Beach Fun, the Cali Girl Sequel

     After the Cali Girl line ended, the very next beach line contained all of the dolls from that line. It was just called Beach Fun instead of Cali Girl. The line included Barbie (two versions), Summer (two versions), Christie, Lea, Steven, Blaine and the return of Ken! The return of Ken meant that this doll was the last Blaine doll to be released. 
     I'm not sure why Mattel released two versions of Barbie and Summer. It could be a later release, since Ken wasn't in the initial release, but the photos are showing the same dolls, even though others were released. I just don't know. 
     

The original Barbie

The second (and in my opinion, prettier) version of Barbie

The original Summer

The second version of Summer

Beach Fun Christie

Beach Fun Lea

Beach Fun Blaine (picture from eBay)

Beach Fun Ken

     And so ends the Cali Girl line. It was a fun line and I wish it had more, but as they say, all good things come to an end. Summer would live on in name as Barbie's friend for years to come, but Blaine was gone. Barbie and Ken got back together, so Blaine was no longer needed. Who knows though, maybe one day, he'll return! Until then, we wait and continue to collect those dolls we love. 

Cali Girl, Hawaiian Style!

     The last official Cali Girl line was the Hawaiian Hair line. It featured Barbie, Summer and Christie taking a vacation to Hawaii. The girls all came with long, "wrap and twist" hair and over 20 hair accessories. They also came with suitcases and were dressed in Hawaiian style. As they had the bigger feet, the sandals they came with were the only other shoes you could put on these dolls beside the cowboy boots from the last line. 
     Two playsets were released with this line as well. First was a Hawaiian Party playset, which came with three activities: you could make a lei, a bracelet and a hula skirt. It also came with a small brown teddy bear dressed in a hula skirt. I imagine this is a souvenir for the girls to take back to California once the vacation was done. The second playset was the hotel the girls were staying at while in Hawaii. It had a check in kiosk where the girls could check in to their room. The room itself had a balcony and a hot tub. This set, unfortunately, is quite rare and I don't have it...YET! It's on my to-get list. 
     In this line, Summer, who is normally a brunette, became a lovely redhead. I'm not sure why they changed her hair color, but the red hair looked good on her. I had the hardest time trying to find Christie at a decent price, but I prevailed and finally obtained her. I was so excited! 
     Without further ado, the girls go to Hawaii!

Hawaiian Hair Barbie

Hawaiian Hair Summer

Hawaiian Hair Christie

Hawaiian Party with Bonus Bear

Back of the Hawaiian Party Box

Hawaiian Hotel (picture taken from eBay)

Back of the Hawaiian Hotel box (picture taken from eBay)

     And with this line, the official Cali Girl line comes to an end. These dolls were great fun and are my second favorite play line (after Generation Girl). They were beautiful, had great, fun fashions and introduced some new friends. I was sad to see them go, but there was a bit of a sequel! Stay tuned!

Cali Girl, Western Style!

     The next line of Cali Girl dolls featured Barbie, Lea and Summer. They wore Western gear and each girl had a horse she could ride. This was also the year the "Bigfoot Barbies" were released, so this line and the next were the only released dolls with shoes to fit them. The beach dolls now had bigger, more realistic looking feet, but none of the Barbie shoes will fit them. This trend continued in the beach lines for quite some time. 
     This line consisted of Barbie, Lea and Summer. Each girl was dressed for riding, including a pair of cowboy boots, which fit on those big feet! They came with accessories for their horses (sold separately) including a bucket, a sponge and a brush. These dolls were suntan lotion scented as well. 

Barbie

Lea

Summer

     Each girl had her own horse (of which I have one) and each horse had two foals (sold separately; of which I have none). Barbie's horse was called Pacifica and reminded me of her old horse, Dallas. Summer's horse was called Baja and was brown. Lea's horse was called Topanga and was gray. The foals were Hermosa and Redondo and Laguna and Torrance. They were shades of brown and tan. 

Lea's horse Topanga

The back of the box, which can also be used as a playset

Barbie's horse, Pacifica (not my picture; found on the internet)

Summer's horse, Baja (not my picture; found on internet; also could not find one in the box)

Hermosa and Redondo (not my picture; found on the internet)

Torrance and Laguna (not my picture; found on the internet; also could not find one in the box)

     As you can see, I still need to get the rest of the horses. This is a something I'm looking at doing as soon as I can. This way, I will have a complete set! Next, some of the girls head to Hawaii! Until then!

Cali Girl, The Unpopular Big Feet Style

      The new line of Cali Girl was back to basics. It was a beach line. One of the differences between this beach line and previous beach lines was that the dolls were scented like sun tan lotion! The other, more serious, issue is that the dolls feet were enlarged. They are unflattering nicknamed the "Bigfoot Barbies" due to this. 
      I admit it. I liked the bigger feet on the dolls. Previously, when Barbie went to the beach, her feet were small and dainty and stuck in the high heel form. The only time I saw feet like that at the beach is when the sand was hot and you had to tiptoe to the water to cool them off. These new feet were flat and had actual toe nails! They made sense to me for a beach doll, but I know a lot of collectors didn't like them because they obviously couldn't wear Barbie's regular shoes, not even those for the flat footed dolls. Since they were a beach line, this didn't bother me. The rest of the Cali Girl line had these feet. More on those dolls in future posts!
     The line consisted of Barbie, Summer, Lea, Teresa, Christie, Blaine and Steven. Blaine and Steven have been found using the "Cali Guy" label instead of "Cali Girl". Steven is also somewhat hard to find. The girls are lovely and are some of my favorites as far as facial painting go. 

Barbie

 

Teresa

Summer

Christie

Lea

Steven

Blaine

   

Back of the box 

      Each doll came with a paperboard "surfboard" and a bottle of suntan lotion. The girls also had sunglasses. The back of the box showed various scenes with the dolls, giving them that extra dimension of realness. These dolls were a fun addition to the Cali Girl line!

Cali Girl So Cal Style Part Deux!

     After the release of the So Excellent Earrings line, Mattel released another two dolls in the So-Cal Style line, Barbie and Lea. Both dolls also came with a CD, volume 2 to be exact (volume 1 came with the Chevy SSR) and had sporty themes. I really loved the Lea doll because she came with pigtails! They were ADORABLE!
     Barbie came in clothing with a pink and brown theme and she had a skateboard. Lea's colors were mainly red and yellow and she had roller skates. 

So Cal Style Barbie

Long sleeved T shirt and long shorts with bag

Short sleeved T shirt and long shorts

Add a vest for a new look

Barbie's accessories

So Cal Style Lea with the pigtails

Dress with bag

T shirt and casual pants

Lea's accessories

The CD came with both girls

     These dolls were so cute and I loved all of the accessories they came with. The CDs were pretty good too. Up next, the girls are stricken with Bigfoot Syndrome!

Cali Girl So Excellent Earrings - New Friend and New Boyfriend!

     In 2004, the unthinkable happened. After 43 years together, Barbie and Ken broke up! Cali Girl reflected this break up by introducing a new boyfriend for Barbie, Blaine from Australia, along with his sister, Summer. Barbie's friend, Christie, rounded out the dolls in this line. 
    The dolls in this line had the larger heads which Mattel started using on the dolls. Some people didn't like them, but I thought they weren't bad at all. In fact, the Barbie in this line is one of the most beautiful dolls I've seen, in my opinion. 
     The girls all had three ear holes and came with enough earrings for 66 earring combinations! They also came with a device to "pierce" their ears as well as a stool, cotton balls and "cleaning solution" so you can pierce their ears over and over, changing the combinations as you go. 
      The dolls also came with a magazine called "Cali Girlzine: A state of cool." Inside, it gave information about the dolls, such as name, birthday, sign, birthplace, favorite food, hobbies, pet and favorite color. It had puzzles, quizzes, fashion tips and more! It was definitely cute and reminded me of the booklets which came with the Generation Girl dolls.
      Two fashion packs were included in this line as well as a Chevy SSR vehicle which also came with a CD player and a CD! 
       Barbie is said to be wild for pink, loves to laugh and is always looking to try something new. Her birthday is March 9 and her sign is Pisces. She was born in Willows, WI. Her favorite food is fish tacos. Her hobbies are surfing, shopping and walking on the beach. Her pet is a Golden Lab and her favorite color is pink (of course!). She loves parties, road trips and volleyball on the beach. 

     

So Excellent Earrings Barbie 

     Christie is the adventurer and is a total people person. She believes in fate, if only she could discover hers! Her birthday is November 1 and her sign is Scorpio. She was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Her favorite foods are French fries and fruit smoothies. Her hobbies are rock climbing, shopping, skiing and movies. Her pet is tropical fish. Her favorite color is lavender. She loves adventure and is always up for a new challenge.

So Excellent Earrings Christie - she also has a hat matching her scarf, but I seem to have lost it

     Summer is the new girl in town. A bohemian beauty with natural grace, she's as refreshing as her name. Her birthday is August 30 and her sign is Virgo. She was born in Sydney, Australia. Her favorite food is sushi. Her hobbies are art, reading, shopping and surfing. Her pet is a Persian cat. Her favorite color is green. She loves collecting seashells and reading on the beach. 

So Excellent Earrings Summer - the new girl in town

     Blaine is the most amazingly hot new guy in town. The brother of Summer, he has lots of charisma and attitude. His birthday is May 3 and his sign is Taurus. He was born in Sydney, Australia. His favorite food is Mexican. His hobbies are extreme sports, surfing, snowboarding, skydiving. As for his pet, "No time for pets, dude." His favorite color is black. He's a risk taker who loves to rip the waves on his boogie board. 

The liner of the girls' boxes

Blaine's accessories

Blaine - Summer's brother

Blaine's surfing outfit

The So Excellent Earrings Group

     The two fashion packs each consisted of two outfits for the girls and one for Blaine. The back of the packaging showed the dolls wearing the fashions. 

The back of the package showed Barbie wearing the top and skirt. The other two fashions weren't shown on the dolls. 

The second fashion pack. Christie's outfit didn't come with shoes.

The car - yes I got it for $19.99 at Tuesday Morning! The plastic has been opened to get out the CD.

The back of the box showing the entire collection. 

The CD which came with the car,

    I think I like the So Excellent Earring line just a little more than the others. I think the dolls are adorable. I love the "magazine" giving bios on the characters. The fashions are cute. But that's not all in this line! Until next time!