Strawberry Shortcake Dolls

Collecting SSC has become very popular. Strawberry Shortcake dolls were produced three different times: first, from 1979 - 1984 by Kenner; second, in 1991 by TCFC (Those Characters from Cleveland); and third in the early 2000's by Bandai and the line was taken over by Playmates Toys in 2006.  The following guide will help you with identification of all three lines:

The Flat Hands Vintage Line

Many people will refer to their SSC dolls as "Flat Hands".  The first dolls produced were Strawberry Shortcake (of course), Huckleberry Pie, Blueberry Muffin and Apple Dumpling.  They all had flat hand rather than the curved fingers and did not come with a pet.  Apple Dumpling actually always has flat hands, so it is nearly impossible to tell if an Apple Dumpling doll is really the "very first" issue.  One confusing factor, several of the boxes for Raspberry Tart, Lemon Meringue and Orange Blossom feature a photo on the back with these dolls have flat hands.  To my knowledge these dolls never came with flat hands (except the Japan version), the boxes were just printed that way.

Other Regular Line Vintage Releases

Many other dolls were introduced next and came with a product insert catalog and red comb.  These dolls include:

1. Strawberry Shortcake and pet Custard (cat). She came with her hat, dress, striped leggings and brown shoes.
2. Huckleberry Pie and pet Pupcake (dog).  He came with a hat with a berry applique, one-piece outfit, striped handkerchief and brown shoes (no socks).
3. Blueberry Muffin and pet Cheesecake (mouse).  She came with a blue hat with a berry applique and purple ribbon tied under her chin, two purple hair ribbons, blue checkered dress, striped leggings and dark blue shoes.
4. Raspberry Tart and pet Rhubarb (monkey).  She came dressed in a one-piece outfit with beret style hat, leggings and light pink shoes.
5. Lemon Meringue and pet Frappe (frog).  She came dressed in a polka dot yellow dress, tall white hat with pink flowers at the base, striped leggings and yellow "bow" shoes.
6. Orange Blossom and pet Marmalade (butterfly).  She is the only African American doll produced in this line and she was produced in a regular series doll, Party Pleaser, Berrykin, Sweet Sleeper, Berry Baby, Blow Kiss Doll, Rag Doll and Various Miniatures and Deluxe Mini.  She came with an orange hat, matching dress, leggings and orange shoes with an orange blossom on them.
7. Lime Chiffon and pet Parfait (parrot).  She came with her pink dress, tall pink hat with ribbon bow on top (sometimes this is green, sometimes it is yellow), striped leggings and light pink shoes.
8. Cherry Cuddler and pet Gooseberry (goose).  She is one of the smaller dolls ("Baby or Toddler") and came with a dark pink hat, white dress with a cherry on it, striped legging and pink booties.
9. Apple Dumpling and pet Tea Time Turtle (turtle).  She came with a polka dot yellow hat, yellow body suit with an apple on it and striped booties.  Her pet came in both a hard plastic - turtle on all fours and then a soft vinyl turtle standing up.  In all our years of collecting we have never figured out which one came first.  Many different people have a different answer for that question : ) !
10. Apricot and Hopsalot (bunny).  She came with a peach hat, one piece outfit and blue booties.

U.S. Issue International Dolls

These "International" characters were issued in the United States.  There were other dolls, issued in other countries (Japan, Brazil, Argentina) but these were available here in the U.S.

1. Cafe Ole & pet Burrito (donkey).  This is the character from Mexico.  She wore a white hat, patterned dress and skirt, striped leggings and pink sandals.
2. Almond Tea & pet Marza Panda (bear).  This is the character from Asia.  She wore a flower petal yellow hat, one piece outfit, striped socks and purple shoes.
3. Crepe Suzette & pet Eclair (poodle).  This is the character from France.  She wore a beret type brown hat, striped bodysuit, apron and light blue Mary Jane type shoes.
4. Mint Tulip & pet Marsh Mallard (duck).  This is the Dutch character.  She wore a tulip style white hat, dress with flowers on it, striped leggings and yellow plastic "wooden" shoes.
5. Lem & Ada Twins and Sugar Woofer (puppy).  I am not sure where these are supposed to be from.  The have coordinating cloth diapers and t-shirts, Lem had a hat, Ada has a bow and both have striped booties.

Vintage SSC Party Pleasers

The Party Pleaser line featured some of the dolls wearing party dresses and hat (very elaborate outfits) and even their pets changed to a party scene (holding balloons, a cake, etc).  The following dolls were included in this line:

1. Strawberry Shortcake

2. Orange Blossom

3. Cherry Cuddler

4. Apple Dumpling

5. Cafe Ole

6. Mint Tulip

7. Almond Tea

8. Angel Cake

Vintage Berry Babies

These were like tiny baby dolls.  They were drink and wet dolls and came with bottles, cute dresses, bonnet, booties and thick cloth diapers.  These dolls included:

1. Berry Baby Strawberry Shortcake
2. Berry Baby Orange Blossom
3. Berry Baby Lemon Meringue
4. Berry Baby Blueberry Muffin

Vintage SSC Rag Dolls

Two of the ragdolls are different and have large vinyl head with combable hair and included Strawberry Shortcake and Huckleberry Pie.  The other ragdolls are all cloth with yarn hair and included the following characters:

1. Lime Chiffon (very hard-to-find)
2. Raspberry Tart
3. Strawberry Shortcake
4. Huckleberry Pie (I hear there is one - but VERY hard-to-find)
5. Mint Tulip
6. Lemon Meringue
7. Orange Blossom
8. Cherry Cuddler
9. Apple Dumpling
10. Apricot

Vintage SSC Berrykins - 1984

The Berrykins are by far the most valuable 5 1/2" SSC dolls ever produced.  Each came with a Berrykin "Critter" instead of a pet and were dressed in elaborate dresses with bows in their hair! These dolls had long hair.  Dolls in the line include:  Banana Twirl (most rare), Mint Tulip, Orange Blossom, Strawberry Shortcake and Plum Pudding!  There is also a Berrykin Princess who wears a dress with pockets for all the Berrykin Critters!

1991 Strawberry Shortcake Line by Those Characters From Cleveland

These dolls are SO CUTE!  They each came with an original outfit like the vintage styles and then a second outfit.  The second outfit was on a cardboard display and each doll came with a displaye stage!

1. Strawberry Shortcake Berry Best Shopping
2. Strawberry Shortcake Berry Best Party
3. Strawberry Shortcake Berry Best Sleepover
4. Orange Blossom
5. Berry Exercise Lime Chiffon
6. Blueberry Muffin
7. Raspberry Tart

This page is currently a work in progress and will be updated with new information as time allows.  Thank You for Viewing Our SSC Guide!