Shoes: Jesmar Shoes

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.

Identification Marks

Unlike Coleco shoes, Jesmar shoes do not have a factory or location identifier. However, they do have other marks that make them identifiable.

Mark 1 – The Funky Shape

This mark is often found in the heel of many Jesmar shoes. There are no factory or location identifiers.

View of the inside heel of a Jesmar Cabbage patch shoe. You can see a T shaped line inside the shoes heel, along with the number 2.

Mark 2 – Left over molded vinyl bits

Sometimes in the heel, you can see small circles of left-over vinyl that appear to be an error in the mould.

View of the inside heel of a Cabbage Patch shoe. You can see two small circles of extra vinyl material.

Mark 3 – Different Pattern

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.

Comparison between regular lace-up shoes that have different fonts sections.

‘Hong Kong’ Jesmar Shoes – visit HERE

NOTE: Shoes that say ” Made in Hong Kong” on the bottom are also theorized to be Jesmar shoes, but others think they’re aftermarket. For more information on these shoes, visit These aren’t CPK shoes?!

Regular Lace-up’s

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

Comparison picture of a Coleco lace-up shoe and each of the version of the Jesmar lace-up shoe.

There are some excellent aftermarket replicas that look a lot like Jesmar lace-ups. For details, visit These aren’t CPK shoes?!

Mary Janes

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

Comparison picture of a Coleco Mary Jane shoe and a Jesmar Mary Jane shoe.

Sneakers

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

Comparison picture of a Coleco sneaker and a Jesmar sneaker. They are both white.

Knit Booties

Jesmar only produced knit booties for their version of the #9 Bubble Romper outfit.

Jesmar version of of the #9 Bubble Romper outfit. The romper is blue and white gingham and the sweater and booties are white knit. — Photo courtesy of Jenna Young.

Like Coleco booties, Jesmar booties have a distinctive knit pattern that matches the pattern in the sweater.

A pair of knit, white, Jesmar booties for #9 bubble romper outfit. — Photo courtesy of Heather Day.

Jesmar Socks

Jesmar socks are very different from Coleco socks. They have no cuff and are made of nylon/pantyhose type of material.

Comparison picture of a Coleco sock beside a Jesmar sock. — Coleco vs. Jesmar socks

Fun Fact

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.

Picture of a Jesmar Burbijitas doll that is shown with what are considered Jesmar socks and shoes.

PTP: H101 Factory – A Short Transitional Period Blip

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.

The tag from outfit 106A that shows it was made for Hasbro Inc in Pawtucket, RI. — Photo courtesy of Shilo Smith.

H101 Tags

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.

0 – additional tags

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.

Shoes: Knit Booties

Knit booties came with a small number of very specific outfits, but which ones? Find out!

Jump to: CPK Shoe Summary

A pair of white knit Cabbage Patch kid knit booties.

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.

Outfit #9 – Bubble Romper: The booties match the colour, tension, and knit pattern of the sweater.
Preemie outfit #1 – Gown with Vest
Preemie outfit #2 – Hooded Gown
Preemie outfit #3 – Gown with Hooded Blanket
Preemie outfit #4 – Gown with square yoke
Preemie outfit #5 – A-Line Gown
Preemie outfit #6 – Frilly Gown
BSeries Outfit B502 – Hooded Frilly Gown
BSeries Outfit B503 – Hooded Frilly blanket with tie and gown
I think all the outfits in the 1987 Preemie Mimic Series, #707 – #716, came with OK factory-made booties. I still need to confirm one or two through MIB kids.

Variation

So far I know that booties were manufactured by the following factories:

OK
P
KT (only made Bubble Romper booties)
PMI (only made Bubble Romper booties)
IC (only made Bubble Romper booties)
SS (only made preemie booties)
FW (only made preemie booties)
CC (only made preemie booties)
FD (only made preemie booties)

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.

Three OK factory knit booties, all of various sizes. The middle is white, the other two are yellow.

Finally, there is a Play Along 25^th Anniversary version of the Bubble Romper outfit. These booties look like OK factory booties, but the yarn is thinner and finer.

Yellow Play Along 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch Kids Bubble Romper knit bootie.

Other Information

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.

These aren’t CPK shoes?!

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.

Recognizing Aftermarket Shoes

For details on real CPK shoes go to Shoes: An overview and reference links

Some hints for recognizing aftermarket shoes

The vinyl is thin, translucent (so light passes through), badly poured, and feels fragile.
They are completely formed in vinyl, laces and all.
They say ‘Hong Kong’ on the bottom of the shoe, not inside the shoe.
Coleco did not produce any ‘animal slippers’ – bunny, bear etc.
There are no fabric Coleco shoes, except slippers and booties.

A Gallery of NOPE

Photos courtesy of Becky Alvrey, Callie Anne, Cathleen Mary, and many unknown sources.

Typically Confused Shoes

* As it is the 21^st 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.

Four pairs of My Child Doll shoes sitting on a table. There are 3 mary jane pairs, one of them mint green, and one lace up pair in white. — Source unknown

* 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.

Replacing leg stitches – a new video

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.

A picture of a cabbage patch kids toe being replaced. It is a link to the instructional video being announced in this post.

For a list of all my informational videos on Cabbage Patch Kids click HERE or use the link found in the right side banner on every blog page.

1984 Knit Outfit Series

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.

Blue and white version of outfit #20, sailor romper.

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.

Picture of an EX factory tag from a 1984 knit outfit.

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.

Picture of the 1984 knit sweater set in yellow and white.

Sweater with leg warmers
I have it recorded in light blue and light green.

Shoes: Sneakers

Sneakers can be found in a rainbow of colours. Which kids did they come with and how can you tell?

Other relevant posts: CPK Shoe Summary, Lacing CPK Shoes

CPK Sneakers were manufactured by Coleco throughout the entirety of their production. However, the characteristics of the shoes varied by factory and over time.

Hong Kong Shoes

For a definition of ‘Hong Kong Kids’, jump to the Glossary.

In the beginning, when production took place in Hong Kong [HK], the shoes had a very distinctive look. In general, they can have a number of these features but do not need to have them all.

The stitching is VERY prominent.
They have a thicker feel to the vinyl. In some cases, the vinyl did not mould well and may have a runny look on the inside.
Some are extremely hard vinyl. VERY hard.
Not all HK shoes have black text in the heel, but if it is black, it’s likely an HK shoe.
They tend to look less finished than other shoes. The edges look more like they’ve been cut out, or the vinyl around the edges has been trimmed.
HK shoes are more likely to discolour and get pox than later shoes.
The bottoms are ‘bumpy/textured’.
The body is bumpy (see below).

Comparison picture of an Hong Kong sneaker with a regular later sneaker. They both have pink stripes. — Hong Kong shoe vs. later shoe

OK HK Shoes
– very hard & very malleable
– very prominent stitching
– The tongue is not cut out (or is partially cut). It is formed as part of the shoe.
– textured body and bottom
– laces are thick and not very long

P HK Shoes
– The text runs vertically, not horizontally, in the heel.
– I have not found any P with black text.
– The vinyl is very malleable.

KT HK Shoes
– I am unable to comment on specifics. I don’t have any in my collection.
Photo courtesy of Christy Gann.

Post HK Shoes – 1986ish shoes

After the ‘experimental’ Hong Kong period, the shoes became more uniform but still had many characteristics that varied by factory. It can be very difficult to ‘match’ shoes. You THINK they should match, but when you put them side by side, they are nothing alike! They aren’t the same shape, colour, texture, etc.

Most of the shoes have the factory indicator and the words HONG KONG stamped on the inside by the heel, on the bottom. The factory indicator can be inside a circle or not.

After production moved to China, the shoes became more uniform in appearance but continued to vary by the factory. Indeed, as more factories began production, the amount of variation increased.

1987-1989

Although there are quite a few colours available, many did not show up until 1988 and 1989 (Transitional period). They came on later kids and wearing outfits 800 – 815 and as separately packaged accessories.

It seems that Hasbro did not continue to produce or use sneakers.

25th Anniversary Sneakers (separate post)

Stripe Patterns

The sneakers come in three different stripe patterns.

#1 – the most vertical
#2 – slightly more angled
#3 – the most angled

Picture of three sneakers, each one with a different stripe pattern. One at the top, three at the bottom.

Some factories, like P, appear to have produced all three patterns. Others did not. For example, all the OK sneakers I have use pattern #1.

Stripe Colours

The first sneakers came in only two colours, blue and pink.

In 1985 they started producing additional colours. For example, the stripes on the All-Stars Kids sneakers often matched the colour of the uniform, so colours like red, green, black, and navy blue show up. I believe that most of these shoes were produced by the FD and IC factories. At the same time, both coloured and white striped shoes were produced for Sports Collection outfits (CY and FD) and by the UT factory. Do you have UT shoes with coloured stripes? I have only seen white.

Some colours were produced in varying shades. I believe this was caused by factory variation and changes over time. For example, the PMI factory seems to have very distinct pink and blue colours.

Three sneakers, each one with blue stripes, but all of various shades of blue. The top is lighter, the bottom is navy blue.

In some cases, the same factory produced different shades of colour. For example, these two P shoes are varying shades of pink.

The Rainbow

Here are all the colours, and their variations, that I have owned. I know that I am missing yellow and hot pink.

Update: Brown stripes came with the Padre’s baseball outfit. Special thanks to Margaret Granato and Jennifer Pelfrey.

Picture that shows all the colours I am currently aware of. Black, purple, red, green, pink, blue and white.

Numbers

Some of the shoes have numbers near the factory code. I think these numbers are related to moulds, but I really don’t know. What I do know, is that there are lots of numbers and a matching pair does not have to have matching numbers. One shoe can be 1 and the other 4. Numbers are most often found in shoes produced by the Taiwanese and P factories.

Which outfits came with Sneakers?

some 1983 regular series outfits; footwear is noted in each outfit post
outfit #100
some 500s outfits
Sports Collection
All Stars Series
some 760s Cornsilk outfits
some transitional outfits from 804 – 815

Sneaker Descriptions by Factory

Disclaimer: The following observations have been made based on my collection. I welcome any information and will not hesitate to make revisions as needed.

OK Shoes
– They are thin and flexible with a tongue that is the same size as the opening.
– The text is raised, comes in two font sizes, and is sometimes blurred.
– They tend to discolour and become sticky more than others.
– They only appear to use stripe pattern 1.

P Shoes
– They tend to stay very white, and the stitching is very prominent.
– The tongue is smaller than the opening.
– The text is raised and very clear. It is generally vertical along the length of the shoe.
Numbers used: 1, 2, 3, 4
Stripe Patterns used: 1, 2, 3

KT Shoes
– They feel like OK shoes but with a very thin top edge. Some are extremely malleable.
– The tongue looks to have been formed as part of the shoe and then cut out.
– Some material is missing, making the tongue smaller than the hole.
– The text is raised.
– The bottom and inside are VERY smooth.
– Some of them have the ‘Jesmar’ shape inside.
Stripe pattern: 1

PMI Shoes (small sample size)
– The feel and stitching are similar to OK shoes, but they tend to say while like P shoes.
– The text is a large, well-spaced PMI that is generally very legible.

IC Shoes
– They are rather hard, with little flexibility.
– Moderately prominent stitching
– The tongue is similar to P shoes.
– The text is raised and very clear. They say MADE IN TAIWAN and have numbers underneath.
Stripe patterns: 2, 3
Numbers: 2, 3, 5

UT Shoes (small sample size)
– They feel and look like IC shoes.
– Text is clear, in a small font.
Numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6
Stripes: 2

FD & CY Shoes
– They feel and look like IC shoes.
– Text can be VERY large or rather small.
FD Numbers: 1, 4,3, 6,9, 12
CY Numbers: 3, 4
Stripe Pattern: 2,3

SS factory: They did not produce sneakers.

PRC Sneakers?

Recently, a collector showed me a pair of shoes with writing on the inside that they had never seen, and honestly, neither had I!

Inside each shoe is PRC enclosed in a rectangle. The IC and Taiwan that would normally be there are only faintly visible like they’ve been rubbed out. For some reason, they changed the shoe mould. Why?

Picture of the inside of a Cabbage Patch sneaker. It has a large rectangle with the letters PRC inside. — Picture courtesy of Dixie McLaughlin.

There have been two theories put forward.

It stands for Professional Regulation Committee. They believe that this label was put on the first 50 to 100 examples of the product to denote that they are samples. (FB Conversation, Feb. 9, 2021)

This may be what PNC stands for, but I’m really not sure. I could only find references to this body in relation to legal areas in Ontario, the US, and the Philippines. None of the legal areas they deal with specifically relate to physical product samples themselves. Also, no other CPK product has this label on it that I am aware of, even though MANY different ‘specialty dolls’ were produced by Coleco. Finally, these sneakers had been out for years before these shoes came out. The only difference might be the colour of the stripe.

2. The PNC stands for the Peoples Republic of China.

The history of Taiwan is long and complex. During the 1980s, Taiwan was being held under Martial Law by the KMT government. However, in 1987, martial law was lifted, and governance started moving toward democracy. However, there was a segment of the population who wanted to unify with China, both before and after martial law was lifted. (Source) I’m not sure this is a reasonable theory either. Unless someone with these political leanings got control of one of the clothing factories for a time, I have no idea why they would change the shoe moulds like this.

Based on the scarcity of these shoes, I theorize that they were only produced at one of the Taiwanese factories, likely for a short time. As they appear to have come primarily on All-Stars Kids, that would mean they were produced sometime from mid-1984 to 1985. All-Star Kids were primarily produced by IC factories.

Picture of a Cabbage Patch doll dressed in a Phillies Baseball uniform with a flag in hand,inside a CPK box. The box says CPK Stadium at the top and is from the All Stars line. — Photo source unknown.

Do you have a theory? Or maybe some evidence to put toward one of the current theories? I’d love to hear about it!

Special thanks to Dixie McLaughlin, Patty-Fisher Sheahan, and Christie Mounce Racine for their assistance with this topic.

For more information on CPK Sneakers jump to Shoes: Sneakers