Hundreds of different doll shoes fit on CPK kids, but only a handful are considered to be ‘real’ CPK.
To be real, they must have been manufactured by Coleco, or one of the other companies that made CPK products, FOR CPK dolls.
All other shoes are considered to be aftermarket. There is nothing wrong with these shoes. Many were created with the intention that they be worn by Cabbage Patch Kid dolls; they just weren’t created by the original company.
This post focuses primarily on Coleco shoes; however, the shoes produced by other companies (i.e. Hasbro) were generally labelled CPK in some way. Consequently, they are easy to recognize.
Recognizing Aftermarket Shoes
For details on real CPK shoes go to Shoes: An overview and reference links
Some hints for recognizing aftermarket shoes
- The vinyl is thin, translucent (so light passes through), badly poured, and feels fragile.
- They are completely formed in vinyl, laces and all.
- They say ‘Hong Kong’ on the bottom of the shoe, not inside the shoe.
- Coleco did not produce any ‘animal slippers’ – bunny, bear etc.
- There are no fabric Coleco shoes, except slippers and booties.
A Gallery of NOPE
Photos courtesy of Becky Alvrey, Callie Anne, Cathleen Mary, and many unknown sources.
Typically Confused Shoes
* As it is the 21st century, we are even starting to see 3D printed shoes. However, the examples I’ve seen so far are also visually different and will be easy to separate from the original shoes.
* My Child doll shoes are frequently confused with CPK shoes. They are not CPK.
* These shoes look VERY similar to Jesmar CPK shoes. However, they have MADE IN HONG KONG stamped on the soles of the shoe and are believed to be aftermarket. Special thanks to Sherri Evans Downey for these pictures.
The slideshow of nope isn’t working and I’d really like to see as I have a pair of shoes I’m trying to figure out if they’re foreign or fake. Hopefully this is something you can fix 🙂 thanks!
Fixed! Well sort of. Turns out it’s no longer supported. Thanks for letting me know.