Buster Brown Care Bear Shoes
The Care Bears premiered on greeting cards in 1981. As a greeting card they were adorable and popular, but in 1983, when they made the transition to the toy world, Care Bear mania struck.
From toys of all sizes to TV and movies, they were everywhere. I couldn’t get enough of these colorful characters. One of the Bare Bear branded items I wanted, but never got, were the shoes from Buster Brown. My mother by this point was transitioning me away from Buster Brown, but I still dreamed of getting a pair in 1983.
This commercial ran often in my area and I can still sing along to it. Now I will not deny that a big draw for me wanting to get a pair was the free coloring book offer. Shoe shopping was pretty boring, so if I could tie it into a toy I liked AND get a free coloring book with the shoes, that seemed like a pretty good deal.
The release of the shoes was in 1983, but they were still selling them as late as 1985. You can see from the ad a few styles that were available, but these were not all of them. They had a few other styles of sneakers and shoes as well as Care Bear Boots.
As you can see, the designs are pretty understated. The main design element usually consisting of a Care Bear badge on the side of the show. Not picture here is the sole of the show which has a bear type footprint with a heart and three claws. So every step you took you left a Care Bear footprint. That ignited my imagination as a kid and I delighted in dreams of leaving weird footprints that would baffle the neighbors.
Care Bears are moderately collectible nowadays and unused shoes are out there. So if you have a small-footed bear-loving Care Bear fan in your life, why not surprise them with some retro footwear that would make even Professor ColdHeart smile.
