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!

Cali Girl, So-Cal Style!

      After the initial release of the line, Mattel released two individual dolls, Barbie and Teresa, with mix and match clothing and accessories. Just as was the first line, these two dolls were gorgeous! 
      Each girl came with enough clothing pieces to make at least four outfits, two pairs of shoes, woven beach bags and items for water sports. The package states the dolls come with 26+ pieces. Also each doll came with a postcard with a "choose your own" story on the back. Fun!
       Barbie came with a surfboard and red snorkeling gear, which was strange since her main colors were pink and blue. Maybe it reflected back to the original doll since she was in red and yellow. Teresa had a boogie board and light blue snorkeling gear. 
      In my opinion, this Teresa is one of the most beautiful I've seen. I love the way her hair is styled and her face is so cute! 

So Cal Style Barbie - picture is not mine

Barbie

Hanging out on the beach on her woven mat

Cute skirt and top

Add a sweater for those chilly nights

Casual top and jeans

Barbie's accessories

Teresa

Hanging out on the beach on her woven mat

Add a jacket for those chilly evenings

Cute top and pants

Top and denim skirt

Teresa's accessories

The post card which came with Barbie

The post card which came with Teresa

The story on the back

      These dolls have just added to the pleasure of the Cali Girl line. They've expanded the line even more than previously. Next installment, there is a twist! Be on the lookout for it!

Cali Girl, the Beach Line Which Became More

     In 2003, Mattel released a beach line which would become one of my all time favorite lines, Cali Girl Barbie. The line continued for three years until it ended as it began, as a beach line. But what a ride it was! This line produced, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful playline dolls I'd seen. 
      The line started out like any other beach line. The dolls, which consist of Barbie, Teresa, Christie, Lea, Ken and Stephen, are dressed for the beach, though Ken and Stephen are wearing the same outfit. But these beach outfits aren't just bathing suits. Oh no! They come dressed like they are ready for a casual day, then will hit the beach later. They wear shorts, vests, shirts and even bandanas over their hair. These dolls are hip, fresh and funky! The dolls even had wrist tags with their names on them!
       There were even two sets of extra clothes put out for this line as well as a surf shop, a pool and a yellow car! It almost reminded me of the California Dream line from the 80s (more on that in another post). 
       The boxes also had wonderful pictures illustrating the dolls and their adventures, as well as a story about how they spent their day. It almost reminds me of the back of the Generation Girl boxes. 
       

Cali Girl Barbie

Cali Girl Christie

Cali Girl Teresa

     

Cali Girl Lea

Cali Girl Ken

Cali Girl Stephen

     The two sets of fashions each had one for a boy, two outfits for girls and two bathing suits, though I've seen the bathing suits sold separately as mini outfits with the woven mats. The two pictures with the fashion packs are not mine, but the dolls wearing them are mine. 

The Cali Girl group wearing their extra fashions

The girls in their bikinis

The Pool Playset

The Surf Shop - yes, I got this on clearance at Target

     The only thing I don't have is the 4x4 car from this set. I did pick up a used one, but it didn't have the stickers and was missing some pieces. This picture is not mine. 

     Thus ends the first line of Cali Girl. Next up, So-Cal Style!