What are Clothing Tag Codes

I noticed the codes on the tags inside Coleco Cabbage Patch Kid clothing a few years ago. I was curious about what they meant. I started to pay attention, and I noticed patterns. I started tracking the patterns. In a nutshell, this is what a code means:

Number = The Style of Outfit

• #1 = Swing Dress
• #2 = Sleeper
• #3 = Shoulder-tie Dress
• #4 = Frilly A-line Dress

Letter = The Fabric colour or pattern

For the Swing Dress

• 1A = Blue and white crosshatch pattern with a red tie
• 1T = Large square, red, blue-green and purple crosshatch pattern with a red tie
• 1H = Solid medium yellow with a red tie
• 1D = Green and white gingham with white tie

Almost every outfit that Coleco produced has a code with a number, and if there was more than one version of it produced, a letter. Of course, like everything in life, there are exceptions. (Jump to: Oddball Tags)

No Code?

Some factories did not print code information on their tags.

• Some did it most of the time, but not always (e.g. OK).
• The CC and FW factories never have codes.
• The Taiwanese and Koren factories only have codes infrequently (e.g. AX, IJ). The only outfits they numbered were a few of the 500s.

In all of these cases, the outfit has a code, you just don’t know what it is. How frustrating!

Sometimes the code isn’t always legible or is no longer there.

Example 1: The code was written on in pen, and is illegible.
Example 2: The code was put on with a stamp, badly.
Example 3: The P and PMI factories often put their codes on with a sticker, so it often washes or falls off! The IC factory does it occasionally.

They used numbers ranging from 1 to almost 899, but not every number has an outfit. They used ‘bunches’ of numbers to create many different series throughout the years. (Jump to: What’s with the numbers?)

The letters run can run from A to T. Not every outfit has every letter. In fact, not every letter was produced for every outfit. For example, in the 1983 outfits, there are no I’s or O’s.

So, that is the basics. Numbers and letters. It all started with something we learn about in Kindergarten, and then exploded into so much more!  

For information on how to locate clothing tags, jump here.
For more information on matching the clothing to dolls, jump here.
For more information on the numbers in the codes, jump to What is a Clothing Tag Codes and Tag Codes Continued: A 2nd Theory