing.

This is an actual G-L fashion from the Summer 1955 catalog called La Danse. It is made of flocked polka dot mousseline or cotton organdy.