The regular Casual All Stars series began in 1970 and ran until 1973. They are genuine Mattel outfit sets, which were sold exclusively by Sears. Each set came with a jacket, two pairs of slacks, a long-sleeved shirt, a short-sleeved shirt, two ties, and a pair of shoes and socks. The earliest sets (1970) were made in Japan, and also included a razor, soap and a pair of shorts. The later sets were produced in Taiwan. A vast amount of variation fabrics were used each year, especially for the Taiwan-made sets. Sometimes though it is really hard to tell what is a genuine variation, and what could be just an item which has been washed/faded/stained over the years, especialy with the blue/aqua green jackets and shirts.
A completely different type of Casual All Stars set, with a mixture of clothing from 1973-1974, has also been found, and was presumably sold by Sears in 1974 (see further below), though it doesn’t appear in their Christmas catalogue. It would have been produced in Korea.
1970 THE JAPAN-MADE SETS
The Japan-made jackets have a regular Ken label. There is stitching detail around the collar and pockets. No other Casual All Stars pieces are labelled.
The blue/aqua jackets below could be mint condition/washed/faded/stained versions of the jacket shown above on Ken, or indeed genuine variations.
The jacket below is definitely a variation, as it is made of a much stiffer ‘suede’ fabric than the ones above.
All versions I’ve seen of this green jacket have a Barbie label by mistake. My version has had the Barbie label cut, and a Ken label glued over the top.
The orange shirt looks a bit like a faded red one, but I have seen several this colour, so it is almost certainly original. The red shirt next to it is made of a slightly different fabric. The third shirt has a more obviously different, ribbed fabric.
1971-73 THE TAIWAN-MADE SETS
The Taiwan-made sets certainly came in a vast array of colours and fabrics, and my collection is far from complete.
Unlike the Japan-made jackets, the ones from Taiwan have no stitching detail around the collar and pockets, but do have two rows of stitching down the front on either side. They have no Ken label. Instead they have a small Taiwan tag inside the front.
The blue jacket below left is similar to the ones shown packaged (further above) and above on Ken. They are probably the same jacket, just faded or not in various degrees. The greener jacket below right I believe is a genuine variation.
The Taiwan shirts also differ from those made in Japan: they have a double row of stitching down the front, there is no stitching around the border of the collar, and the sleeves have no cuffs.
The shirt directly below is super-rare and uses one of Mattel’s best 70s fabrics. I have an even rarer pair of trunks in the same fabric at the bottom of page.
The blue shirts seem to have come in an especially large range of colours and fabrics.
Most Casual All Stars shirts have a dyed fabric, which looks the same on both sides, like the one above. The shirt below may look similar, but is a rarer version with the colour printed onto the fabric, so the reverse of fabric looks different.
The shirts below are made with a softer, thinner fabric than the ones above.
The Taiwan-made slacks are the most difficult to identify, as, unlike most Mattel slacks, they have no fly-stitching at front. This makes them look like almost any clone or homemade trousers or pajama-bottoms. Below are the trousers I’ve so far identified. They are all constructed identically, with a fully-elasticated waistband with the elastic hidden under the fabric. The hem of the trouser leg is also a good indicator, as they are identical on all genuine slacks. If you’re a fan of other Barbie-family dolls you will recognize certain fabrics that were also used for various girl doll outfits.
The white trousers below have a distinctly different fabric.
KEN CASUAL ALL STARS SET 31058X (c.1974)
This carded (Korean-made) set of Ken clothing is packaged similarly to the way Sears packaged the 1973 Get-Ups ‘N Go Pilot Outfit (see here). There are also similarities to the Best Buy Fashions packaging (the graphic design, and the fact that the items are stuck on the card with an adhesive), except that this clearly has KEN CASUAL ALL STARS and the Sears code number for this series (30158) printed on the card.
The set contains items from several outfits from 1973-1974, and includes the plaid shirt with a red tie, which had me baffled for years, because (despite occasionally appearing for sale out-of-box) it never appeared with the regular Best Buy Fashions #7759. Additionally the denim jacket from Best Buy Fashions #8618 has a variation fabric collar and cuffs, which I also haven’t found (yet!) packaged with the regular outfit. It could be that these variations were only ever sold as part of this set.
The set also contains what, at first glance, looks like the green trousers from Best Buy Fashions #7760, but is actually a pair of shorts. These are unique to this set.
I’ve never seen another set like this, and it doesn’t appear in the Sears Christmas catalogue for 1974, so I can only imagine it was sold in stores, or used as a special promotional item.
THE SEARS WISH BOOKS
The US Sears catalogue for Christmas 1971 shows a kind of a mash-up of items from Japan and Taiwan, which in reality were probably existing Japan pieces mixed with prototypes (from either Japan, Taiwan, or even the US). The Canadian Simpsons Sears Christmas Wish Book for 1971 however, clearly shows Taiwan-made clothing. As the packaging was not dated, it remains open as to whether both Japan-made and Taiwan-made sets were sold in 1971, or whether the Japan-made sets were actually only available in 1970. What is certain is that far more variations of the Taiwan sets exist.
The 1973 Sears Wish Book mentions shorts and an “electric” razor. This is almost certainly an error. They were included in the earlier Japan-produced sets, but do not appear in the photos, or the MOC versions, of the Taiwan-made sets.
OTHER ITEMS
These items have been spotted in online auctions, and are 100% genuine. The dark blue long-sleeved shirt is made of a heavier fabric than any I have photographed above.
SIMILAR ITEMS
MATTEL CASUAL ALL STARS FABRIC TRUNKS/UNDERWEAR
These are a real conundrum. Apparently too big for a Barbie, they are a snug fit for Ken. The fabric is the same as used for the rare shirt further above. All official Ken swimming trunks from this period are like shorts. They are most similar to Ken’s white cotton underwear from the 1960s, but the waistband differs. So, they are either made by another company, who happened to have access to Mattel’s fabric, or are mom-made from an old torn shirt perhaps..? If anyone knows for sure, please write!
Many thanks to Susanna in Sweden for the loan of these trunks.
MATTEL 1970 BIG BUSINESS & 1971 V.I.P. SCENE SHIRTS
The three shirts below are occasionally listed by online sellers as belonging to this series. The green and blue shirts are from the 1970 outfit Big Business, and the red shirt is from the 1971 outfit V.I.P. Scene. These shirts differ in three main ways: they have four buttons (Casual All Stars shirts have three), they have a slit at the back of the neck for the talking pull-string (Casual All Stars shirts do not), and the shirt bottoms are rounded, whereas the Casual All Stars short-sleeved shirts are straight.
MATTEL 1971 SLACKS ARE BACK TROUSERS
The green slacks below have a Ken label, so can only be from the Action Wear Slacks Are Back series. No other Mod era slacks are labelled. They also have fly-stitching, whereas the Taiwan-made Casual All Stars slacks, which these resemble, do not.
MATTEL 1974 BEST BUY SHIRT
This red flowery shirt is very similar to the Casual All Stars ones, but it has differences – the collar is not made well enough and is too large, it has only one popper, and the sleeves are slightly too short. It is by Mattel though, and also a Sears (store) exclusive. It was part of their 1974 exclusive Best Buy Fashions collection. More photos can be seen in the section 1974 The Outfits. The outfit was only available in-store, so is now exceptionally rare to find, even out-of-box, and I’ve still to find a single example NRFP. If anyone does have a packaged version of this outfit, I would be very grateful for a photo: contact@somethingabouttheboy.com.
CLONE SLACKS
These clone pajama bottoms are practically identical to the genuine Casual All Stars slacks: similar cut, hemming and type of fabric. The only inconsistencies are the slightly looser cut around the hips, and the fact that the elastic inside the waistband is visible, whereas on genuine Casual All Stars slacks the elastic is stitched under the fabric.
