Barbie of the Month: Skipper Holiday Party Set

Fifty years ago the extremely hard to find #1021 Skipper Holiday Party Set was released.  This fabulous 1965 set is almost identical to the 1964 #1021 Skipper Party Time Gift Set, but with a few exceptions.

Holiday Party Set

Both sets had the same #1021 stock number and included the #1902 Silk 'n Fancy ensemble (dress, white ankle socks, and gold headband only) and the complete set of #1906 Dress Coat (red coat, matching red hat, short white gloves, white flat shoes, and matching red purse). Both sets also included red flat shoes, white brush and comb, gold wire stand, and a fashion booklet.

Holiday Party Set and Party Time Set

The 1965 Holiday set featured a bend-leg Skipper doll dressed in her red, white, and blue nautical one-piece swim-suit instead of the red and white one-piece suit that 1964 set with straight-leg Skipper wore.  

Bend-leg Skipper

The box graphics were changed too.  The 1965 box included a drawing of the bend-leg doll dressed in her swim-suit, and a drawing of the bend-leg doll dressed in the Silk ’n Fancy dress as well.  Interestingly, the doll shown in the Dress Coat ensemble was the same drawing that was featured on both the 1964 and 1965 boxes.  

Box front of both sets

The 1964 Party Time Set was featured as "new" in the 1965 Mattel Catalog after it was released as a Sears exclusive in 1964.  But the rare 1965 set is not pictured in any of the catalogs (Mattel, Sears, Montgomery Ward, or J.C. Penney). Could it have been a small release intended for the Christmas holiday?  

The 1965 set is much, much harder to find on the secondary market than the 1964 set.  But maybe you’ll be one of the lucky few this year, and you’ll find this half century old set under your Christmas tree!

Happy Hunting and Merry Christmas!



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