The Princess Diana Beanie Baby led to the strangest toy craze of the Nineties: ‘It was like the crown jewels!’
The IndependentStay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “I remember being told was really special,” says PR consultant Lauren Cesi, who picked up a Princess Beanie at a specialist collector’s shop in Wales on a family holiday, “alongside a little tag protector to make sure the label didn’t get bent – it was like the crown jewels!” Not all Princess bears fared quite so well. According to The New York Times, this spurred Ty on “to register its trademark with customs officials, so they could confiscate the toys from would-be ‘importers’.” Released in October 1997, the Princess bear was another attempt to “capture a moment in time”, Simpson-Jones says – and one that would certainly appeal to the all-important mum market. “Everyone wants it at the same time, everyone’s clamouring to get it, but the peaks for these are typically quite short-lived.” In 1999, it became clear that the Beanie bubble was about to burst when Ty announced that it would be taking several toys off shelves – only for the news to barely cause a ripple in the resale community. Last year, the company released a Paddington Beanie Boo that was “hugely successful”, in part thanks to the late Queen’s Paddington Bear sketch at the Platinum Jubilee concert.
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