I want to be Jem!

Jem Wannabe dolls

Totsy's Jewel and Creata's Rock Star line seem to be the most similar/compatible with Jem, as they were made for 12 1/2" dolls, have the correct sized shoes & copy elements of Hasbro's box art. Some of the companies here tried to have the best of both worlds, by copying Jem and Barbie and the Rockers; Creata's Lace line for instance, had very Jem-inspired clothes but made for Barbie's size, some even being slightly sized-down versions of the 12 & 1/2" Rock Starfashions. Most of the other knock-off companies, perhaps wisely, chose to stick to the traditional Barbie size of 11 & 1/2" doll fashions, so Jem cannot actually wear the clothes. Some were even leftover Michael Jackson fashions, with stickers on the front stating that they were sized to fit Jem & Rio dolls. Oh those androgynous 80's!
Also made for Jem's size were some department store fashions, from JC Penney and Sears. They were not produced or endorsed by Hasbro.
This list is by no means complete and barely begins to scrape the surface of European "cheapie" toy companies. Any additional information is welcome!

Cititoy Rock 'N Video 1985
Creata

Lace c. 1986
Rock Star c.1986-7

Lucky/Fashion Corner Rock*Star Fashions c. 1986
Ja-Ru

Jackie
Pam
Smash Hits Pop Star

Jemie
La Gear Rock Band Fashions c.1986
Petra
Soma Super Star 1986
Spotlight Rock Star Fashions (unknown) c.1986-7
Totsy Jewel & Super Star Fashions

Department Stores
JC Penney 1986
Sears Catalogue Bargain Packs
- Sears Bargain Pack 1986 (new, in depth)

Mystery Jem Wanna Be Stuff (likely from any or all of the above, but not specifically identified as of yet) c. 1986


Creata

Rock Star
The Rockstar fashions were definitely meant to copy Jem. Fashions were packaged on very Jem-inspired cards, complete with palm-tree, pink to yellow background, stars designs and even women with bright hair posing in the outfit. Packaging reads: "Music Video Fashions for 12 & 1/2" dolls." These fashions also had Jem-sized shoes. I do not know if there was a doll made for these fashions, it's doubtful.

Yellow mini dress/stockings, gold bustier & accessories (black shoes?)

Black tinsel threaded strapless pantsuit, puffy green jacket & accessories (Black shoes)

Black vinyl dress w/white accents (belt same pattern) & sparkly purple accessories, fishnet tights, navy shoes

Sparkly black pants, purple tube top, pink shiny blazer, sparkly belt and lavender shoes. Thanks to Monica for the photo!

Red sleeved bodysuit (sleeves are sparkly) with matching sparkly overdress, red hair bow, pumps and gloves.

Fuchsia one-sleeved dress, ruffled bottom and white accessories (white shoes?) Thanks to Monica for the photo!


	These fashions came with the unique star-branded Jem shoes. (Thanks thumper for the shoe scan).


Lace c. 1986. The celebrity doll with fashion and fame. Sound familiar? Lace is actually a Barbie sized doll that came in black or pink packaging (more Barbie and the Rockers than Jem, in that respect). Pretty much all I know about Lace, I've learned from this site, run by Nancy: Lace Celebrity Doll with Fashion & Fame Be sure to check out the 2nd year fashions, and scroll down to see a drawing of a totally copied Jem dress (one Hasbro never made!) Has three series of dolls, including the "Glow N' Glitter" line, which featured glow-in-the-dark makeup and accessories, and even a male doll, Ladd. There were also about a dozen or so fashions released, with varying degrees of Jem similarity. Thanks to Sonia for the photos of the Lace/Ladd dolls.


Fashion Corner/Lucky


*RockStar** Doll & Fashions c. 1986. Not related to the Creata fashions of the same name listed above. They come on bubble cards with hollow guitars, with the Rock Star logo written in rainbow lettering. They are Barbie sized in general (shoes, etc.) but the odd fashion can fit Jem and use similar/identical fabrics. There is also a Barbie-sized doll ("Rock Star", big surprise!) in the collection. Some items will fit Jem, others will not. Some of the pieces do have tags in them and others not. Those that do have a rabbit on the tag just like on the packaging itself and Lucky IND. CO. LTD. All I know about these are from the back of the cards (shown right) and what Sonia has told me :) Listing of Fashions Picture #1 #1: Blue stretchy pants, Roxy print headband & jacket, red shirt, blue belt. #2 Purple pantsuit w/purple jacket #3: Hot pink mini-skirt suit w/blue hat, lace tights Picture #2 #1 Pink pantsuit w/maroon jacket #2 Silver tanktop, white skirt, pink jacket/leggings #3 Pink skirt, Yellow halter top, headband, & pants, blue jacket Picture #3 #1 Pink ruffled top, blue skirt, yellow leggings, silver jacket #2 Fuchsia Mini Dress, grey jacket #3 splotchy (maybe Roxy material) jacket, green miniskirt and crop top Pink top, orange pants, blue jacket Stretchy Pants, scarf, pink shirt, belt, white jacket. Red/Black shirt, white lace (same pattern as Like A Dream) tights- fit Jem, "Roxy pants" patterned head band & skirt, cheap guitar. Shown Right- Various Jem-ish pieces from the line. Note that the instruments shown on the back of the fashion rarely matched with the instruments that actually came with the particular fashion. All of these are Sonia's pictures- thanks for letting me use them!


Citytoy (1985, 1987)


	Rock 'N Video Super Star 1985 Set of 6 curly-haired blonde dolls with two fashions, at least according to the back of the box (personally I've seen two: the green fashion one, and the gold fashion one in the back). Notice the one wearing pants like Roxy's, as well as the one in the back with the 1st edition Jem dress in different colours/fabrics. This outfit later came on a three-doll gift pack called "Kelly Gift Set", shown left (thanks Caleb for this information and Liz Pemberton for the photos). Green Outfit Doll, close up of face Thanks to Monica for the photos of the Rock 'N Video doll.


Ja-Ru c. 1986


Pam/Jackie/Smash Hits Pop Star I am not sure if Ja-Ru is responsible for all of these dolls, but they are definitely the manufacturer/distributor name on the Jackie-marked packages. So far the distinguishing characteristics are that they all have blue/pink two toned hair and a star on the cheek. It would not surprise me if there were different hair colours/make up out there, I have yet to see any though. The Smash Hits Pop Star doll was likely sold only in Europe &/or the UK. Thanks to Monica for this photo.


Various Other Knock-Offs


Spotlight Rock Star Fashions Barbie sized, and packaging influenced. Black box with cello window, multicoloured "spotlights" design. Rather generic looking outfits inside, they didn't even seem very "rockstarish" to me. Possibly also made by Fashion Corner?


LA Gear Rock Band Apparently there were fashions for males and females. Look fairly Jem. Bubble packs on card. Some (maybe all?) pieces are tagged LA Gear, which makes them easier to identify. Hollywood Video Magic 12" Boy Fashions multicoloured camouflage style shiny pants (not unlike Roxy's, but different pattern), with white jacket (trim matches pants) and gold or blue (it varied) tank top. Lavender and silver jacket (thanks to Liz Pemberton for this scan), from an unknown LA Gear fashion (tagged)


Jemie Barbie-sized knock-off doll, except the name/logo is completely ripped off from Jem. They are 11 1/2". Close up of face. I have also seen a blond one. The clothes tend to be pretty bland, not very rock-starish. There is no date or licensing information on the package. Thanks to Monica for the photos!


Rainbow Sax Dated 1987, made by Cheng Ching Toys: Very Jem inspired packaging! Thanks to Tara Anderlich for the photo and information!


Petra (See Back of box); Not much I can tell you about Petra except she's been around for years in Europe, long enough to get to an 80's Disco look, which looks pretty nicely Jem to me :), though the scale is for a Barbie-sized doll, naturellement!


JC Penney (1986): Like Sears, had an assortment of Jem sized knock-off fashions, apparently made by Totsy, as one of their "Jewel" line fashions is shown in the second set of fashions.

Mystery Jem Wanna-Be stuff This is stuff we've pretty much narrowed down to being knock-offs, but have no idea exactly which line they've come from. Let me know if you have any information about any of the following items.


	Gold Jem-ish dress.


	Another strange one! This doll has pink and blond hair with LED earrings. Woah! Unfortunately she was being used for a custom doll by the time I was informed of her :) But Eric has kindly offered these photos and information: "It's slightly larger than a Barbie head, sort of carricature. She has blond & pink hair rooted in the front and she used to have blonde in the back (that was rooted on a separate piece of vinyl and that was inserted into a hole on her scalp). She had light-up earring (that probably explains the hole in her head) and she sang when a button on her back was pushed. Some lame sounding song with the word "baby" repeated a lot. She came with purple glitter tights, black "leather" skirt and some sort of silver top. If I remember correctly she was made in Mexico and her name was Sparkle or Glitter or something (at the time I thought it was really bizarre sounding."
	Another couple of 80's era cheapies with colourful hair. Anyone know them? (allanieew suggests that the purple haired one may be Petra?) Thanks for the photos, Monica!