There are major differences between BarbieReference.com
Fashion Avenue line names and years and other websites read about them here.
This BarbieReference.com page is a work in progress. I want to get these images up as soon as possible Fashion Avenue item numbers, assortment numbers and description for this line and year will be added in the future.
These fashions have copyright year 2002 on their package. They do have Fashion Avenue on the back of their package. They are named simply Beat Street Fashions, not Fashion Avenue Beat Street in the 2003 Mattel Vendor Catalog I have. These 4 fashions are shown in a 2003 Fall/2004 Winter German Mattel booklet. These booklets, or mini-catalogues, are usually sold in stores in the magazine section of a store, (similar to Barbie Bazaar magazine or The Barbie Magazine For Girls magazine) or included in Barbie doll boxes or fashion packs. They are not as authoritative as Mattel Vendor Catalogs, but they do carry the year and season customers were expected to see the dolls and fashions in stores, and their fashion line names (when translated to English) and assortment numbers usually match the USA Mattel Vendor Catalog for the same year and season. The other fashion lines with Fashion Avenue in their USA Mattel Vendor Catalog name and Fashion Avenue on the box are also labeled Fashion Avenue in the 2003 Fall/2004 Winter German booklet, so it’s correct on all the other exclusively European and sold in USA fashions. For that reason I have included the fashions below with the regular 2003 Fashion Avenue lines, but the rest of the Beat Street line fashions as a fashionave.info “not really Fashion Avenue” exclusive.
Interestingly, Fashion Avenue disappears altogether from the USA Mattel Vendor Catalogs and boxes in the USA. Fashion Avenue is no longer written in the German Mattel Booklets I own from 2004 Spring onward either. The Barbie fashions are still grouped by assortment number and given names, like Beat Street, Glamour, Essentials, even Boutique. I really appreciate that because it makes it easier to group fashions. The fashion line names would largely go away in 2006. There would be overall names like Fashion Fever and Fashionistas, that apply to dolls, clothes, and playsets. 2008 saw a few fashion line names on packages like Let’s Shop and Party Perfect. The Fashionistas started with line names Glam, Sweetie, Cutie, Sporty, and Sassy, but those were removed from packages after the first year. But the line names are replaced by descriptions like “Fashion Fever fashions with accessories,” “Fashionista outfit separates,” “Fab Life: Estate,” “Fab Life: Beach” in USA Mattel Vendor Catalogs and the booklets are no longer included in fashion packages and playline dolls in the USA.
In my opinion this was a mistake. I enjoyed the booklets a lot as a child. They were a great way to check off what I owned and I remember cutting out the pictures and pasting them onto a wish list I would give my parents at Christmas. As an adult collector they are also useful for planning purchases and identifying loose Barbie clothes and shoes I buy secondhand. Surely the cost of production was worth the additional sales to Mattel and customer fun! I hope Mattel will bring them back in the future.
