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This is a complete listing of Dude® made in 1988.  I will include Name, Model # (M#), Box Date (BD) and Hair Color (HC).  I am adding Clothing (C) and Accessory (A) descriptions as well.
Highlighted box is the Dude® doll I keep.


Dude™ is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc.   These pages are neither affiliated with, nor a representative of Mattel, Inc.   Material provided on these pages do not in any way reflect the opinions of Mattel, Inc.

A Brief History of Dude

 

Bringing back something lacking in the Barbie® line was the mindset during the early, and again in the late Eighties.  High School was a distant memory for Barbie®, Ken® and friends since the late sixties.  Since the mid Seventies, the Barbie® line was again lacking some teenage fun! During this period, Mattel revived the High School era with Barbie® doll's MOD'ern cousin Francie®.  Then in 1980, this spirit was revived in the Starr line.  Full of parallels, the Jazzie line was introduced in 1989-1990, hoping to fill this void in the Barbie® market again.  Mattel's recipe for success with the Jazzie line proved to be an old one, as savvy consumers once again tasted the samplings.  The Jazzie line's recipe promised to add some new spice, but delivered a luke-warm entree.

Jazzie, Barbie® doll's cool teen cousin, is perfectly cast as a High School student.  There is no room to ponder the decision since each doll in the lines beginnings is emblazed with "High School" before their name.  Jazzie will also use "Teen Looks" and "Teen Dance" before her name, but the idea is generalized.  Like Francie®, she is related to Barbie® as cousin and is introduced in her own line, which eventually is cancelled.  Her similarities to Mattel's High School themed Starr line is by white color box use and subject only, since Starr is not related to Barbie®.   The Starr line took America by storm.  The line was so popular, it makes one ponder why Mattel did not continue it with more versions of each doll.  With the demise of the Starr line, probably due to the fact that it has no ties to the Barbie® line, Mattel tries it again with the Jazzie line with the quip "the coolest teenager yet".  With a literal onslaught of merchandise, Jazzie is introduced in five different versions in her first year, along with three friends!  The line also boasted 12 female fashions, a Volkswagen Cabriolet and a Burger King play set. Jazzie herself is a blonde hair beauty with beautiful friends to match.  Chelsie is her red-haired girlfriend, while Stacie is her African American one.  Dude, the only male in the line, is of course her boyfriend. 

Dude will look very familiar to most collectors.  He borrows his looks from Derek®, who was only off the market two years since the disappearance of Barbie® and the Rockers, last seen in 1987.  Two years later, Derek® is reinvented as Dude, losing his Hispanic past and history.  Unlike Shaun, the male doll in the Starr line, Dude is not described well by Mattel during initial advertising or packaging.  His personality is left to be formed by his owner.  All one really knows is that Dude is Jazzie doll's boyfriend.  Dudedoll's only difference from Derek doll's original look is the addition of "frosted" hair streaks.  The Ken® body mold and bent arms are the same.  When trying to decipher the two apart in loose format, the hair will be the only discernable trait.  All of the High School dolls were advertised as having coordinating clothing pieces that could be switched around for different looks.  The girls had five different looks, while Dude was packaged with only three different articles of clothing.  His five different look is renamed "Rad denim looks!" and he is pictured on the box front sans t-shirt with an open jean jacket.  Pretty sexy for High School!

By mid 1990 and early 1991 it was clear that there would be no more versions of Jazzie doll's friends Dude, Chelsie or Stacie. Jazzie was then incorporated into the Barbie® line, trading her white box for a pink one.  Her last appearance was in 1994.

Picture

High School Dude

M#:  3637   BD:  1988    HC:  Painted Two-Tone Brunette/Blonde.   C:  Acid wash denim shorts with hot pink stitching hem.  White with pink single stripe t-shirt s/l.  Acid wash ľ sleeve denim jacket.  A:  White tennis shoes.

Dude™ is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc.   These pages are neither affiliated with, nor a representative of Mattel, Inc.   Material provided on these pages do not in any way reflect the opinions of Mattel, Inc.