Four new outfits were available for 1970. There were also two great Sears exclusives: the first Casual All Stars Set, and the gift-boxed Red, White ‘N Wild Set. All trousers from 1969-71 Ensemble Pak outfits have working YKK zips. Some have an additional hook-and-eye fastener, and Shore Lines and Bold Gold have zips and belts. The only trousers from this period which were simply elasticated are those from the Casual All Stars and Action Wear (Slacks Are Back) series. Several variations were made of the outfits this year. The trousers and ties came in different fabrics and/or patterns, and even the socks came in different colours.
THE ENSEMBLE PAKS
PLAY IT COOL #1433
The Mattel advertising for 1970 shows Play It Cool with slight variation trousers. I’ve only ever found a single example of these trousers (below right).
As with all Ken’s Ensemble Pak outfits for 1970, these jumbo cord variation trousers fasten with a YKK zip. The similar ones which are fully elasticated and have a Ken label inside are from the Slacks Are Back Action Wear series from 1971 (see 1971 The Outfits).
BIG BUSINESS #1434
Big Business can be found with variation shirts, ties and socks.
This variation tie is shown in the 1970 JCPenney Christmas catalogue.
SHORE LINES #1435
The variation below is fascinating. The design, stitching, and YKK zipper all mark it as genuine Mattel, but the belt buckle is not the exact one used for the final outfits (Shore Lines/Bold Gold). This suggests it is a (US?) prototype. Many thanks to Ebay seller Booboo_4 for the use of these images.
BOLD GOLD #1436
SEARS EXCLUSIVE CASUAL ALL STARS SET
Sears began their exclusive Casual All Stars series this year. These were clothing sets which always contained a jacket, two shirts, two trousers, two ties, and a pair of socks and shoes. The earliest sets also contained a pair of shorts, soap & razor. The designs remained basically the same, but the fabrics used varied greatly, even in one year, and I don’t suppose anyone will ever fully discover all the variations. I have several items from this series, which can be seen in the section Casual All Stars – Sears exclusive sets 1970-1974.
SEARS EXCLUSIVE RED, WHITE ‘N WILD SET
The Red, White ‘N Wild Set was also a Sears exclusive (including Simpsons Sears Canada). It consisted of a New Good-Lookin’ Ken plus an extra, exclusive outfit. The main photo in the 1970 Sears Wish Book shows this outfit with a yellow tie with dark spots, as indeed does the box illustration. This was almost certainly a prototype, as it has never been found. The Wish Book also shows the orange tie with yellow dots which came with the Casual All Stars – Sears exclusive sets 1970-1974 – also shown above). Whenever this outfit comes up for sale however, it is either with the psychedelic-print tie here or the first one shown above with Big Business. The navy blue JAPAN-marked loafers are unique to this outfit. Like the outfit Big Business, I’ve seen some sets with navy blue socks and some with royal blue socks.
BOOKLETS & CATALOGUES
There appear to be two versions of the booklet for 1970, with slight differences to the layout and content. In the later booklet Guruvy Formal was no longer available.
The snippet from the Italian Mattel Giocattoli catalogue for 1970 (below right) unfortunately has no photos of Ken’s outfits, but the names can be guessed to be three outfits from 1969: Sveglia (translation: wake up) must be Breakfast at 7, Completo Ralley must be Rally Gear, and Collo Tartaruga (translation: turtle neck) must be Town Turtle.
