As a child of the eighties and nineties, I naturally grew up obsessed with the Care Bears like most girls from my generation. I loved the cartoons and coveted the merchandise, but I wasn't lucky enough to have much of it in my life, like the soft toys I longed for, as they were always too expensive. It's okay, though; I had plenty of Sylvanian Families and Polly Pockets to fill the void.
It's been a long time since my childhood, but like a lot of people, I've always kept a nostalgic fondness for The Care Bears, and the eighties and nineties eras, so, you can imagine how excited I was when I discovered that my favourite Aussie jewellery brand, Erstwilder, were launching a Care Bears collection back in July.
Erstwilder released a huge collection of pastel perfect Care Bears brooches, necklaces, earrings, enamel pins, and scarves, which sold out so fast it was like trying to buy concert tickets for the gig of the year. Everything kept selling out of my cart before I could finish checking out- from multiple stockists, seconds after they went on sale at 3:30am! I eventually found some luck with Thunder Egg, and managed to snag two of the brooches and the two scarves I had my heart set on, but I wasn't able to get all of the pieces I wanted. I did try again when a couple of other stockists launched at 6am, since I was getting up to try to get a couple of brooches for my sister, but luck wasn't on my side. Grumpy Bear wasn't destined to be mine. Luckily, I got one of the brooches my sister wanted (the Lotsaheart elephant), and snagged her a Care Bear brooch (Love-A-Lot)- even if it wasn't the one she'd hoped for. Thankfully, she was happy to get any design at all.
While the jewellery and scarves sold out in minutes, some of the enamel pins remained a little longer, and I was able to go back for a couple of the enamel pins the next day after deciding I couldn't live without them.
Everything arrived really quickly, and I love everything I chose. It's taken me a while to photograph everything, but I thought it was about time I showed you what I bought.
Let's start with the brooches...
My first pick was the Good Luck Bear brooch, which I'm amazed I managed to get my hands of as he was one of the most popular designs. Good Luck Bear is a soft lime-green in colour, with a forest green four-leafed clover on his stomach, and forest green detailing. It's quite a delicate design, with most of the bear made up of just two layers of resin, (the nose and right arm add a third layer), but as with all of Erstwilder's brooches, it's strong and sturdy, and excellent quality. I love this sweet brooch, and think it will be ideal for wearing on St. Patrick's Day, and any day that calls for a little extra luck.
The second piece I chose was the Wish Bear Brooch, an adorable bear that looks like he's giggling shyly. Wish Bear is a gorgeous turquoise-blue in colour, with teal detailing, white accents, and a yellow and orange shooting star on his stomach. I love the colours and the design so much. Have you ever seen a cuter brooch? If I had three wishes, I'd wish for three more just like him.
If the brooches weren't perfect enough already, they come presented in special blue heart-shaped Care Bears boxes featuring pastel rainbows and the original Care Bears logo, which are almost as cute as the brooches themselves. They look so pretty on display on my dressing table.
I was a little disappointed not to get my hands on one of the pastel pink brooches, so I went back and bought a couple of the enamel pins to fill the pink Care Bear void in my life. I couldn't choose between Cheer Bear and Love-A-Lot (how do you choose between rainbows and love hearts??), so I bought them both. I regret nothing. They're the cutest pins ever, and will look awesome pinned to a denim jacket or pinafore dress.
They're both about an inch in height and are made from strong but lightweight metal with enamel fill, with cute bubblegum-pink heart-shaped rubber backings. They also come presented on a sky and rainbow print circular backing card, making them lovely little gifts. I think they'd make great stocking fillers for Christmas- or sweet little presents to cheer up a friend during lockdown. There are still a few designs available from Erstwilder and Lottie and Lu in the UK.
Erstwilder also launched Care Bear neck scarves and hair scarves in four designs, and I miraculously managed to get the two neck scarves I wanted. I actually got the last Care-A-Lot Castle Neck Scarf from Thunder Egg, so luck was clearly on my side that day.
As well as the Care-A-Lot Castle Neck Scarf, I also bought the Care Bears Large Neck Scarf, both of which feature amazing eighties Care Bear designs. The scarves are made from lightweight chiffon, but they're super soft, and surprisingly warm. These were my first Erstwilder scarves, and I'm really impressed with the quality.
The Care-A-Lot Castle scarf is a gorgeous azure blue with a colourful Care Bears print that'll take you straight back to the eighties. (Or give you a taste of the era if you weren't actually born then!) It has a recurring pattern of colourful Care Bears perched on fluffy white clouds in the sky, with rainbows, yellow stars, castles, and love hearts added in for good measure in true Care Bears style. There's Sleepy Time Bear taking a nap on a cloud, Tenderheart Bear painting rainbow hearts, Good Luck Bear with a bucket of stars, Cheer Bear floating down with a rainbow umbrella and Friend Bear waving up at her. The design is amazing, and makes me so nostalgic for my childhood.
The Care Bears scarf is a very pale lemon yellow in colour and features six of everyone's favourite Care Bears (Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Grumpy Bear, Tenderheart Bear, and Wish Bear) sitting on clouds and catching stars from the star print background. Some of the bears have nets and umbrellas, others are holding stars in their paws. My little sister said it looks like a curtain from a children's hospital in the eighties, which made me laugh, but she's right- it kinda does! In a totally good way, of course. It features original designs from an eighties children's movie, after all, so of course it's going to be fun and colourful and a little bit tacky. That's what any Care Bears fan is looking for in a Care Bears design, right?
It's still too hot to wear scarves in England, but I'm looking forward to the weather cooling down as we go in to Autumn so I can start wearing them.
I'm so happy with all of my Erstwilder x Care Bears purchases, and love having some Care Bear pieces in my life. I adore all of the designs and the quality of the products is fantastic, as always.
If you're hoping to get your hands on jewellery or scarves from this collection, I'm afraid you're going to have a hard time tracking them down as they're sold out from Erstwilder and their stockists around the world. You could try hunting them down on fan resale sites and eBay. There are still some enamel pins and essential earrings available, though, which you can find through Erstwilder here and some of their stockists around the world here.
Erstwilder have hinted that they may do a second Care Bears collection in the future, so if you have missed out on your favourite Care Bear pieces, keep an eye on their Instagram posts for updates. You never know; sooner or later, you might get another chance to snag your favourites, or add a couple of new pieces to your collection. Here's hoping!
Did you buy anything from the Erstwilder x Care Bears collection?
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