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 (they were made for 12 1/2" dolls, have the correct sized shoes & copy elements of the box art).
Some of the companies here tried to have the best of both worlds, by copying Jem AND Barbie and the Rockers (Lace- had very "Jem" inspired clothes but made for Barbie's size) and the rest were more along the lines of Barbie knock-offs, even some Michael Jackson doll clothes knock-offs advertised to fit Jem a few years later! Further complicating things, are the JC Penney and Sears (and maybe more) Christmas catalogues that feature sets of "Jem" or "Rocker" sized clothes in bargain packs (none were made by Hasbro, Mattel or any other company listed here, as far as I know and are truly generic).

By all means let me know if you have any information or photos that would pertain to this site.

Totsy
Jewel c. 1986
Super Star c. 1984

Creata
Lace c. 1986
Rock Star c.1986-7

Soma
Super Star 1986

Fashion Corner
Rock*Star Fashions c. 1986

Cititoy
Rock 'N Video 1985

Ja-Ru
Jackie
Pam
Smash Hits Pop Star

Other Companies
JC Penney 1986
Jemie
La Gear Rock Band Fashions c.1986
Sears Department Store Catalogue Bargain Packs 1986-7
Spotlight Rock Star Fashions (unknown) c.1986-7

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

Totsy

Jewel c. 1986.

What a coincidence! The Jewel box art
looks a lot like this clip art of Shana...

There were certainly Jem-sized fashions (complete with shoes) made, but I've not yet seen Jewel herself, if she exists. One of the better knock-offs IMHO, as the shoes fit and the styles are pretty outrageous.

Thanks so much to Marilyn who gave me the vast majority of the pictures used in this section.

Iridescent blue and gold fashion. Pale Blue Shoe s. (Variant: can come with a cheap white guitar)

Multi-coloured Overalls w/red shirt , dark blue shoes (Variant: can come with a cheap red guitar) (the 1986 JC Penney Christmas catalogue shows this outfit, or one similar to it in their "Starr fashions" knock off line)

Gold and Silver dress, white shoes. Close Up.

Shiny Purple pantsuit, dark yellow shoes. Loose. (the 1986 JC Penney Christmas catalogue shows this outfit, or one similar to it in their Barbie knock off line, paired with a keyboard)

Unknown Doll or Outfit -Black Shoes.

Unknown Doll or Outfit -Pink shoes.

Green sleeveless bodysuit with silver "belt" area, thin green and gold fabric trimmed with silver and the green shoes (Thanks to Janice for this photo and information)

Unknown Doll or Outfit -Magenta shoes (for all intents and purposes, match Stormer's shoes in colour, thanks to Liz Pemberton for the scan and info)

The most obviously "borrowed" items are the shoe molds, which are almost exactly the same as real Jem straight-edged shoes, except they have holes in the bottom of the soles and unique colours.

Super Star Fashions
Made for the Michael Jackson doll, c. 1984. (I have not seen any for female dolls yet). They were not made for Jem or Rio, but later bore stickers with the Jewel image reading: "Made to fit 12 & 1/2" dolls: Jem, Jewel, Rio and the Misfits" to entice Jem or Jewel shoppers. Interestingly, if you lift up this sticker, it reads "Made to fit 12" Boy Dolls; Elvis, Ken, Michael Jackson."* ~_~ Some fashions came with only one glove, predictably. In a pink box, with 3 male rock stars graphic. They are all men's clothes.

Black sparkly jacket w/sparkly white pants, socks, one glove (etc.)

Sparkly black shirt, w/maroon/white tuxedo (can have either black or white rik rak)

Red satin jumpsuit

White sparkly blouse/pants, etc. with silver vest

Pink satin jacket w/gold pants.

White outfit with tinselly-gold vest, accents (shown right - thanks to Sonia for the pic)

Shiny leatherette black pants and vest (w/brown), white shirt.

Pink ruffled blouse with hot pink shiny bowtie, silver vest and glove, hot pink shiny pants, pink socks and sunglasses.*

* This information and photo courtsey of Janice

Super Star Accessories (Smaller, on bubble cards w/pink background, with 3 male rock stars graphic)

Red jacket, gold vest outfit.

blue shiny jacket w/white dickie outfit

white long-sleeved shirt w/yellow vest

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

Rock*Star 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 photo and information).

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!

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.
Liz Pemberton's page so far has compiled the best source of photos of these knock offs.

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?
Thanks for the photos, Monica!