1979 The Outfits

In 1979 the Best Buy Fashions and Get-Ups ‘N Go ranges were replaced by Fashion Collectibles and Fashion Favorites. The Collectibles, like the Best Buy Fashions, tended to be just a basic outfit with an occasional accessory, and the Favorites, like the Get-Ups ‘N Gos, contained more elaborate accessories and shoes. A new range, Designer Originals, was also released, which sounds expensive, but is mostly cheap glitz. There are many Superstar era variations, some quite obvious and others more subtle.

During 1979 production moved over to the Philippines for the outfits themselves (though the earliest outfits were still made in Korea), with the shoes and packaging made in Hong Kong, and the booklets printed in the US. Despite this amazing feat of coordination, it was not an improvement. The result was clothing of such poor quality that even the most loyal Barbie fans must have refused to buy it. It’s such a shame as from a design point of view they are fantastic – stylish and fun – and had they been made well, would now be as treasured as anything from the 1960s.

In Canada and France the Fashion Collectibles were also known as Habillages “Mode”, the Fashion Favorites as Ses habillages préférés, and the Designer Originals as Habillages Couture.

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FASHION COLLECTIBLES

None of these Fashion Collectibles originally came with socks or shoes, so I’ve added some for the photos.

FASHION COLLECTIBLES #2791

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FASHION COLLECTIBLES #2792

There are at least three variations of Fashion Collectibles #2792. Not only the trouser fabric varies, but some t-shirts have a stick-on star, while on others the star is sewn on.

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FASHION COLLECTIBLES #2793

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FASHION COLLECTIBLES #2794

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FASHION COLLECTIBLES #2795

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FASHION COLLECTIBLES #2796

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FASHION FAVORITES

FASHION FAVORITES Silver Diller #2797

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FASHION FAVORITES All Weather Favorite #2798

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FASHION FAVORITES Vest Dressed #2799

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FASHION FAVORITES Bluechip Dressing #2800

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REVERSE OF FASHION COLLECTIBLES/FAVORITES PACKAGING

All Fashion Collectibles and Fashion Favorites packaging (except the very earliest Korean packaging, like the two above) was printed on the reverse. They either had dressing tips or an application to join the Barbie Fan Club. I’ve seen versions of most outfits with either design. Some came with a bar-code.

REVERSE OF CANADIAN/EUROPEAN PACKAGING

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DESIGNER ORIGINALS

DESIGNER ORIGINALS City Sophisticate #2801

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DESIGNER ORIGINALS In the Limelight #2802

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SEARS EXCLUSIVE KEN FASHIONS #1036

Sears sold Fashion Collectibles #2793 and #2795 together as exclusive Ken Fashions, similar to the sets from 1976-78.

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BOOKLETS & CATALOGUES

Some of the Fashion Collectibles and Fashion Favorites came with booklets, some not. This seems totally random. The booklets were printed in the USA. The photos obviously use prototypes. Note how much better some of them are than the real items – in particular the trench coat from All Weather Favorite.

The French catalogue below right is interesting, as it shows City Sophisticate with a tie in what looks like a fabric with the pattern from the Suede Scene shirt and the Fashion Collectibles #3777 bathrobe. It is not the prototype, as that has quite a different tie (shown in the German booklet below left).

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LABELS & SHOES

1979 saw the return of the ‘Ken’ label, now with the new-look Superstar logo. Not every outfit carried this, but most did. As before, with the vintage and Mod era clothing, usually only one piece from each outfit was labelled. I’ve found labels in jackets, shirts, and even tucked down inside trouser-legs. This design was used until the late 1980s/early 1990s, when the pink Barbie label took over.

All Superstar era loafers which came with the Fashion Favorites, Designer Originals and Wedding Party Fashions were produced in Hong Kong and made of hard plastic. The sneakers were also made in Hong Kong, but still of the soft, rubbery type.