Hilary's Cabbage Patch Clothes Closet
Learning about 1980's Cabbage Patch Kid clothing.
I have just added a new video to my YouTube Channel that details how to clean your Cabbage Patch Kid.
I have just added a new video to my YouTube Channel that details how to clean your Cabbage Patch Kid.
It can be found on the Hilary’s How-to Videos (in the menu on the right) or by clicking below.
Due to some changes on the site, I have updated the instructions on how to search the site. There are now 4 options available to you.
Please remember, if you can’t find it, I may not have written a post on it yet. The blog is just over a year old, so there’s a lot we haven’t covered yet!
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Success! I’m very excited. I do not know exactly how things will change, but I’ve already discovered back end benefits.
The only complication I can see so far is a formatting discrepancy. Please ignore the weird characters that are now replacing some of the dashes and other special characters. I will get around to fixing them over time.
Thank you for your patience during this process.
What shoes did the Jesmar factory produce and how can you identify them?
Disclaimer: My research into Jesmar clothing is only an addendum to my research into Coleco clothing. As such, I do not have access to a significant amount of information. This is a compilation of what I know about Jesmar shoes, based on the resources to which I have access. Shoes produced by the other foreign factories are not covered here as I have even less access to them, and I cannot provide sufficient information for identification.
For information on Jesmar dolls and clothing, visit Jesmar Tags and Clothing.
Jesmar produced their own versions of all four types of original Coleco footwear: lace-ups, Mary Janes, sneakers, and knit booties. However, there are distinctive characteristics that allow Jesmar shoes to be differentiated from Coleco shoes.
For information on Coleco shoes, visit Shoes: Overview and Summary Links.
Unlike Coleco shoes, Jesmar shoes do not have a factory or location identifier. However, they do have other marks that make them identifiable.
This mark is often found in the heel of many Jesmar shoes. There are no factory or location identifiers.
Sometimes in the heel, you can see small circles of left-over vinyl that appear to be an error in the mould.
Some Jesmar lace-up shoes have a different sort of pattern on the front. Instead of the flower shape, it’s a diamond. Therefore, Jemsar shoes can have both patterns.
Version 1: These shoes have a VERY prominent edge around the sole of the shoe; it’s almost square. The vinyl tends to be very malleable, and they have extremely prominent embossed stitching. They have the flower shape on the front (Mark 3). Inside, in the heel, they often have the extra mould material (Mark 2 above).
Version 2: These shoes are made of much harder, smoother, almost glossy vinyl. They have absolutely no lip or edge at the sole, and the pattern is debossed. They have a diamond shape on the front (Mark 3). Inside, in the heel, they often have Mark 1 from above.
Comparison – Coleco vs. Version 2 vs. Version 1
There are some excellent aftermarket replicas that look a lot like Jesmar lace-ups. For details, visit These aren’t CPK shoes?!
Jesmar Mary Jane shoes are generally very smooth with almost glossy vinyl. The front section is pointier than regular Coleco shoes. Although there is no edge/rim at the sole, if they have not been trimmed well, there can be a sort of edge created by extra vinyl material.
Comparison – Coleco vs. Jesmar
There appear to be two different versions of the sneakers, again a difference in the malleability of the vinyl. However, the pattern and shape do not appear to be distinctly different.
Jesmar sneakers have a slightly different shape then Coleco, and it is very well defined. They are also pointier than Coleco shoes.
Jesmar produced white, blue, and pink striped sneakers. Some pink stripes can fade over time into a peach colour. (Facebook Conversation; April 7, 2021)
Comparison – Coleco vs. Jesmar
Jesmar only produced knit booties for their version of the #9 Bubble Romper outfit.
Like Coleco booties, Jesmar booties have a distinctive knit pattern that matches the pattern in the sweater.
Jesmar socks are very different from Coleco socks. They have no cuff and are made of nylon/pantyhose type of material.
Jesmar continued to produce these shoes and use them on other dolls through 1986 and 1897. (FB Conversation, Jennifer Pelfrey, Aug. 2021) Note that the socks also appear to be the same.
What is this odd factory code about? What does it herald?
For context read the following posts first:
Tag Codes Continued: A 2nd Theory
Part 2: A code addition
A small number of outfits and dolls have the factory code H101. I have only seen a 1989 preemie and a Babyland Kid with this factory code, and all of the clothing tags with this code have been found on BBB outfits with outfit numbers 0-101 to 0-106.
These tags are from the first factory that produced Hasbro Cabbage Patch items, located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
H101 tags look like Coleco tags and have Coleco-like outfit codes, but if you look closely, you’ll see that the item was made for Hasbro Inc. It is likely they wanted to create a factory code for the new Hasbro factory and chose H101. H is likely for Hasbro, and maybe the 101 represents the number they were starting at.
However, it appears that this tagging system did not last long, probably only for a short period in 1989. There are very few examples of these outfits, and by 1990 they had moved on to more obvious Hasbro tags, and the factory code vanished.
The next step seems to be clothing tags with the code addition number 0-, as discussed in the Code Addition post. All of these outfits are 400s numbered outfits.
These outfits may have been the last new outfits created or co-created with Coleco during the transitional period.
For more detailed and up-to-date information about the H101 Trsntiional time period, visit HERE
For a complete list of companies that produced CPK’s and Coleco factories click HERE.
Knit booties came with a small number of very specific outfits, but which ones? Find out!
Jump to: CPK Shoe Summary
Knit booties were manufactured by Coleco from 1983 to 1987. However, the characteristics varied by factory.
I do not have any examples of Hong Kong period booties, so I do not know if there are any significant differences.
Yellow and white booties came with one regular-sized outfit, and white booties came with several preemie outfits.
So far I know that booties were manufactured by the following factories:
It seems that each factory used a different knitting pattern. You can see visual differences between them. I have one pattern that I cannot associate with a factory, but I think it might be the CC factory. I am still missing examples of many factories. Do you have them?
The booties also appear to come in two different sizes, but I do not know why. It would make sense that the larger ones were for the #9 Bubble Romper outfit and regular-sized kids, while the smaller ones were for the preemie outfits. However, I have seen the smaller-sized booties in yellow, which never came with the preemie outfits.
Finally, there is a Play Along 25th Anniversary version of the Bubble Romper outfit. These booties look like OK factory booties, but the yarn is thinner and finer.
I have never seen booties separately packaged like other CPK shoes.
Foreign factories did produce booties. The Triang-Pedigree are a lot like P factory booties.
What do you mean these aren’t Cabbage Patch Shoes? How can I tell?
Hundreds of different doll shoes fit on CPK kids, but only a handful are considered to be ‘real’ CPK.
To be real, they must have been manufactured by Coleco, or one of the other companies that made CPK products, FOR CPK dolls.
All other shoes are considered to be aftermarket. There is nothing wrong with these shoes. Many were created with the intention that they be worn by Cabbage Patch Kid dolls; they just weren’t created by the original company.
This post focuses primarily on Coleco shoes; however, the shoes produced by other companies (i.e. Hasbro) were generally labelled CPK in some way. Consequently, they are easy to recognize.
For details on real CPK shoes go to Shoes: An overview and reference links
Photos courtesy of Becky Alvrey, Callie Anne, Cathleen Mary, and many unknown sources.
* As it is the 21st century, we are even starting to see 3D printed shoes. However, the examples I’ve seen so far are also visually different and will be easy to separate from the original shoes.
* My Child doll shoes are frequently confused with CPK shoes. They are not CPK.
* These shoes look VERY similar to Jesmar CPK shoes. However, they have MADE IN HONG KONG stamped on the soles of the shoe and are believed to be aftermarket. Special thanks to Sherri Evans Downey for these pictures.
A new instructional video on how to replaces the body stitches in the legs is now available.
A new instructional video on how to replace the knees, ankles and toes in a mass market Cabbage Patch Kid doll is available on my YouTube channel.
The kids had a great time searching for their eggs . . . but there were a left for mom to find!
This set of 3 knit outfits were the only new clothing that came out in 1984.
There were only four new outfits sold in 1984.
One of them was outfit #20, the sailor romper, which is often associated with the 1983 series. I believe that it was originally intended to be a part of that series and, for some reason, not produced until the next year.
The other three outfits are knit and were produced ONLY by the EX factory. They do not have codes like the other 1983 outfits. There are no letters or numbers.
Most of them came separately packaged. In later years, occasionally they can be found on boxed kids as they were getting rid of inventory.
I am unsure how long these outfits were produced but, given that they are rarely seen, I don’t believe it was very long.
Suspenders and sweater outfit
I have it recorded in purple/mauve and blue.
Sweater set with hat
I have it recorded in pink /peach (I’m not sure if they are the same colour) and yellow.
Sweater with leg warmers
I have it recorded in light blue and light green.
