In 1960 #856 Party Set Gift Pak (after 1960 ‘pak’ was changed to ‘set’)
was offered, and retailed for $10.00. It
was one of three amazing and extremely hard to find gift sets released that
year. The other two were #857 Mix n
Match Set and #858 Trousseau Set.
This very pretty Party Set came with either a #3 or #4 blonde or brunette Ponytail
Barbie doll dressed in her black and white striped swim-suit, pearl earrings (or
gold hoop earrings), with black open toe heels and sunglasses.
The set included
a black wire stand or black pedestal stand and 5 outfits; #911 Golden Girl
(dress and graduated pearl necklace only), #966 Plantation Bell (dress,
underskirt, and pale pink shoes only) #969 Suburban Shopper (dress and hat
only), #977 Silken Flame (dress, gold belt, and gold clutch purse), and #919
undergarments (white bra and panties or blue bra and panties).
 |
| #856 Party Set |
The Mattel catalog contained some errors in describing the outfits. It
states there were three outfits, but there were actually portions of five
ensembles. It never came with the Golden
Girl purse; it actually came with the Silken Flame Purse that was pictured. It also states that the Plantation Belle
dress came with a straw hat, but in fact the Suburban Shopper dress is the one
that had the straw hat which was also pictured in the set, and of course the
bra and panties were not part of the Plantation Belle outfit either. They were sold separately.
 |
| Photo from Mattel Catalog |
The set also included the 1960 Barbie booklet. The box is marked ©1959, 1960 Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif.
Stock No. 856.
What an elegant set! It is
definitely one of my favorite Barbie gift sets.
Happy Hunting!
Hello, it is a lovely set and your blog is very interesting and welldone. Kisses.
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