Powder Monki ~ Retro Badges & Magnets

Author Topic: Barbie Tags  (Read 5723 times)

Offline ramallama

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 13
Barbie Tags
« on: Saturday 20 October 2012, 05:24 pm »
I have a bunch of Barbie and Barbie-like clothes I am trying to identify.  I have some clothing pieces that have "Genuine Barbie" labels on them.  I also have a lot of clothes with no tags, but they look like they are good quality and could be Barbie clothes.

Just wondering if all Barbie clothes come with tags or if there are some without.  I believe most of the clothes are from the 80s-present, possibly some from the 70s.

Thanks!

Offline skippercollector

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 53
Re: Barbie Tags
« Reply #1 on: Saturday 20 October 2012, 06:14 pm »
There are about a dozen answers to your question.
The Barbie and family items from 1959 to 1972 were tagged.  Usually it was the main piece.  For instance, if it came with both a coat and a dress, one would have a tag and not the other.  Or if it was a shirt and slacks or a skirt, usually just the shirt had the tag.  All of these tags were white cloth, with the doll name sewn in black script (Barbie, Ken, Francie, Skipper, Tutti, etc.)
There were no tags at all from 1973 to 1976.
From 1977 to sometime in the late 80s, the tags were white paper with the name in black printed on it.  By that I mean it was both imprinted and the name was in block letters.  In the 1990s, for a brief time, the tags were square purple paper with the name "Barbie" arranged in four blocks.  (I really liked the purple tags!).  The placement of the tags were the same as earlier--one tag per ensemble.
I can't tell you about post-2000 since I don't collect new stuff any more.  I have noticed that many items of the past 15 years, even if it's for Skipper or Ken, just has the Barbie tag inside.  (Just to confuse people?)
There's another way to identify genuine Mattel.  In the 1960s, the outfits closed with small silver snaps or a hook with a thread loop.  In the 1970s many outfits had a small button in the back with a thick string (almost like rickrack) loop.  In the 1980s, the snaps returned, and in the late 1980s, Mattel used white plastic square snaps, which have been my favorite of all the types of closures.  Since the 1990s it's been Velcro, which I despise.
You will find thousands of loose fashion doll items with a tag that says "Made in Hong Kong."  These are not Mattel.  Usually the company was Shillman or Mego or one of their umpteem short-lived sister factories.  Many of these are nicely made, but they are considered competition.

Offline pikapal

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 548
Re: Barbie Tags
« Reply #2 on: Sunday 21 October 2012, 12:25 am »
Also some clothes that came on the dolls them selves are not tagged either.

Offline ramallama

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 13
Re: Barbie Tags
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 21 October 2012, 02:51 pm »
There are about a dozen answers to your question.
The Barbie and family items from 1959 to 1972 were tagged.  Usually it was the main piece.  For instance, if it came with both a coat and a dress, one would have a tag and not the other.  Or if it was a shirt and slacks or a skirt, usually just the shirt had the tag.  All of these tags were white cloth, with the doll name sewn in black script (Barbie, Ken, Francie, Skipper, Tutti, etc.)
There were no tags at all from 1973 to 1976.
From 1977 to sometime in the late 80s, the tags were white paper with the name in black printed on it.  By that I mean it was both imprinted and the name was in block letters.  In the 1990s, for a brief time, the tags were square purple paper with the name "Barbie" arranged in four blocks.  (I really liked the purple tags!).  The placement of the tags were the same as earlier--one tag per ensemble.
I can't tell you about post-2000 since I don't collect new stuff any more.  I have noticed that many items of the past 15 years, even if it's for Skipper or Ken, just has the Barbie tag inside.  (Just to confuse people?)
There's another way to identify genuine Mattel.  In the 1960s, the outfits closed with small silver snaps or a hook with a thread loop.  In the 1970s many outfits had a small button in the back with a thick string (almost like rickrack) loop.  In the 1980s, the snaps returned, and in the late 1980s, Mattel used white plastic square snaps, which have been my favorite of all the types of closures.  Since the 1990s it's been Velcro, which I despise.
You will find thousands of loose fashion doll items with a tag that says "Made in Hong Kong."  These are not Mattel.  Usually the company was Shillman or Mego or one of their umpteem short-lived sister factories.  Many of these are nicely made, but they are considered competition.
Thank you so much!  This is really helpful.  Barbie has been around for so long that I find it quite confusing to sort out...but this definitely helps :)

Offline ramallama

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 13
Re: Barbie Tags
« Reply #4 on: Sunday 21 October 2012, 02:52 pm »
Also some clothes that came on the dolls them selves are not tagged either.
Thanks, I will keep that in mind too :)

 

anything