Known for her food-themed friends and franchise, Strawberry Shortcake has become an icon in pop culture over time. Strawberry Shortcake was introduced to the world in 1973 through a greeting card designed by Muriel Fahrion, a designer for the American Greetings Corporation, the number one greeting card company in the world at the time.
Once the greeting card was introduced, the character began to see an immense rise in popularity. In order to capitalize on this fame, the company began to release various products featuring Strawberry Shortcake, such as posters, stickers, clothing pieces and more. Another popular Strawberry Shortcake merchandise item was Strawberry Shortcake dolls, made by Kenner Toys, who owned the franchise at the time. Kenner expanded on the Strawberry Shortcake universe by giving the character her own friend group. After developing the dolls, Kenner delved deeper into the aspect of the character—making more adjustments to the character design, creating shows, etc.—but the fame wasn’t truly expanded to her friends until the early 2000s.
The first Strawberry Shortcake design after the greeting card was created in 1980 and resembles the “cottagecore” aesthetic, which emphasizes a whimsical and lived-in comfortable vibe. This design consisted of her (now trademarked) white and green striped leggings, strawberry-printed bonnet and flowy yet puffy apron. Based on her design, fans assigned a warm and inviting personality to Strawberry Shortcake. Designers wanted Strawberry Shortcake to feel wholesome, which led to her endearing personality and old-fashioned style. The same fashion was replicated in Strawberry Shortcake dolls and the 1980 animated series, “The World of Strawberry Shortcake”. The dolls were a huge hit for the public, selling 25 million units from the years 1981-1986, according to Midstory.
By the year 1985, Strawberry Shortcake’s popularity had started to fade and Kenner Toys stopped creating the dolls, shifting their focus to other franchises. In those years, ownership of the “Berryverse” franchise was shifted to Toy Headquarters (THQ). In the ‘90s, THQ updated the character’s design, straying away from the ‘80s rag doll look in an attempt to revive her popularity. The ‘90s update consisted of a frilly dress, Mary Jane shoes and a bow, but the revival did not reach the fame the creators had hoped.
Under a new company, the Bandai toy company, Strawberry Shortcake made a comeback in 2003, where she was reintroduced with a cool-girl style. The new version shifted from the cottage-core fashion and focused on making the character exude a more girl-next-door persona. Instead of sporting her puffy and childlike attire, Strawberry Shortcake now wore a simple pair of jeans, red and white striped shirt and signature strawberry printed hat in a style resembling a straw hat. This design ended up being a highly successful reboot as compared to THQ’s attempt in 1991. The character’s new look was very well received, leading to the franchise’s new TV show being released in 2003, “Strawberry Shortcake”.
In the Berryverse, Strawberry Shortcake’s “Berry Besties” have also become well-known, often seen accompanying her through both TV shows and movies. The characters that appear in the animated series, “Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures” (2009), are Orange Blossom, Lemon Meringue, Blueberry Muffin, Plum Pudding, Raspberry Torte and Cherry Jam. As years passed and modern tastes for fashion evolved, the cartoon character and her friends experienced many design developments. The 2009 rebrand for the characters was one that took a huge leap from the 1980s and 2003 version, with the introduction of a new TV series focusing on Strawberry Shortcake and her Berry Besties.
Now under Hasbro, the goal was for the character to seem more human-like, as portrayed by her new large, expressive eyes as well as her longer hair. Her iconic ‘80s strawberry-printed bonnet was referenced in the design, but it was replaced by a hat resembling the top half of a strawberry, while her white and green striped leggings were brought back in the new show. Strawberry Shortcake’s 2003 sneakers were replaced with bright red Mary Jane-style shoes, and to honor the original design, her apron style was included, now resembling a dress. The development of the character had a mixed review from the public, according to The Society Pages. While most people loved the bright and adorable design, some people preferred the older designs.
Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Besties also underwent similar development changes to fit the style of Strawberry Shortcake. Each character received the same Mary Jane-style shoes (which were relatively popular at the time), except Orange Blossom, who had orange colored boots. Additionally, they received the same striped leggings as Strawberry Shortcake, all in their representative colors to match their fruit. Their hair was emphasized the same way Strawberry Shortcake’s hair was, glossy and bright colored with an accessory resembling their fruit, such as a lemon slice hairclip or a headband with a raspberry on it. Though all the characters had the same base design, which included big, bright eyes and their facial structures, each had their own charm that set them apart from the other characters.
After the “Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures” series wrapped up in Sep. of 2015, the group took a bit of a rest, according to the World of Strawberry Shortcake. In 2021, another adventure series starring Strawberry Shortcake and her friends premiered, called “Berry in the Big City”.
This time around, the characters looked nothing like each other beyond the same animation style. Strawberry Shortcake took her name literally, with her skin tone shifting towards a very light pinkish color, like a strawberry. Once again, her styling had the main components such as her striped leggings and strawberry hat, but her apron turned into a long top with a strawberry graphic. In addition, she sported a crossbody bag in the shape of a strawberry and a jean jacket to adapt to the modern style. This new design was generally well-liked, being praised for the subtle notes to the original 1980s design.
Strawberry Shortcake’s original friend group stayed in the show, but new characters such as Lime Chiffon and Sour Grapes were also introduced. The new design developments seemed to be more directed towards children, with all of the characters seeming very childlike, rather than the teenagers they were depicted to be in the “Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures” series. The characters had chubbier facial structures, and each appeared more illustrated rather than 3D animated. Strawberry Shortcake and the Berry Besties became almost unrecognizable, mostly due to the shift of the characters’ designs from cohesiveness to more individually crafted to each of their personalities.
The series “Berry in the Big City” didn’t finish until late 2023, allowing the designers more time to change the style of animation for the characters as the show progressed. In season three of the series, the characters were given a more refined look, rather than looking like illustrations straight out of a book.
As of March 2026, the 2023 design developments are the latest which have been shown to the public. The various designs of Strawberry Shortcake reflect how animation has developed over the years, and how it slowly adapted to fit modern animation style as well as fan preferences. Though the Strawberry Shortcake designs which the public sees now are far from the original design, the essence of the character shines through in each design created.
