A gift of quick links to help with your searches . . . I hope they help!
I’ve added a list of shortcuts to the sidebar. It’s a list of all the series summaries that have been done so far. The idea’s that looking at pictures of the outfits should make finding yours easier.
Sample of a Summary List
I will update the quick links list as a series gets added. I hope it helps those of you searching!
One of the more popular boys outfits, these rompers have such a fun colour scheme, you can help but smile!
Summary of 500s Series outfits and a list of the outfits: The 500s Series
Description
This outfit consists of a romper that is either striped (heavy denim) or a solid colour (heavy cotton). The front bib is edged in piping and has six decorative buttons. The shirt is made of three solid-coloured sections: the trunk and each sleeve. This outfit came with either regular lace-up shoes or blue striped sneakers. This outfit came exclusively on ‘boy’ dolls.
514K OKSample shirt
Coleco started selling this outfit in 1985. It likely ended production no later than sometime in 1986. We know it was sold later, as it has been found packaged. Packaged Button Romper outfits, and those found on later kids, were likely because the company was using up old stock.
Long-time collectors believe that this outfit only came in the six versions described below. However, if you have an outfit that is not recorded here, I would like to hear from you. Information is best sent in the form of pictures. For details, visit Taking Clothing Tag Pics.
Factory Variations
Only two factories have been recorded producing this outfit, and no factory variations have been noted. Some variation can be seen in the logo patch, but I’m not sure if that’s a factory variation or not.
Similar Outfits
I believe that The Button Romper is most closely related to the original jean romper outfit. However, the button Romper doesn’t come with a hat.
16J OK
Other Information
> Fun fact: A prototype version of this outfit can be found in the 1985 Coleco Catalogue (p. 3, 17). As far as I know, this version of this outfit was never produced. The logo patch looks very different too.
Warm and cozy and ready for a romp in the snow! Don’t forget the toque!
Summary of 500s Series outfits and a list of the outfits: The 500s Series
Description
This outfit consists of a one-piece suit, toque, and scarf. The suit is made of corduroy and has a cotton ruffle that runs from shoulder to shoulder across the front and a matching ruff at the neck. The scarf and hat are knit. The hat generally has a pink pom-pom except for the yellow and purple outfits, which have a matching coloured pom-pom. The scarf is striped by the two colours of the outfit and white. It has a curved Cabbage Patch Kids logo near the fringe.This outfit came with regular lace-up shoes.
513H OK
Coleco started selling this outfit in 1985. It likely ended production no later than sometime in 1986. If it is found on later kids, it was likely because the company was using up old stock.
Long-time collectors believe that this outfit only came in the six versions described below. However, if you have an outfit that is not recorded here, I would like to hear from you. Information is best sent in the form of pictures. For details, visit Taking Clothing Tag Pics.
Factory Variations
As there are only two factories recorded for this outfit, no factory variations have been noted. The PMI factory did not make many 500s series outfits, so this is the rarest version of this outfit.
513S PMI; Picture courtesy of Jodi’s Punki Patch.
Similar Outfits – none
Other Information
> Fun fact: A prototype version of this outfit can be found in the 1985 Coleco Catalogue (p. 2). As far as I know, this version of this outfit was never produced.
Apparently, this is a frustrating statement, especially for new collectors who want to absorb all the information they can. Oops. In my defence, I was trying to keep the Jesmar post short. Yeah, I know, it didn’t work.
Anyway, after hearing about one reader’s frustration, I decided to add the information in a separate post. So, here it is –
Jesmar dolls are highly coveted by collectors for the following reasons:
1 – Initially, Jesmar dolls were not legally allowed to be sold in North America. This makes them rarer than regular Coleco dolls. They were also produced for a short amount of time; therefore, fewer of them were produced at all. Refer to my Jesmar post for details on their sales history.
2 – Jesmar used hair colours that were not used by Coleco. Most of these odd hair colours can be found on Early Jesmar kids, dolls likely produced in the first few months when they were still experimenting. Examples include:
Dark Gold
J vs. Coleco
Salmon
Salmon vs. Wheat
Dark Red
Dark Red vs. Auburn Coleco
Light Orange
Last picture provided by Tammy De, reminder courtesy of Callie Anne.
3 – Jesmar used hair colour/ eye colour combinations not produced by Coleco. They also produced a wider variety of combinations than Coleco.
Auburn/Violet
Brown/Green
Red looped boy
Wheat/Brown
4 – A) Jesmar freckled all the head moulds for their entier production period. Coleco only did one head mould each for two years, 1983 and 1985. (Ref #3, p. 198)
4 – B) Freckles on Jesmar dolls come in a variety of patterns and were hand-painted. Coleco used only one pattern, and they were machine applied. (Ref #3, p. 199-201)
My freckled Jesmars. It’s actually harder to find a Jesmar without freckles than with.
5 – Jesmar used the single ponytail hairstyle with more hair colours than did Coleco. For example, lemon.
6 – Jesmar clothing came in awider variety of colours/patterns and fabrics than did the Coleco clothes. They were also known to put ‘boy’ clothes on ‘girl’ dolls. Incidentally, the construction of Jesmar clothing often tends to be described as shoddier than the Coleco clothes. For details about Jesmar clothing and how to recognize them, visit Jesmars and J Clothing.
Pictures courtesy of Jennifer Pelfrey, Michelle LeRoux, Chris Hansing Tallman, and Jacklyn O’Connor.
7 – Although some Coleco factories did produce the odd ‘smaller’ kid (i.e. KT factory), Jesmar dolls are known for coming in three distinct sizes. Some were almost 2” taller than Coleco kids while others were much shorter. (Ref #3, p. 198)
Tall Jesmar vs. Regular Coleco
8 – Jesmar used the Fuzzy hairstyle on a wider variety of hair colours than did Coleco. For example, they did lemon, auburn, and dark red fuzzy-haired boys. (Ref #3, p. 220)
Dark Red fuzzy courtesy of Callie Anne.
Special thanks to my mentors on foreign kids who helped with the content and pictures for this post: Callie Anne, Jennifer Pelfrey, Kat Perhouse, and Tammy De.
My Grandmother was an amazing, strong, wonderful person. You will be missed Grandma.
“Don’t forget to tell your favorite people that you love them.”
Shirley Temple Black
My family has always been supportive of my hobby, even if they didn’t understand it. They each find a way to connect with it. For my Grandmother, it was our ‘Shirley Temple’ kids. Here we are, each with our curly-haired cuties.
Even as my Grandmother’s health declined, she thought of me. This doll was found tucked away in her house when she went into a retirement home. She’d obviously bought it for me but forgot that she’d done so! It was her last gift to me, and I will cherish her forever.
In an ironic twist of fate, she is identical to my first two kids, Hilary and Brekke, in almost every way. It was meant to be.
Ruffled and frilly, this outfit allows for an outdoor adventure while feeling all dressed up.
Summary of 500s Series outfits and a list of the outfits: The 500s Series
Description
This outfit consists of a shirt, a jacket and pants. The shirt’s solid-coloured cotton with an arched Cabbage Patch Kids patch front middle. The pants are a solid colour or slightly striped cotton. The jackets are made of windbreaker material with a zipper at the front. There are coloured/patterned ruffles that run around from the front and over the shoulders. A matching ruffle is at the armholes. This outfit was sold on dolls identified as girls. This outfit came with striped sneakers.
512A KT – Photo courtesy of Jodi’s Punki Patch
It is believed that the outfit did not start being manufactured until 1986, instead of 1985 like most of the others in this series. Consequently, it has a shorter manufacturing time and is harder to find. There’s no known explanation for this. For details, refer back to the summary post. This outfit only came out on kids. If it’s found packaged, it was done during the ‘inventory clean out’ that happened later.
If you have an outfit that is not recorded here, I would like to hear from you. Information is best sent in the form of pictures. For details, visit Taking Clothing Tag Pics.
Variations
This outfit was made by the KT and OK factories. I have not recorded one instance where an outfit was made by both factories. I can not see any difference between the outfits made at the KT factory and those made at the OK factory.
Similar Outfits
#10 Windbreaker Outfit: This is part of the 1983 series and was likely the inspiration for this outfit. The major differences include a sold coloured shirt and jeans, not cotton pants.
> Fun fact: A prototype version of this outfit can be seen in the 1985 Coleco Catalogue (p. 5). The most interesting difference is that, in the final design, the logo is no longer on the jacket, it’s on the shirt
A sign of the 80’s, these Solid Form Boots/Sneakers are unique to certain CPK outfits. Find out which ones.
I call these shoes Solid Form Boots, but I’ve also heard them called High Top Sneakers as they look a lot like the sneakers that came out in the late 1980s and 90s.
Ava Sneaker 1989Cabbage Patch BootAvia photo reference; Boot picture courtesy of Callie Anne.
I know Boots came with Cornsilk outfits #321-324, #326, #328, #332, and #333, but the transitional outfits are more difficult. Transitional outfits came on both Poseable Kids and regular transitional kids. It’s possible that these outfits did not come with a consistent shoe type. At the moment, I know that the outfits below came with Boots, but they may not have come exclusively with Boots. Other options include Ballet Flats, Striped Sneakers, and coloured Mary Janes.
Purple boots photo courtesy of Monica Sholvic. Black boots photo courtesy of Carolyn Dahl Wood.
Like most Coleco shoes, Boots have a factory mark. It can be found on the top opening edge. Likely, the boots that came with Cornsilk outfits were only manufactured by the P, KT, and OK factories. Later transitional Boots are likely marked with CHINA or have no mark at all.
Photos courtesy of Callie Anne.
So far, I have nine colours recorded. Do you have any others?
Large photo courtesy of Callie Anne.
Special thanks to Callie Anne for providing pictures and incentives.
Harder to find than the Portrait Dresses, I believe only three versions of this outfit were made. Do you have any?
Summary of 500s Series outfits and a list of the outfits: The 500s Series
Description
This outfit consists of a dress and solid coloured tights. The dress has an arched Cabbage Patch Kids patch in the center of the chest. It changes colour with each version of the outfit. The trunk and skirt are made of fleecy sweatshirt material, and the sleeves and waistband are a different material and striped. I am unsure which type of shoe this outfit came with. It was either Mary Janes or regular lace-ups.
511H
Although the majority of this series came out in 1985, and some are thought to have come out in 1986, this outfit is the oddest of all. It is a mimic version of the original Portrait Dress and sources are unsure when it came out. One source believes it was 1986 (Ref. #3, p. 401); another source lists them as having come out in 1987 (Ref. #4, Vol. 3 Issue 9/10/11, p.7). Either way, it likely wasn’t in production very long and is considered a harder-to-find outfit.
I hypothesize that Coleco found the large CPK doll patch of the Portrait Dresses to be too costly to produce and switched to the logo patch to reduce costs.
I believe that this is a complete list of the versions of this outfit, that only three were produced, and that they were only produced by the OK factory. However, I could be wrong. If you have an outfit that is not recorded here, I would like to hear from you. Information is best sent in the form of pictures. For details, visit Taking Clothing Tag Pics.
Take a close look at the cover of this book. Does anything stand out? Come on an adventure as we take a closer too!
In 1984, Parker Brothers published a book called A Cabbage Patch Kids Adventure, photography by Paul Debe and Mark Gooby. This book stands out from other CPK books as the illustrations are staged photographs taken of real Cabbage Patch Kid dolls.
There are seven characters in the story, and some of them are wearing regular Coleco brand CPK clothing. Others are in random dolls clothes, nothing highly distinctive. However, a few do stand out.
p. 5
Farley Page is wearing overalls that look like they were made using a Koosa outfit pattern and straps! Although not identical, they’re very close.
Tommy George is wearing a regular white CPK shirt from the Elephant Romper outfit and has matched it with a pair of jean overalls. The overalls are not CPK, even though the Casual Wear Line Engineers Overalls and the Denim Romper did exist. In addition, those overalls are way too long for him. Check out how much they’ve been rolled up!
p. 22
inside cover
source unknown
Cheryl Sue is the most interesting. Unbelievably, she’s wearing a common aftermarket outfit! This outfit was produced by Totsy as part of their Garden Doll Fashions line. You would think an item approved by OAA would ensure they used their own merchandise!
Fun Fact: Totsy also produced clone versions of Barbie and Jem dolls which were popular at the time. (Ref1, Ref2)
Finally, as a small extra, it’s obvious that the kids had been played with, as Willie James is in dire need of a hair defuzz! Poor kid!
inside cover
Fun Fact: Mr. Dube and Mr. Gooby were co-owners of Hotshots Advertising Photography in Salem, Mass., in 1984. Parker Brothers must have hired them to do the photography for the book. I wonder if they were provided with the dolls or if they had to find their own? The business operated from 1982 – 2017. (Ref)
This outfit looks awful! The elastic has disintegrated! Can I fix it?
Yes! You can . . .
I have created a video the described how to replace elastic in CPK clothes, even if you’re not a sewer (I’m certainly not!). Most outfits look a lot better once the elastic is replaced. In some cases, it helps the bloomers and tights to actually stay on.
