Transitional Period CPK Outfits – A Summary

As Hasbro took over production of the Cabbage Patch brand, chaos ensued. Find out what collectors means by ‘transitional’ and how this is reflected in the clothing.

Quick List/Links

9 – #101 – #152 (BBB, Preemie, Toddler, Regular kids) (Future Posts)
9 – Designer Line Kid outfits (150s, 170-180s)
9 – Sippin’ Kid outfits (160s) (Future Post)
0 – 400s (BBB outfits) (Future Post)

Transition: the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.
(Google Dictionary)

In this instance, we’re referring to the transition from Coleco to Hasbro as the manufacturer of the Cabbage Patch brand, 1989 – 1990. This progression, and the chaos it caused, can be seen in the tags used in their clothes. It occurs in five stages.

Stage 1 Tags: 9 – Amsterdam and Gloversville, NY – Coleco

Coleco began using the location Amsterdam, NY, on their tags in late 1987 (I think) and continued until sometime in 1989. Then they switched to Gloversville, NY, the last known Coleco location used on their tags. Consequently, Gloversville tags only occurred in outfits that came out in the first 6-months of 1989. These outfits all have 9 – in front of their outfit code. (See Part 2: The Code Addition for an explanation). Some of the outfits produced in 1989 were designed earlier but weren’t sold until then.

Coleco Cabbage patch kid clothing tag with Gloversville, NY, as the location, clothing code 9-167A and factory OK.

Outfits series sold at this time (that I know of):

9 – #101 – #153 (BBB, Preemie, Toddler, Regular kids)
Designer Line outfits 150s (all Gloversville)
9 – Sippin’ Kid outfits (160s)

Stage 2 Tags: 9 – Pawtucket, RI – Hasbro

The codes in these outfits have the 9 –, indicating they are also from 1989, but they are made by a different company. These tags have a Coleco-like clothing code and factory code but are now listed as being made by Hasbro out of Pawtucket, RI. They introduced a new factory code H101, likely intending the H to indicate Hasbro. This happened because Hasbro bought out Coleco in July of 1989 (Ref#3, p. 176).

Hasbro Cabbage patch kid clothing tag with Pawtucket, RI as the location, clothing code 9-106A and factory H101. — Courtesy of Jodi Issacs

Outfits series sold at this time (that I know of):

BBB outfits #101 – #106
Toddler outfits #116 – #120
Preemie outfits #130 – #133
Designer Line 170s (all Pawtucket)
9 – Sippin’ Kid outfits (160s)
Hasbro version of outfit #505 – Apron Dress

Stage 3 Tags: 0 – Pawtucket, RI – Hasbro

Following along with the year labelling convention, if 9- is for 1989, then the 0 – would be for 1990. So, these outfits were sold in 1990. However, the tag looks more Hasbro-like than Coleco now. In addition, there are very few outfits with this code. The only outfits produced at this time were the BBB 400s. series (Future Post). These outfits are likely the last of the Coleco designs Hasbro used OR their first attempts at their own designs. My guess is the latter, as all four outfits in this series mimic the look of earlier Coleco-produced outfits.

Hasbro Cabbage patch kid clothing tag with Pawtucket, RI as the location, clothing code 0-100D and no factory code.

Stage 4 Tags: Hasbro tag

By this stage, the tags are all Hasbro, and there are no codes on them at all. It appears that, although they considered or tried to keep using the Coleco coding system, they gave it up rather quickly, likely sometime in 1990.

Hasbro Cabbage patch kid clothing tag with Pawtucket, RI.

Outfits series sold at this time (that I know of):

Outfits #148, #151
Outfits #116 – #120
Hasbro produced versions of some 800-815 series
Some early Hasbro BBB outfits
Some early Hasbro regular kid outfits (generally a duplicate in some way of a Coleco outfit)
Many Poseable Kid outfits
Some Splash and See packaged outfits
Hasbro Fashion Separates Line – packaged
Hasbro Deluxe Fashions Line – packaged
Hasbro Fashions Line – packaged (likely but not confirmed by tag yet)

Stage 5 Tags: No tag

By 1991, Hasbro was producing their own kids and clothes. None of the outfits are tagged. Some of these lines include Babies (BBBs), Babyland Kids, Poseables (replaced the regular kids), Birthday Kids, Preschoolers, Designer Line Kids and Kissin’ Kids. (Ref#2, p.104))

Transitional Dolls

Although many dolls were sold in these two years, what most collectors refer to as a ‘Transitional doll’ is very specific and quite sought after, as few were produced. These dolls are an amalgam of Hasbro and Coleco parts. One might have a Coleco head, Hasbro body, and Coleco outfit. Or a Coleco body and head, but wear a Hasbro-tagged outfit. There are several possible combinations. (Ref#3, p. 176)

Selling off Coleco Stock

During the Transitional period, you could find odd packages of Cabbage Patch clothing and accessories that were being sold off by Coleco and Hasbro. For example, you might find a Coleco outfit on a Hasbro board and in others, it’s a mishmash of items that don’t belong together on what looks to be an unauthorized board, but isn’t. Hasbro used a variety of avenues to rid themselves of leftover stock. Refer to PTP: Packaged Outfits: Questions and (Some) Answers for more information.

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.

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, white striped shoes were produced for sports outfits 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
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.

PTP: Occupation Rompers

“Casual one piece play outfits for your Cabbage Patch Kid”

These adorable rompers were manufactured by the WW factory and came out in either 1984 and/or 1985. I believe they only came out packaged, never on boxed kids. They did not come with any other items like shoes or socks.

There are six different rompers. Although they each have an official name, most people refer to them by the occupation they portray.

Official Name Unofficial Name

Dr. Petvet                           Vet
Goody Gardener                Gardener
Fire Fighter                       Fireperson
Handy Carpenter              Handyperson
Splashy Painter                 Painter
Sassy Sherrif                      Cowboy

1984 Preemie Outfits – Summary and Links

The first series of outfits designed for the preemie of the patch!

Preemie Outfits Summary – Preemie Outfits – An Overview

NOTE: These outfits do not have conventionally agreed-upon names. Therefore, the names used below were created by me purely for the sake of expediency to distinguish one from the other.

This series came out in 1984, with the original preemies. There are 16 outfits, and they are numbered from 1 to 16 using the same coding convention as the 1983 regular kid series.

Each outfit came with a code that consists of a letter and a number. The numbers represent the outfit type, and the letters represent a specific fabric pattern or colour combination.

Picture of a clothing tag which demonstrates the letter and number code system.

With this series, certain letters seem to have been produced primarily by certain factories. I call these the Primary Factory(PF) for each letter. For example, the P factory produced the letters A to C for almost all the outfits, I think. Here are the primary factories, as proposed, at this point:

Picture of a spreadsheet showing the Primary factories of the various letters in the clothing codes.

However, outfits were often produced by multiple factories, not just the Primary Factory. For example, I know that outfit 8G was produced by the primary factory SS, and by the FW factory. Below, we know that 8E was produced by two factories. Can you figure out which ones?

Spreadsheet showing what outfits have been recorded for Preemie 1984 outfit #8. — Answer: OK, CC

As you can see above, different factories often produced different versions, even if they are given the same code. (Refer to 8E above) Consequently, checking to see if I have something recorded based on the code, factory and description is superior to using just one descriptor.

We need to record all of the factories that made each outfit, as there are often differences between them, even if some aren’t drastic differences. These differences can then be used to identify an outfit’s factory, which may help to identify the possible factory of the kid wearing it or let you know if you need it for a specific kid. These differences can include but are not limited to:

fabric colour/pattern
fabric type
lace/edging material
structural differences

Shoes or Booties

All but two of the outfits came with either lace-up shoes or knit booties.

Generally, the first six outfits, all gowns, came with knit booties. Outfits #7 to #14, all came with regular shoes. Outfits #15 and #16 did not come with either.

However, there seem to always be exceptions. I am aware of at least one MIB preemie that came wearing a gown and shoes. This appears to be an exception. Maybe they ran out of booties that day? Maybe it is an example of an in-store switch?

For more information, jump to Shoes: An overview and reference links

The B codes

Some of the codes on these outfits start with the letter B. e.g. B10J

Picture of a preemie clothing tag that has a B code on it, B13H. — Picture courtesy of Heather Woodie.

I have no concrete explanation for this. My theories:

These outfits were not produced until 1985, so were given B tags to match the 1985 B Series.
The B indicates that they were manufactured in 1985. In this case, 1984 was A but not labelled as such. As possible evidence, I have one outfit from the SS factory that has both a B tag and a non-B tag. Perhaps one was produced in 1984, and one was produced in 1985.
The B indicates they are the ‘second version’ of an outfit that was already being manufactured. However, using the evidence from theory two, I cannot see any major differences between the two SS outfits, so cannot understand why they would need a ‘second version’.

So far, the only B tagged outfits I have are on outfits #10 – #14, and only SS and WS factory outfits in letters G, H, J, and K. I will need more records to determine which of the theories, or another one not yet considered, is correct.

Other Information

> I have one outlier letter recorded, an R. It is on a #4 outfit made by the SS factory. It is odd that all the letters between L and R are otherwise empty. Could this be a factory fluke, and they used a 4R tag from the 1983 series when they ran out of whatever it was supposed to be? Do you have any other preemie outfits with the letters L-R in their code?

> There are at least two packaged versions of every preemie outfit in this series. It appears that the CC factory, which manufactured only packaged clothing, produced at least letters D and E for each outfit, except #15 & #16, which were made by the FW factory. Other versions, made by the OK, P, and other factories, also came packaged.

> The knit outfits, #15 and #16, were only available packaged and were made by the FW factory, located in China. Interestingly, they came out the same year as the 1984 series knit outfits, which were made by the EX factory, located in Taiwan. Only two versions of each outfit were produced, letters F and G. I have no idea why they chose those letters.

> Preemie Twins and preemie twin clothing were planned, but never produced. You can see them in these catalogue photos. For more information, refer to Ref 3, p. 178.

> For information on clothing for Jesmar Preemies, jump to: Jesmar Preemie Clothing .

1984 Preemie Clothes Series Summary

NOTE: These outfits do not have conventionally agreed-upon names. Therefore, the names used below were created by me purely for the sake of expediency to distinguish one from the other.

#1 Gown with vest

#2 Hooded Gown

#3 Gown with hooded blanket

#4 Gown with square yoke

#5 A-line Gown

#6 Frilly yoke gown

#7 Dress with bloomers

#8 Sundress with a bonnet

#9 Romper with bubble bottom

#10 Rom p er

#11 Bubble romper with vest

#12 Bunny outfit

#13 Elephant Romper (Preemie)

#14 Sailboat Romper

#15 Knit striped sweater set & #16 Knit set with scarf

What’s With the Numbers?

Why 15? Why 125? Why not 485? Who knows, but here’s some thoughts.

# 1 – 20 (1983 Series)

The first outfit numbers in 1983 started at 1, which makes sense.

The first twenty outfits, created for the regular-sized kids, came out in 1983, and some stayed in production for many years. Many of the foreign outfits are based on the outfits in this series. (Visit: Jesmar Clothing)

1983 Regular kids outfits. The original 20. The dolls are wearing the outfits and sitting on stairs. The outfits are numbered.

When they created the first line of preemie outfits in 1984, they used the same numbering convention. Unfortunately, that means that if you don’t know whether an outfit is a preemie outfit or a regular kid outfit, they can be easily confused. You have to know by looking at it. (Jump to: Preemie Clothing Summery and 1984 Series)

1985 Preemie series outfits. Dolls wearing the outfits are sitting on stairs and the outfits are numbered.

Year by Number

It was eventually pointed out to me (Ref #4, Vol. 3 Issue 9/10/11, p. 6) that the code numbers used seemed to match the year they were produced.

500s in 1985
600s in 1986
700s in 1987
800s in 1988

This makes sense! For some specific lines of kids like the Toddlers, Growing Hair kids, Splashing Kids, Talkers, and a few others, this theory works.

The second preemie series (BSeries), which came out in 1985, also uses the same year-based numbering convention. They are numbered as a 500s series, but most are numbered B5__. Consequently, they are easier to distinguish from the regular kid 500s outfits. I wonder, did they consider the regular-sized kids outfits the A series?

For information on regular preemie outfits with a B in the code jump here: Preemie Clothing Summary and 1984 Series.

Year by Code Addition

The first theory about the code number being the year it came out works for many outfits, but not for all of them. Starting in 1986, some outfits no longer fit the pattern. A small addition shows up in the code to assist. To learn more jump to: Tag Codes Continued: A 2nd Theory

Series by Hundreds

Which series can be found in which hundred. To see examples of outfits in each series jump to: Series Information in Pics

The 100s

The 100s include many series.

100 – Regular kid ‘mimic‘ windbreaker outfit
101-106: Transitional BBB outfits (1989)
119-149: Transitional outfits (all types) (1989)
150s: Designer Line outfits (1989)
160s: Series 1 Cornsilk outfits (1986)
160s series 2: Sipping Kids outfits (1989)
170s-180s: Designer Line outfits (1989)
190s: BBB Series 1 outfits (1986)

The 200s

There’s only a handful of 200s and they are knit BBB outfits. It’s like they didn’t realize how many numbers they’d need when they started making the series, and just continued into the 200s. That’s it.

The 300s

The 300s contain only the second series of Cornsilk outfits that came out in later 1986. I call these the Wacky and Layered Cornsilk Series 2. That’s it.

Picture 3 courtesy of Carey Reiss Jarchow.

The 400s

There are two different 400s series.

Series 1 – Sold in 1988, they have the 8- in their codes. They are all packaged regular-sized dresses produced by Coleco. So far only 4 are recorded.

Series 2 – Sold in 1990 (Transitional Period), they have the 0- in their codes and often have Hasbro tags. I have 4 outfits recorded and they are all BBB outfits.

Oddly enough, the 14″ Furskin outfits produced in 1986 are also recorded in the 430s.

The 500s

Only one series of regular outfits came out in 1985. For more information visit The 500s Series.

The 600s

650s – 660s: Regular kids Mimic outfits (1986)
670s – 680s: BBB outfits (1987)
689 – 684: PJ series (1986)
695 – 699: Talker outfits (1987)
Coleco Pets (Cats, Dogs, Bears)

The 700s

700 -702: Talker outfits
703 – 706: Regular kid dresses
707-716: Preemie Mimic series
718 – 730: Cornsilk series 3 and Homophome Series
750s – 790s (intermittent): Splashing Kids
760s: Cornsilk series 4
778 – 781: BBB outfits (bunting bags)

The 800s

800 – 815: Regular kids outfits
840s: Growing Hair kids outfits
850s – 860s: BBB outfits
870s & 890s: Toddler Outfits

To see examples of outfits from each ‘series’, jump to: Series Information in Pics

For more information on clothing tag codes, jump to: What are Clothing Tag Codes

For information on how to locate clothing tags, jump to: Where are clothing tags located?

For more information on matching clothing to kids, jump to: A match made in . . . . the factory

PTP: Hung up on Hangers

Do yo have any CPK hangers? Are they still in the original box with the original outfit? Maybe you can help . . .

Do you have any CPK hangers? Have you ever looked at them closely? I hadn’t, not until Jodi (Punki Patch) told me that she had noticed they are factory coded.

That’s right, they have a factory code on them!

Going through our collections, we found that we have hangers from many of the factories, but not all of them.

PIcture of a bib dress in a box, packaged separately. The dress is white with a yellow flower pattern. — Packaged bib dress

The hangers came in packaged outfit boxes. They came in two sizes, and some were coloured.

Some have Made in information, some don’t. Some are numbered, some aren’t. Some factories produced hangers in both sizes, most didn’t.

Here is what we have recorded.

Picture of spreadsheet data showing which hangers we have recorded based on their shape and colour. — For more information on the various factories, jump to: Factory Synopsis

Unfortunately, neither of us have any hangers in the original box with the original outfits hanging on them. However, we have come up with some theories. Can you prove or disprove any of these theories?

The hanger factory matches the factory of the outfit that came on it.
The ‘blank hangers’ that have no ‘Made In’ or factory code are from the OK factory. There appear to be very few of them, and the OK on the one we do have seems as if it was an afterthought.
The ‘blank hangers’ are often numbered (but not always). The coloured hangers are blank. Could these hangers be from the IC factories? There were potentially upwards of 8 of them so numbering to keep track would make sense.
The full-sized hangers appear to only come from factories in China, and most are original factories. Theory: This was the original shape; the half-size came later.
The ‘blank hangers’ are generally numbered (but not always). There were upwards of eight IC factories. It would make sense that IC factories would need to number things to keep track of them. Could the numbered hangers be from the IC factories?

PTP: Packaged Outfits: Questions and (Some) Answers

Many outfits were sold packaged separately, some that came on the dolls and some that didn’t. When were they produced and what outfits were they?

Packaged Outfit: an outfit that was sold separately in its own box, without a doll.

Early Coleco Packaged Outfits

Coleco marketed four different packaged clothing lines.

Line 1

The first was produced in 1983 and was never sold on the kids. It was called the Casual Wear Line and included at least eight outfits.

Packaged Engineers Overalls from the CPK Casual Wear Line — Photos courtesy of Kat Perhouse.

Packaged Red Teddy Bear suit from the CPK Casual Wear Line — Photos courtesy of Kat Perhouse.

Line 2

The second line was small, with only three outfits, and was produced in 1984. I call it the 1984 Knit Series. It was produced by the EX factory.

Yellow and white knit outfit with sweater, pants and hat.

Packaged knit outfit with purple knit shortalls with suspenders and a matching white sweater with purple accents.

Line 3

The third came out in late 1983 I think, or early 1984. The contents are all 1983 series outfits. Although outfits from many factories were packaged, the CC factory only produced clothing for packaged outfits. If iti’s a CC outfit, it didn’t come on a doll.

Collage of pictures showing packaged outfits including a blue ducky dress, red elephant romper and yellow trimmed kitty track suit.

Line 4

The fourth ‘line’ consists of the specialty outfits that were produced in 1985 and later. Some of these outfits were intended only for sale as packaged outfits but were sold on dolls eventually. Eg. Sports outfits. Others were only packaged when Coleco found itself with an overabundance of outfits. Eg. Twin outfits, World Traveller Outfits. Although these outfits were not officially promoted as a ‘line’, they all came out around the same time.

Pair of dark green velveteen twin dresses with tams on a board packaging. — Twins (Courtesy of Holly Jean)

Spanish World Traveler girls dress on a board package. — Twins (Courtesy of Holly Jean)

Transitional Coleco Outfits

In 1989/90 Coleco started producing a number of outfits that were only sold in packages. These make them hard to find as they were not sold for long and were only available separately from the kids.

The Outfits line included outfits in the following code series: 120s, 130s, 400s (that I am aware of to this point) and transitional Hasbro outfits. Some of these outfits were also produced by Hasbro and do not have recognizable tag codes.

A packaged peach bunting bag with ruffle accents, two flower patches and a hood.

A packaged jean skirt with suspenders over a shirt that has a red trunk and purple sleeves. The transfer on the front is neon green.

The COLECO Deluxe Outfits line includes outfits in the 140s series along with other new pieces.

Packaged jacket of red, white and black plaid with red accents. — Photos 1 & 3 are courtesy of Jodi (Punki Patch).

Packaged pair of purple, pink and white cameo patterned overalls with a white shirt with purple trim. — Photos 1 & 3 are courtesy of Jodi (Punki Patch).

However, there was a concurrent HASBRO line.

Transitional Hasbro Outfits

Hasbro must have found themselves with an overabundance of Designer Line (DL) outfits, as the Deluxe Outfits that they packaged (on virtually the same packaging as Coleco) consisted of entirely DL outfits. Currently, I have evidence for the use of the 170s and 180s series of DL outfits, not the 150s series.

Outfit 180A packaged. It includes the jacket, overalls and shirt. — Middle photo courtesy of Holly Jean.

Outfit 179 packaged. It includes the jacket, sweater, and skirt. — Middle photo courtesy of Holly Jean.

Hasbro then produced three packaged outfit lines independent of Coleco. This most likely occurred from 1989 to 1990+. As they are not numbered in the ‘traditional sense I cannot slot them into the clothing record I am creating. However, they are interesting, nonetheless. They are:

Packaged Deluxe Fashion yellow ducky raincoat — **Deluxe Fashions** – Not to be confused with the Deluxe Outfits.

Packaged Deluxe Fashion red and white western themed dress that includes the dress, shirt and bandanna. — **Deluxe Fashions** – Not to be confused with the Deluxe Outfits.

Packaged "Fashion" of a pink dress with blue sleeves and a matching blue bow. — **Fashions** – Hasbro; Photos courtesy of Nichole Sorensen Barnes.

Packaged "Fashion" of a pink sleeveless dress with a matching pink silk bow. — **Fashions** – Hasbro; Photos courtesy of Nichole Sorensen Barnes.

Packaged Fashion Separates on a board. It's a pink shirt with heat transfer patch. — **Fashion Separates** – Hasbro; Last two photos courtesy of Nichole Sorensen Barnes.

Packaged Fashion Separates on a board. It's a steel blue dress with little colourful pockets. — **Fashion Separates** – Hasbro; Last two photos courtesy of Nichole Sorensen Barnes.

Splash and See Surprise Pouches.

During the transitional years, Hasbro also produced a type of packaged outfit which included a ‘gimmick’. As many of the outfits used were already in production, it may be that they were trying to get rid of extra stock. This is not clear.

The Splash and See Surprise packages contain an outfit and a small pouch with a surprise in it. When you wet the pouch it would melt away and your surprise was revealed. During a 2020 Facebook group discussion, it was noted that these pouches were included with kids as well. (Ref. FB discussion, Jodi (Punki Patch), Feb. 7, 2020) The surprise items included sunglasses, hair barrettes, hair combs, or outfit pieces. Some of the clothing came from the 150s clothing line produced by Coleco in 1989 and some only have Hasbro tags.

Surprise pouch and contents of a dark pink comb and silver hair bow. — The first three photos are courtesy of Jodi (Punki Patch).

Surprise pouch and contents of a pair of sunglasses. — The first three photos are courtesy of Jodi (Punki Patch).

Foreign Packaged Outfits

Some of the foreign factories produced packaged outfits as well.

Italian Jesmar packaged outfit; striped jogging suit. — Jesmar

Packaged Tsukuda Kimono outfit. — Jesmar

If you have any packaged outfits that you can ‘unpackage’ safely, or that have already been ‘unpackaged’, I would love to get pictures of the outfit and its tags! I have many information holes that need filling.