1978 The Outfits

Despite SuperStar Ken being launched this year, the clothing was still designed and packaged as Best Buy Fashions and Get-Ups ‘N Go outfits. Only one of the 1978 Best Buy Fashions (#2241) originally came with footwear, so I’ve added some for the photos. All Fashion Originals and Get-Ups ‘N Go outfits were made in Korea. The shoes are still the rubbery plastic type. The Best Buy Fashions for 1978 were made either in Korea (the early ones) or the Philippines.

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BEST BUY FASHIONS

BEST BUY FASHIONS #2238

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BEST BUY FASHIONS #2239

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BEST BUY FASHIONS #2240

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BEST BUY FASHIONS #2241

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BEST BUY FASHIONS #2242

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BEST BUY FASHIONS #2243

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GET UPS ‘N GO / FASHION ORIGINALS

FASHION ORIGINALS #2282

This and the following Fashion Originals are among the most difficult to find of all Ken outfits, though oddly not the most sought-after. They had an extremely limited release in Europe, but as they are rarely mentioned on other Barbie & Ken websites, few collectors seem to know they exist. The first outfit is a variation of the Sears exclusive #2078 made for the Donny Osmond doll (see section 1977-1978 Donny & Jimmy Osmond).

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FASHION ORIGINALS #2283

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GET UPS ‘N GO Super deluxe silver ‘n white tux! / FASHION ORIGINALS #2305

This outfit is a dire warning of things to come. Mattel try desperately to spin this as ‘Super Deluxe’ while actually serving up an outfit of such appalling quality you could mistake it for a cheap clone. This ruse would continue throughout the Superstar era.

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GET UPS ‘N GO Suit with a vest for East and West! / FASHION ORIGINALS #2306

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REVERSE OF PACKAGING

The Best Buy Fashions and Get-Ups ‘N Go outfits still had no printing on the reverse. The European Fashion Originals now came with this modified design on reverse.

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FASHION ADD-ONS

Shoes & Cases #2459

The Fashion Add-Ons were made in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and introduced three new designs; the motorcycle boot, the hiking boot and the heeled shoe. Mini-versions of the black shoes were used for the Jimmy Osmond doll, but apart from those, the heeled shoes were never produced again.

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SEARS EXCLUSIVE FASHIONS #2582

This Sears exclusive set (Best Buy Fashions 9703 and 9705 from 1977) was sold through the Wish Book and presumably in Sears stores packaged as a FASHIONS set, like the ones from the previous two years.

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BOOKLETS & CATALOGUES

Most 1978 outfits are found NRFP with the Barbie booklet from the previous year. In the 1978 booklet (shown below) Best Buy Fashions #2239 is misprinted as #2234. Both booklets were printed in the USA.

This was the last year that the Montgomery Ward catalogue offered the three genuine Barbie and Ken outfit sets from the previous years: the United Airlines outfits, the skiing outfits from the Sun Valley dolls, and the Get-ups ‘N Go tennis outfits.

I’m not sure where this little Italian snippet below is from, but the same picture is featured in the Italian Mattel dealer catalogue from 1981 (see also section 1981 The Outfits). It is interesting, not only as it shows outfits from 1976-78, but it even has Best Buy Fashions #2059 (marked F), which was otherwise only sold as a 1977 Sears exclusive in the US (see section 1977 The Outfits).