Category: Packaged Outfits

Information about Packaged Cabbage Patch Kid Clothing.

The Sports Collection

Our kids love to play outside, and these outfits help them join their favourite team and cheer on their siblings. Go Team CPK!

Catalogue picture of the Cabbage Patch Kids Sports Collection. There are 6 kids, each wearing a different outfit, posed in front of a blue curtain.
1985 Coleco Catalogue, p. 18

This collection started selling in 1985, along with many of the other speciality outfits. However, these outfits were originally only sold packaged. Late in 1985 and early 1986, it appears that Coleco did put them on individually packaged kids, and a small number of the Football outfits made it on twin sets . It is interesting to note that almost all of the boxed kids with these outfits on are in 1985 boxes, I have recorded only one 1986 box, so it appears they didn’t do this for long. Eventually, like all other CPK clothes produced prior to 1987, sports outfits became part of the mass ‘sell-off’ where they put all sorts of weird combinations together and sold outfits on plain boards.

Red haired, green eyed paci girl wearing a cheerleaders outfit MIB, 1985.
A set of brown haired shag, brown eyed boys wearing football outfits in a twin box.
Courtesy of Andrea Crick Huckaba.
Cabbage Pacth Football outfit on a secondary sales board. It includes the helmet and shoes.
Cabbage Patch baseball uniform on a liquidation packaging board.

The Collection

There are six outfits in this collection, each of them depicting a different sport. Each outfit came with at least one accessory and striped sneakers. They were made by the Taiwanese CY and FD factories, and in some cases, there are visible differences between outfits produced by them.

The Outfits

NOTE: Each outfit is tagged in only one piece. I have put (tag) beside the piece with the tag.

Baseball

Packaged Cabbage Patch baseball uniform with helmet and shoes. The outfit is grey with blue and yellow stripe accents. The hat is blue and the shoes have blue stripes.

Outfit Pieces: top (tag) and stirrup pants

Accessory: baseball helmet

Sneakers: some coloured stripes, some not)

Cheerleader

Packaged Cabbage Patch cheerleaders uniform with pompom and shoes. It has a french green sweater with lime green trim and the sneakers have white stripes.
Packaged Cabbage Patch cheerleaders uniform with pompom and shoes. It has a green sweater with dark chrome green trim and the sneakers have green stripes.

Outfit Pieces: green sweater (tag), sateen bloomers, white and green sateen skirt

Comparison picture showing three different cheerlearder sweaters in various shades of green.
Matrix showing the various cheerleading outfit sweater colours.

Accessory: yellow/green or Orange/green pompom

The pompom came in two different colours. I’m assuming this was either a factory difference or because of a supply problem.  

Picture comparing the different Cabbage Patch Cheerleader pompoms. One is yellow and green, one is orange and green.
CY Factory pompom still in the factory wrap, fresh from the packaging.

Sneakers: green stripes

Basketball

Packaged Cabbage Patch basketball uniform with arm bands, head band, knee pads, basketball, and shoes. The jersey is red with a green CPK logo on the front, the shorts are white with red stripes. The arm bands and head band are white and the knee pads are red.

Outfit Pieces: sleeveless jersey, shorts (tag), headband, armbands, knee pads
The 55 may represent 1955, the year Xavier Roberts was born.

Accessory: basketball

Sneakers: white stripes

Hockey

Packaged Cabbage Patch hockey uniform with a hockey stick and shoes. The jersey is purple and white at the top and orange at the bottom. The bottoms are orange with white stripes. The shoes have white stripes.

Outfit Pieces: jersey with padded shoulders, padded shorts (tag)

There are two possible accent colours on this outfit, blue and purple. Both factories made both colours. There are visible factory differences in the stitching of the jersey’s bottom hem and in the colour of the thread used to sew on the silk label. The FD factory used orange thread, and the CY factory used white thread. These differences are important as they allow you to determine which factory made the top, even though it is not tagged.

CU versus FD factory hockey jerseys.
CY vs. FD

Accessory: hockey stick (no manufacturer marks)
Sneakers: white stripes

Football

Packaged Cabbage Patch football uniform with football helmet and shoes. It has a green jersey with the number 27 on one side and the CPK logo on the other. The pants are white with green trim. The shoes have green stripes.
CY factory cabbage patch football uniform. It has a green jersey with the number 27 on one side and the CPK logo on the other. The pants are white with green trim. The shoes have green stripes.
CY Factory
FD factory cabbage patch football uniform. It has a green jersey with the number 27 on one side and the CPK logo on the other. The pants are white with green trim. The shoes have green stripes.
FD Factory

Outfit Pieces: jersey with padded shoulders, shorts (tag)

So far, this is the only sports outfit found on sets of twins.
We don’t know exactly what the 27 stands for. Here are two theories:
1) Xavier Robert’s parents were born on the 11th and the 16th, which when added together, equals 27.
2) Xavier Roberts was aged 27 when the mass market Cabbage Patch Kids were copyrighted in 1982.
What is your theory?

Accessory: football helmet
Note: The helmet can be fragile. Once put together, it can split apart easily, and the chin guard connections can break easily as well.

Sneakers: Green or white stripes

Tennis

Packaged Cabbage Patch Tennis outfit with tennis racquet, visor, and shoes. They are all white with blue, red, and white striped trim. The shoes have white stripes.
Pieces of the Cabbage Patch tennis outfit: sweater, dress and bloomers. They are all white with blue, red, and white striped trim.

Outfit Pieces: tennis dress, sweater (tag), skirt, bloomers, matching striped hairbow

The accent trim is sewn on differently by each factory. FD is much cleaner than CY. This difference is important as it allows you to determine which factory made the dress, even though it is not tagged.

Comparison picture of the CY and FD factory trim sewing.


Accessory: tennis racket (has factory markings), sun visor

Manufacturing mark saying "Made in Taiwan CY" on a white Cabbage Patch tennis racquet.


Sneakers: white stripes

Similar Outfits

  • All Stars Baseball Series – This collection came out in 1986 and is an entirely different series. (Future Post)
Coleco catalogue page picture showing the All Stars Uniform collection on a variety of dolls.
1986 Coleco Catalogue pg. 34 and 35.
  • Hasbro Sports outfits – Two poseable Hasbro CPK outfits (1990/91) are sport related: Tennis and cheerleader.
MIB AA poseable girl with brown hair and brown eyes wearing a Hasbro red, white and yellow cheerleaders outfit and green and white saddle shoes.
MIB poseable girl with wheat hair and green eyes wearing a Hasbro tennis outfit with pink shorts, white visor and white shirt with pink, blue and yellow stripes. She has blue socks and pink striped sneakers.

Other Information

  • It appears that at least the Football outfit was put onto Twins in a twin box. As far as I know, none of the others have been seen on twins.
  • A JCPenney Catalog picture shows the football outfit in blue; however, it was never produced. The back of the original packaging also shows the outfits, but three of the shoes depicted were never sold with the outfits.
Back of the Sport Collection packaging showing pictures of each outfit being own by a different kid.
Picture of an AA boy wearing a blue and white Cabbage Patch football uniform. From their catalogue.

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):

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)
Courtesy of Jodi Issacs
Courtesy of Heather Woodie

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))

Hasbro Catalogue 1990, p.4

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.

Toddler Outfits – An Overview

Toddlers, the kid in the middle, may have come out late in the 1980’s but still had some wonderful outfits. Learn about them and how they transitioned into Hasbro Preschool Kids.

Clothing Series Quick Links

870s: 1988 Toddler Outfits Pt. 1
880s – 890s: 1988 Toddler Outfits Pt. 2
135 – 139: Coleco Transitional Toddler Outfits (Future Post)
116 – 120: Hasbro Transitional Toddler Outfits (Future Post)
Packaged Splash’n See Surprise outfits (Hasbro)

“It’s been almost like 1983 revisited, and if you don’t believe it, one collector actually witnessed people fighting over toddlers!”

(Ref #4, 12/88, Vol.3 Issue 4, p. 1)

The popular 13” kid in the middle came out in 1988 and sold until 1990 when Hasbro changed the name to Preschooler for 1991. (Ref #2, p. 98) They then sold until 1992. (Ref #1, p. 35) This means there are three versions of Toddler dolls:

Red haired boy toddler in a Coleco Toddler box.
Wheat haired girl toddler in a Canadian Market toddler box. She is wearing a one piece romper with hearts on it.
Hasbro Toddler wearing a purple and yellow romper in a Hasbro Toddler box.
Red haired girl Preschool Kid wearing a time themed dress in a Preschool Box.
Coleco Toddler, Canadian Market Coleco Toddler, Hasbro Toddler (Transitional), Preschool Kid (Hasbro)

Coleco Toddlers only used certain head moulds, and #4 was only used for a short time. All #4 Toddlers appear to have come with the BBB pacifier. (Visit CPK Pacifiers for details). (Ref #3, p. 167) Toddlers came with new hairstyles, and new hair/eye combinations (Ref #2, p. 98). Hasbro Preschool Kids came with even more new head moulds and hair/eye/freckle combinations. (Ref #1, p. 35)

‘Transitional Period’ Toddlers can be wacky combinations of Coleco and Hasbro parts, clothing, and accessories.

Clothing Overview

870s -890s Series (1)

The first Toddlers produced in 1988 were entirely made by Coleco and wore outfits numbered in the 870s – 890s. They were all made in Amsterdam, NY.

White patterned body suit romper with blue ruffle and purple accents.
873B
One piece toddler outfit with yellow bottom, blue top and two button flap accents.
891D
Purple outfit with pink hearts pattern. The neck area is a diagonal white, lace edged piece with pink piping.
890E
Samples of this series. 2nd and 3rd photos are courtesy of Jodi’s Punki Patch and Tasha Keathley.

Note: All the Coleco Toddler outfits were produced by the OK factory, one of the few factories still in production at this time. Therefore, there are no factory differences to note.

130s Series (2)

The 130s series was designed in 1987 along with the 800s series but wasn’t sold on kids until 1989. Most of these outfits were produced for Coleco in Amsterdam, NY although a few were produced by Coleco in Gloversville, NY. So far, the Gloversville outfits appear to be later letters; F and after. They were likely produced in early 1989 for a short time, so there won’t be many of them. Gloversville outfits will always be newer than Amsterdam outfits. For more information on how this works, visit: Tag Codes and locations: 1987-9 and Transitional Period – A Summary.

Red and blue toddler romper with a white blouse underneath.
Sample: 135E, Courtesy of Jodi’s Punki Patch

Teens Series (3)

The series, 116 – 120, is from the Transitional Period and was designed and sold in 1989 by Coleco or Hasbro (Pawtucket, RI). For more details about these outfits and the time period when they were sold, visit Transitional Period- A Summary.

Red and white overall romper with attached blouse. The white fabric has multi-coloured stars on it.
Sample: 9-119C, Courtesy of Jodi’s Punki Patch

Shoes

Coleco Toddlers came with regular white lace-up shoes.  Then, as Coleco transitioned into Hasbro, they started to come with Chunky Toddler sneakers and or coloured lace-ups. I’m not sure if these shoes showed up simultaneously or if there was a specific period for each. Eventually, Preschoolers only came with coloured lace-up shoes (unless the outfit matched with white shoes.

A pair of white lace up CPK shoes.
Regular lace-ups
A pair of pink and white Chunk Toddler shoes with laces and CPK in pink on them.
Chunky Toddler shoes
A pair o fcoloured lace up shoes. They are a deep purple.
Coloured lace-ups

Packaged Outfits

Just like all the Coleco material that wasn’t sold by the late 1980s, Toddler outfits ended up in packages to be sold separately from the dolls. At first, the packages said Coleco on them. Later, even though they’re sometimes still Coleco outfits, the packaging says Hasbro. Eventually, they were Hasbro outfits, like those in the 116-119 series. I believe that last series was never out on kids, it only came packaged.

Packaged CPK toddler outfit of a blue robe with white lace trim and matching booties. Coleco.
Packaged CPK toddler outfit of yellow PJ's with blue trim and matching booties. Coleco.
Packaged CPK toddler outfit of a dress with a waist ruffle and three buttons. Hasbro.
Outfits 1378B, 139B, Hasbro dress

Preschool Kid Outfits

In my opinion, Hasbro Preschool Kid outfits are generally of lower quality, as they were produced using thinner fabrics and clowny graphics. They don’t have the same detail and care that Coleco-manufactured outfits have. These outfits did not come packaged.

Preschooler outfits can be easily identified because they come in six different themes: time, numbers, colours, alphabet, shapes, and animals. All preschooler outfits appear to come with matching coloured lace-up shoes. (Ref #1, p. 35)

Pink top and dress Preschool Kid outfit with a time theme.
Time
White blue and red dress Preschool Kid outfit with a time theme.
Time
Animal themed two piece Hasbro Preschool Kid outfit. The top is a long shirt with ruffled sleeves and a pair of matching bloomers.
Animals

Splash’n See Surprise Outfits

Visit HERE to read about these outfits.

Purple and yellow packaged outfit from the Splash'n See Surprise like.
Courtesy of Jodi’s Punki Patch.

PTP: A fabric fluke (updated)

They’re mistake gives us another opportunity see behind the scenes of outfit production.

A few months ago Stephania Blum found a rather unique and interesting outfit and I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to see it. Although Coleco outfits are generally well made using good materials, sometimes weird stuff crops up.

Picture of the inside of a Frilly dress with gold text on the fabric. The first line is in English and says "Trueran White ???" and the second is in Chinese characters.
PIcture of a pink Frilly CPK dress, 4L CC.

She figures they accidentally used the beginning or end of a fabric roll to make the blouse area of this Frilly dress (4L CC).

Another collector, Laura Fulton, ran it through Google Translate.

PIcture of the inside of a Frilly dress with gold text on the fabric. Overlaid are the highlighted words "Trueran White" and "Lixi, Shanghai, China".

After some research, the text seems to say the following:

Trueran – a type of poplin fabric; can be dyed
White: colour
Shanghai, China: location it was produced, perhaps? Shanghai is on the coast of the East China Sea and producers would have had easy access to the ports there. (Update Note: Google translate didn’t quite get it right, the word Lixi is not there. Special Thanks to Kylie Redfern for the new information)

This is a CC factory outfit so it never came on a kid. It’s just a fluke that they used the fabric in such as way that it was completely legible!

Thank you for sharing your find Stephania.

Twin Outfits, Part 2: 1986 and other interesting info.

Twins continued to be produced in 1986 but with some differences. Also, information on other types of twins, prototype outfits, and more!

Twin Outfits, Part 1 : 1985

Coleco continued to produce Twin sets in 1986 wearing the original four outfits, but they also started to use twin sets as a dumping ground to get rid of overstock. At this time, it wasn’t unusual to find a variety of combinations in twin boxes, for example:

Red haired twin girl cabbage patch kids wearing white Fun Fur outfits, in a twin box.
Twin outfits with Fun Furs overtop.
Lemon haired girls wearing pink rabbit animal sleepers in a twin box.
Animal Sleepers
Wheat haired boy cabbage patch kids wearing boy Spanish World Traveler outfits in a twin box.
World Traveler outfits
Brown haired girl cabbage patch kids wearing Scottish World Traveler outfits in a twin box.
World Traveler Outfits
Original 20 outfits (left over stock)
Photo courtesy of Cheryle Alexander.
Football Sports Outfit
Courtesy of Andrea Crick Huckaba.
Twins wearing Fun Furs, animal sleepers, and World Traveler outfits. I have confirmed that they used all 5 WT outfits on twins but only the Football of the Sports Collection.

Especially in the Canadian market, it wasn’t unusual for the dolls wearing these non-twin outfits to be Jesmar as it was at this time that Coleco was looking to rid themselves of the remaining stock from the recently closed foreign factories. (See Jesmars and J Clothing for details.)

Bald boy Jesmar cabbage patch kids wearing Russian World Traveler outfits in a twin box.
Red haired Jesmar paci cabbage patch kids wearing Holland World Traveler outfits in a twin box.
Wheat haired Jesmar girls wearing the Spanish World Traveler outfit. They came as twins.
Jesmar dolls wearing World Traveler outfits in twin boxes, or who came as twins.

The dolls used for twins in 1986 weren’t always P/OK factory and weren’t always the same factory. For example, there are records of sets being OK and PMI. (Ref #4, March 1988, p. 4) This was rare, but apparently, it did happen.

They also dumped twin outfits by putting them on individually boxed regular kids and Cornsilk kids in 1986 and 1987.

A blonde Cornsilk Kid wearing a T1 Party Dress Twin outfit in a Cornsilk Kid box.
Courtesy of Christy Ho.
A custom shag lemon haired #16 boy with blue eyes wearing a red T4 twin outfit in a 1987 regular Cabbage Patch Kid box.

Finally, in a last-ditch effort to get rid of stock, twin outfits were sold packaged separately. Often these packages didn’t come with accessories like gloves or shoes.

Green velveteen girls twin outfits (T3) packaged on a board, to be sold separately.

Other Cabbage Patch Twins

> The Tsukuda factory is the only foreign factory that manufactured Twins (Ref #3, p. 247). Their twins wear regular 1983 outfits with the word “TWIN” silkscreened on them. These sets are very highly valued by collectors.

Brown haired, blue eyes, paci Tsukuda boys wearing jean rompers and red shirt with the word TWIN on the romper.
Brown haired, blue eyes, single ponytail paci Tsukuda girls wearing red shoulder-tie dresses with the word TWIN on the dress.
Wheat haired, paci Tsukuda boy and girl wearing kitty cat track suits with the word TWIN on the top.
The first two photos are courtesy of Carolyn Dahl.

> Preemie twins were never produced, but prototypes are visible in catalogue pictures from 1986. (Ref #3, p. 178, 192)

Pg 84 of the Coleco Catalogue in 1986 showing two sets of preemie, dresses as Twins.
Pg 85 of the Coleco Catalogue in 1986 showing two sets of preemie, dresses as Twins.
1986 Coleco catalogue, p. 84-85

Prototype Outfits

Many prototype outfits can be seen in catalogues from 1986. The outfits aren’t exact, but they’re pretty close! It’s too bad the white dresses were never produced, they’re very pretty.

Picture of two sets of girl twins wearing very frilly white dresses. One set has red braids, the second are AA dolls with brown hair.
JCPenny Catalogue 1985
Sets of Cabbage Patch twins sitting on movie theatre seats. They are dressed in prototype outfits.
Sets of Cabbage Patch twins sitting on movie theatre seats. They are dressed in prototype outfits.
Coleco 1985 Catalogue, p.6-7

Sewing Patterns

Butterick produced only one of the twin outfits as a sewing pattern. They are numbered #390 and #3564.

Butterick sewing pattern #390 for the velveteen girls and boys twin outfits. The outfits shown are grey in colour. The dolls are lemon haired, one boy, one girl.

General References

Ref #3, p. 104 – 110

Ref #2, p. 71 – 72

Furs: Fake or Fabulous

Coleco kept your kid in step with the current fashions of the 80’s by offering gorgeous (and warm) fur outfits. Is yours a CPK original, or an aftermarket attempt?

If you have an ‘unidentified’ fur, there are four options:

  1. It’s a CPK Coutour Kid fur.
  2. It’s a CPK Fun Fur.
  3. It’s an aftermarket fur made for CPK sized dolls, but not BY a Coleco authorized dealer.
  4. It’s handmade.

1. Coutour Kids

This specialty line didn’t have different head moulds, hairstyles, gimmicks or anything else related to the doll that was different. The only difference was the fur outfit they wore over top of their ‘regular’ clothes and shoes.

Sold in late 1984 and into 1985, these kids were ONLY sold in Canada. They came standing up in a box with a blue liner, a regular Canadian birth certificate, and hand-tag. When they first came out, Coleco advertised them as ‘standing kids’, which they weren’t! Some collectors were rather upset at the deception. Although they sold well in the beginning, sales trailed off quickly which was ironic, as these fur outfits were one of the only truly limited edition items that Coleco ever produced! (Ref #5, p. 63) By Oct 1987, they were already considered rare by collectors. (Ref #4, p. 3)

These dolls had head moulds #1 to #5. (Ref #5, p. 83) and came wearing a regular 1983 series outfit and shoes; however, over top was a fur coat, fur booties, and either a fur headband or a fur hat. As the fur pieces are not tagged in ANY way, we have no idea which factory produced them, and they are easy to confuse with aftermarket or homemade fur outfits.

They came in four different fur patterns. The Canadian Beaver outfit had a hat and came on boys. The Canadian Lynx, Silver Fox, and Timber Wolf patterns came with headbands and came on girls.

Beaver
Lynx
Silver Fox
Timber Wolf
Wolf photo courtesy of Kristen Algiers; Beaver and Fox unknown.

The outfits also came separately packaged, but again, they were only sold in Canada.

Packaged Canadian Lynx fur outfit. The package has 3 windows, one for each part of the outfit.
Source unknown

Eventually, like the Fun Furs below, these were found on twins when Coleco was getting rid of inventory. However, this was very rare. You’re a lot more likely to find Fun Furs on a twin set than Coutour Furs. Visit The Perfect Mismatch (Matching Pt. 2) for more details. (Ref#3, p.103)

A pair of red headed #5 HM girls wearing Timber Wolf fur outfits. They are sitting in a green twin box liner.
Ref#3, p.103

(Ref#3, p. 102 & 103, Ref#2, p.68)

2. Fun Furs

Fun Furs started showing up on store shelves in 1985 and, originally, only came separately packaged. They were made by the SW factory in Korea.

Picture sources unknown

These furs are easy to identify as they are lined with CPK Logo patterned silk and have a large label at the neck that says Fun Fur. Each outfit came with a coat and either a headband or earmuffs. These outfits were intended only for girls, none were designed for boys.

The inside of a Fun Fur showing the patterned silk lining and the label. The label says "This Cabbage Patch Kids original Fun Fur belongs to ____"/
Source unknown

Although there are only six displayed on the back of the box, I think they produced more than that. I have recorded outfits that aren’t in the picture, and I can’t find the dark grey version that is in the picture.  Here’s what I have recorded so far:

White with headband
Light grey with hat
Medium brown with headband
Brown with ear muffs
Dark brown with hat
White courtesy of Marco Woods, Dark brown courtesy of Gail Seligman, others unknown.

Eventually, like with so many other specialty outfits, in order to get rid of unsold inventory, Fun Furs were put on Twin sets. It is believed that most of them were sold on Canadian Twin sets. For more details on the inventory sell-off, visit The Perfect Mismatch (Matching Pt. 2).

Pair of purple eyed brown haired girls with #3 and #5 head molds wearing light grey Fun Fur sets with hats.
Image from picclick.

3. Aftermarket

There were a large number of CPK sized fur outfits produced by other companies during the 80s and early 90s. Some even tried to duplicate the label inside the coat. Here are some examples.

Picture sources: jadesnewstuff (eBay), KatsVintageTreasures(Etsy), Mindy4220 (eBay), vonderhuevelauctioneers.com, and unknown.

4. Handmade

Talented seamstresses also tried their hand at creating these delightful additions to a CPK’s wardrobe. Many used Butterick pattern #374, which was later re-released as #6984.

Butterick sewing pattern #6984 with instructions for three different fur outfits. There are dolls wearing each one.
Source: onethankfulheart (eBay)

Poseable Actionwear

These specialty outfits offered us the freedom to pose our Cabbage Patch Kids. What a cool concept!

These outfits came out in 1985. They were designed to help you pose your doll and were intended to be worn underneath other outfits. There were six different colours available (I think).

The boxes say that they were made by factories in China (P), Korea (IJ), Haiti, and Mexico. As far as I know, this is the only CPK item produced in Haiti.

Photos courtesy of Marta Aleman Perez.

Packaging

Actionwear ONLY came packaged. I’ve seen zero evidence that they were ever put on boxed kids. This makes sense; they were never intended to be the only outfit on a doll.

They originally came in packaging designed specifically for them (1). Then they started showing up in packaging designed for the Occupation Rompers (2). Eventually, they were part of the ‘overflowing inventory’ that they had to get rid of, and they started coming out in basic cardboard packaging (3-5).  

1
2
3
4
5
Picture 2 courtesy of Tamars Treasures

One minor problem . . .

For anyone who has handled Actionwear outfits, you know that it isn’t uncommon for the outfit to be sans the wires. The wires tend to burst out of the outfit, like an underwire bra! However, some may have been sold WITHOUT the wire. The following was noted in 1987:

“A liquidation firm sold off a large number of outfits on boards that did not have the wire in them. They were not labelled as “Action Wear” but sure looked like them! The tag says Mexico!’

Ref#4, April 1989, p. 4

The next generation

Hasbro later attempted to improve on this idea by putting the wire directly inside the doll. Poseable kids are considered Transitional Kids.

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.

Photo courtesy of Hayden Crocket.

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.

All-Stars outfit
Sports outfit
Sports outfit photo courtesy of Victor Cortez.

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?

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.

CPK Shoes: An Overview and Links

Are these shoes CPK? What kids did they come on? Which shoes go with which outfit? Some answers to your CPK shoe questions . . . with more to come!

To find out more about a specific kind of footwear, click on the links included throughout.

Table of Contents

Factory labels on shoes
Shoe Type by Outfit (Summary List Here)
Exceptions
Cleaning Shoes
25th Anniversary Shoes (Play Along)
Aftermarket and Fakes
Jesmar Shoes

Edit: Lacing CPK Shoes

Factory labels on shoes

Almost all Coleco shoes produced between 1983 and 1986ish were labeled with the factory of manufacture inside by the heel. These shoes also said, Hong Kong, even after they were no longer manufactured there. It’s thought that they chose not to remake the molds. Specialty outfit shoes like clown shoes and cowboy boots are also factory marked.

Interior of sneaker cabbage patch kid shoe which says Made in Taiwan and has a circle with IC inside it.
Interior of a cabbage patch kid shoe which says Hong Kong and has a circle with P inside it and the number 2.
Interior of a cabbage patch kid shoe which says Hong Kong and has a circle with P inside it.

Later, sometime around 1986 or 1987, they stopped putting the factory and HONG KONG inside the shoes. Instead, some say CHINA, some have just a number, and some are entirely blank. I believe that they showed up in that order but have no proof of it, except that the coloured toddler shoes have CHINA in them and the only coloured Mary Janes I’ve seen have nothing in them.

The numbers that can be found in the shoes are a mystery. I believe they are a mould number but again, I have no proof. A ‘pair’ of shoes do not need to have the same number.

.Shoe Type by Outfit

Cabbage patch kids came with various types and colours of footwear. The type of shoes that an outfit came with changed as time passed.

In 1983 and 1984 there were only four options. They were worn by regular kids and preemies. For more details on each type of shoe click on the links below.

  1. Regular ‘lace up’ shoes Part 1 & Part 2
  2. Mary Jane Shoes
  3. Sneakers
  4. knit booties
Lace ups
Mary Jane’s
Sneakers
Knit Booties

Information on which shoes went with which outfits in the 1983 Regular kids outfits, or the 1984 Preemie outfits are available on their individual posts.

Special Note: During the first few months of production, the kids manufactured in Hong Kong came out with shoes like those described above, but which had slightly different characteristics (at least long-time collectors think so). For details on how to identify Hong Kong Kid shoes go to each of the shoe types using the links near the top of this post. . Click here for a definition of Triple and Double Hong Kong Kids.

Starting in 1985, other footwear options became available, and three of the original four options began showing up in a rainbow of colours. The new options included:

Type of ShoeOutfits they belong with 
Ballet FlatsSome Cornsilk Series 2: Wacky and Layered
Some 500s series outfit
Some 800-815 series Regular kid outfits
BootsSome Cornsilk Series 2: Wacky and Layered
Some poseable kid outfits (transitional)		 
Chunky SneakersDesigner Line Kids 
Chunky Toddler SneakersSome toddlers; transitional and later Hasbro toddlers
Saddle ShoesSome regular kid transitional outfits (800s)
May have come on some later Designer Line Kids.
Transitional Poseable Kids (specifically the Cheerleader outfit)		 
WeeboksBlue Saddle Shoe Version – Coleco
Generally came hanging on the arm of Poseable kids. Some were wearing them.

White Toddler Version – Coleco
Generally, came as a second pair of shoes hanging off the kid’s arm. Some were wearing them.		 
SandalsSplashin’ Kids 
Slippers (matching)BBB Outfits, toddler outfits, Splashin’ Kid outfits, 25th Anniversary Preemies (only came in white) 

Most series did not come with only one type of footwear.
For example, the second series of Cornsilk outfits (Jump to Cornsilk Series 2: Wacky and Layered Pt. 1) came with the following:

  • #321  – Boots
  • #322 – Boots, almost all white
  • #323 – Boots
  • #324 – Boots
  • #325 – Ballet Flats
  • #326 – Boots

#327 – Ballet Flats
#328 – Boots
#329 – Ballet Flats
#330 – Ballet Flats
#331 – outfit unidentified
#332 – White Boots
#333 – Boots

Some outfits came with shoes that were unique to that outfit.

  • Talker Outfits
  • World Travelers (China, Holland, Russia, Spanish Boy)
  • Western Wear – brown boots
  • Astronauts – a sort of bootie
  • Circus Kids – clown shoes
  • Ringmaster – black boots
  • 600s PJ Series (slippers and booties)

Most of the early packaged outfits came with shoes, as did many of the packaged outfits that came with unique shoes (e.g., Western Wear). However, many packaged outfits, especially those sold after 1985, did not come with shoes included. Starting in 1985, shoes become available separately packaged with socks and other accessories. This continued until 1989.

.Exceptions (this is Coleco after all)

Like with other outfits, during transitional periods or when they were trying to get rid of excess product, occasionally you can find a MIB doll with the ‘wrong’ footwear. As long as the footwear was in production before the doll was issued, it could be a possible combination.

I have even recorded one example of a transitional regular kid wearing Hasbro Kissin’ Kid shoes!

Cleaning shoes

I clean shoes with a toothbrush and a bar of Sunlight Soap. Sticky shoes are cleaned with Magic Eraser or Bar Keeper’s Friend.

Marks made from markers, pens, and other such things that do not come out with regular cleaning can be treated with zit cream, just like a doll’s head.

Early shoes were made of the same type of vinyl as the doll heads. As such, they can get pox. They can be treated the same way as doll heads. (Videos about pox and treating pox are available here.)

The inside of a white regular, high top Cabbage Patch shoe in which you can see brown spots of 'pox'.

Shoes that are yellowed or discoloured can sometimes be treated by soaking in Polident (water-soluble, not toothpaste). I’ve found it often takes multiple soakings and doesn’t always work perfectly.

25th Anniversary Shoes

The 25th Anniversary kids came with regular shoes, Mary Jane’s, and sneakers. They are easy to distinguish as they have the Cabbage Patch logo and 1893-2008 on the bottom. The preemies came with these shoes or white slippers/booties with a white bow.

Picture of a pair of 25th Anniversary high top Cabbage Patch shoes. One shows the side and top, and the other is up on end, showing the bottom of the shoe.

.Aftermarket and Fake Shoes

There are MANY types of aftermarket CPK shoes. To learn more, jump here: Aftermarket Shoes.

Jesmar Shoes

All of the foreign factories produced CPK shoes. I do not have enough information to discuss most of them. For information on Jesmar shoes, visit Shoes: Jesmar Shoes