25th Anniversary CPK Outfits

Anniversary CPK Outfits – 10th to 40th

Quick Links:    Girl Outfits
                              Boy Outfits
                              Preemie Outfits

The 25^th Anniversary CPKs manufactured by Play Along are, in my opinion, the best replicas of the Coleco kids and clothes produced thus far. Although they created only one version of each outfit, they replicated many outfits. In addition, the outfits came on a wide variety of dolls. Play Along produced ten girl outfits, two boy outfits, and seven preemie outfits for this series. Each kid came wearing a white baby diaper with sticky tabs underneath.

These kids came in a box very similar to the original Coleco boxes, but the primary colours are silver and white, and each one came with a silver plastic spoon. They also have a special birth certificate and hand tag. The signatures on their bottom are black and say 25^th Anniversary.

One consistent difference between Coleco and 25^th Anniversary outfits is the buttons. The 25^th buttons are much thicker and slightly smaller in diameter than any of the Coleco.

Reminder, these outfits do NOT have clothing codes.

Reminder, these outfits do NOT have clothing codes.

Shoes

These are also of high quality and look very similar to Coleco shoes. There are 25^th Anniversary versions of the three original types of shoes, and all have the 25^th logo on the sole of the shoe. Inside the heel, they have the pattern often associated with Jesmar shoes inside and say ‘Made in China / Fabrique en chine’. They also come with a piece of white cardboard in the bottom of the shoe (see sneakers below). I have no idea why.

Girl Outfits

All but one of these outfits are faithful replicas of the original twenty 1983 outfits. The Butterfly Dress is from the 1986 mimic outfits series.

Bubble Romper

This only came in yellow with a yellow sweater and booties. Unlike the original, the romper has flutter sleeves, and the knit pattern on the other pieces is similar to the KT outfits but still different. The yarn used for the knit outfits is thinner than the original Coleco yarn.  
Shoes: Matching knit booties; Quick Link: 1983 Bubble Romper

Ducky Dress

The 25^th and the original outfits are very similar. I believe the yarn on the 25^th is thinner, but otherwise, they would be hard to tell apart at a glance, although there are differences in the sleeve and collar ruffles.
Shoes: Mary Janes; Quick Link: 1983 Ducky Dress

Elephant Romper

The 25^th version is very easy to distinguish from the original, as the 1983 version never came in pink. In addition, the elephant on the 25^th version is a heat transfer, while the original has an applique. Finally, the white shirt has no coloured stitching and doesn’t undo at the back like the original white shirts.
Shoes: Pink striped sneakers; Quick Link: 1983 Elephant Romper

Heart Dress

At first glance, they look very similar. However, the 25^th version doesn’t open all the way down the back, and the heart is a heat transfer rather than an applique. The other obvious difference is that the 25^th dresses have two ribbon stripes around the bottom hem, whereas the 1983 version has three.
Shoes: Lace-up shoes; Quick Link: 1983 Heart Dress

Pinafore Dress

At first glance, this outfit is also very similar to the original 1983 outfit. However, the edge stitching on the 25^th outfit is different from many of the 1983 outfits and is black, whereas the others are all shades of blue. Finally, the 25^th dress doesn’t open completely at the back like the 1983 version.
Shoes: Lace-up shoes; Quick Link: 1983 Pinafore Dress

Ruffled Overalls

The 25^th outfit is very similar to the 1983 outfit. It would be very difficult to distinguish between them in a photo, except that the blue 1983 overalls came with yellow rick rack on the shirt, not pink. However, that’s not conclusive evidence because there were 1983 shirts with pink rick-rack and may have been paired with the wrong overalls. Always double-check if you’re not sure. The most obvious difference visible differences are the buttons and lack of tag inside the shirt.
Shoes: Lace-up shoes; Quick Link: 1983 Ruffled Overalls

Shoulder-tie Dress

The easiest difference to spot between the 25^th dress and the 1983 outfit is the collar colour. In the 25^th outfits, the collar is the colour of the ‘blouse’, whereas the collar of the 1983 outfit is the same colour as the dress portion. In addition, the 25^th dress doesn’t completely open down the back.
Shoes: Mary Janes; Quick Link: 1983 Shoulder-tie Dress

Corduroy Suit

The most interesting aspect of this 25^th Anniversary outfit is that it only came on girls, whereas the 1983 outfit generally came on boys. In addition, the 25^th Anniversary colour was never used in 1983 and the bear applique is a heat transfer, and the hat is a very unique shape, nothing like the 1983 hats. Finally, unlike the 1983 outfit, the 25^th Anniversary outfit doesn’t come with a white shirt.
Shoes: Lace-up shoes; Quick Link: 1983 Corduroy Suit

Windbreaker Outfit

This outfit has a few significant differences. With the pants, it’s the fabric and how white the stitches are for the pockets. For the shirt, it’s the lack of white neck and sleeve hems. With the jacket, it’s the logo and the collar. Each piece stands out as visibly 25^th anniversary.
Shoes: Pink striped sneakers; Quick Link: 1983 Windbreaker Outfit

Butterfly Dress

This outfit is unique amongst the girl outfits as it doesn’t replicate a 1983 outfit. The original Butterfly Dress came out in 1986. However, it never came out in this pattern, and the lace of the 25^th version is very frilly, not the cotton used in the 1983 dresses.
Shoes: Mary Janes; Quick Link: 1986 #661 Heart/Butterfly Dress

Boy’s Outfits

There are only two boy outfits, and both are from the original 1983 series.

Demin Romper

As I don’t own this outfit yet, I’m basing my analysis on what I can see in photos. This is the only 16” kid outfit that I’m missing.

It appears that the romper is made of thin cotton fabric, not denim and it has wider straps. I can’t see any differences in the shirt; however, it would not have a Coleco tag in it, which it would if it was Coleco. The hat appears to be different as well, but I can’t describe how.
Shoes: Blue Striped Sneakers; Quick Link: 1983 Denim Romper

Sailor Suit

This outfit is also very similar, but there are immediately visible differences. The accent stripes are silver, whereas the Coleco is always white, and the bow isn’t as big. In addition, the anchor is a heat transfer, not an applique.
Shoes: Blue striped sneakers; Quick Link: 1983 Sailor Suit

Preemie Outfits

There appear to be seven preemie outfits, but I could be missing some. All but the Bunting Bag outfit are from the original 1984 series. It’s from the 1985 B-series.

I’ve only owned one of these, so I can only comment on visible differences. It appears many came with some white cotton slippers or booties, but I’m not sure. Based on the “Only at Target” on these boxes, preemies were never sold in Canada. I’m unaware if Target sold them in other countries. Their boxes were slightly different, with a heart behind the logo. Their hand tags had the same heart.

Gown with vest

The 25^th Anniversary version doesn’t appear to come with a hat, and it isn’t two separate pieces. The vest is attached at the side seams, and there’s no lace at the neck.
Shoes: White cotton booties; Quick Link: 1984 Gown with vest

Bubble Bottom Romper

This 25^th Anniversary version has an all-white bonnet instead of a pink one with white lace. The small shoulder ruffles are made of frilly lace, not cotton fabric, and the waist ribbon is silky and sewn to the outfit, not cotton with the option of tying a bow.
Shoes: Lace-up shoes; Quick Link: 1984 Bubble Bottom Romper

Bunny Outfit

This outfit is very similar, except that this colour combination was never used. The blue isn’t dark enough. In addition, the hat has the pattern on the entire bill, not just the underside.
Shoes: Lace-up Shoes; Quick Link: 1984 Bunny Outfit

Yoked Gown

The 25^th Anniversary and Coleco versions are very similar in almost every way. The lace is different, otherwise, visually it’s a great replica. Shoes: White cotton booties; Quick Link: 1984 Square Yoked Gown

Frilly Gown

This 25th Anniversary outfit is significantly different from the original Coleco outfit. It never came in purple, and the neck area wasn’t white. In addition, in most cases, it should have four rows of lace around the neck. Finally, there’s no lace around the bottom hem of the dress. Shoes: White cotton booties; Quick Link: 1984 Frilly Yoked Gown

Striped One-Piece

These outfits are very similar to the original. They even look like they’re made from the same type of fabric. However, the lace on the 25^th is frilly lace, not cotton lace like the original. Shoes: Lace-up shoes; Quick Link: 1984 Striped One-piece

Bunting Bag Outfit                    

This is the only 25^th Anniversary preemie outfit that is not a replica of the original 1984 outfits. It’s from the BSeries, which came out in 1985. It doesn’t have a hood (from what I can see) but there is a tie at the neck with a different type of string, not ribbon. Unlike the Coleco versions, which were either a solid colour or had striped sleeves, the 25^th Anniversary outfit has solid white sleeves on a blue bunting bag.
Shoes: Unknown; Quick Link: B501 Bunting Bag