California always felt like home even though I never lived there. The Golden State has always been a state of mind.
More than any other place, the winterless wonderland that is Southern California called out to me ever since I was a child. As a sun worshipper from the time I was a beachcomber tot, the idea of year-round sunshine and abundant beaches was irresistible. Even Barbie moved to Malibu. The fashion doll was forever changed when she made that trip up the Pacific Coast Highway and emerged as Malibu Barbie with a golden tan and long blond hair
By the summer of 1965, The Beach Boys vocalized what I felt. Swimming in the turquoise pool of my suburban day camp, I envisioned myself surfing in the Pacific as their song would play like a loop through my head.
Yeah, East Coast girls were hip, and who didn’t dig those styles they wore? But this New Yorker wished she could be a California girl.
As the snow pelted down in a blustery Nor’Easter that December, it didn’t take much for me to be California Dreamin’ along with the Mamas and Papas.
California was long the stuff of fantasies Now this magical place that consumed me as a child, is consumed in flames. An apocalyptic nightmare roaring through my youthful dreamscape.
You’re young, You’re fun, You’re California
In the 1960’s California style was distilled, marketed, and ingrained in my youthful consciousness through movies, music, and the pages of magazines. California was “where it’s at.”
A lemon-lime bubbling bottle of pop-culture fun, fun, fun.
The sun always shone and no one ever seemed to be old in Southern California. It was a place for the young, the beautiful and tanned. A glossy paradise of sun-kissed youth racing towards the sparkling surf. Their obligatory bleached blonde hair and fit bronzed bodies infused with atomic energy were decked out in hot pink and tangerine Kandy Colored California fashion with names like Hang Ten..
California seemed to personify the sunny optimism of our country.
Mid-century America was on the move and so were its citizens. An enduring symbol of the possibility of transformation, restless Americans moved to California in droves, streaming into the state via Route 66. By 1962 California surpassed New York as the most populous state.
In a time of EZ living, no fuss and no muss, the informal living style of California was appealing.
Who didn’t dream of a palm-shaded “pad” with a blue stone patio and built-in barbecue? A modern Joseph Ehril ranch house with indoor-outdoor living and your own turquoise pool. Kandy Kolored metallic painted hot rods and gleaming convertibles speeding down its freeways, pulling into In and Out drive-throughs, and parking in space-age drive-in movies.
Sure we could pick a sour McIntosh apple from our New York suburban trees but the thought of plucking a sunny lemon or orange from your own backyard seemed so exotic.
Malibu Barbie, the quintessential California girl
Even Barbie headed west moving from Willows to Wisconsin building her dream house in Malibu in 1971.
Barbie got a brand new California makeover. She sported the quintessential California surfer girl vibe with her eternally tanned skin, blue eyes and platinum blonde hair. For the first time, she featured an open smile and her previous sideways glance was updated to forward-looking eyes. Her lashes were painted on and she has soft coral lips. Malibu Barbie was ready for the surf in her powder blue swimsuit, lavender goggle glasses on top of her head and a yellow beach towel.
The West Coast Has the Sunshine and the Girls All Get So Tan
The easiest way to channel California for me as a teen was to get a deep dark California tan, even if it was from a paltry East Coast sun. Fueling my fantasies were the Coppertone ads. Nothing flattered you like a tan and who didn’t want to look Tanfastic? Max Factor created California bronze tan for a deep dark wherever you are.
Once upon a time, a deep dark tan was the gold standard of a successful summer run.
When it came to getting a gold medal for the best bronze, I was always a winner.
I came from a generation where backyard grilling meant more than barbecuing a steak. The suburbs were always sizzling with teenagers char broiling in their yards in an attempt to achieve a golden California tan.
California is a Beautiful State To Be
The California Look was one everyone wanted and cosmetic companies jumped on the bandwagon.
Who better to offer the “California look” than Max Factor Hollywood’s original makeup artist to the stars.
The sunlit look so desired could only have been conceived in California
Max Factor reinforced That California is a beautiful state to Be in with the emphasis on youth.
Go Way Out for California (while you’re young enough to dare)
California Girl
Clairol came out with the “California Girl” line of beauty products with the ultimate California girl Cheryl Teigs as the model.
“This is the Look of the California Girl. Skin that never had a worry in the world. A Mouth that just ate a peach. No makeup and no hang ups. Come claim the look of sunshine and sea wind real orange juice and 6AM on the beach. Its for you. Come love it.
Envisioning The American Dream 
Your archival collection never ceases to amaze me! You were and are still so tuned in to the culture of the time. It’s fascinating to look back at the California hype and to see how it affected our lives and our skin!
What a sharp contrast to the terrible recent events.
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The contrast is heartbreaking, Southern CA was a place of such sunny optimism and the media long presented it that way.
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As an east coaster, California always looked appealing from a distance. Whenever I visited, especially the LA area, it never held up to the dream. Honestly, the last time I was in LA, navigating some of the empty downtown streets at night, I kept expecting to witness a drive-by.
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As I grew older, my attachment to CA moved more toward the north and the Bay area.
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Very good entry! Brings back memories of all kinds. As a young girl growing up in the projects of Cleveland, Ohio, I grabbed hold of that heavily marketed California Dream and swore I would move there never to return to “boring” Ohio. Except for NYC, no other place interested me. Never mind that most of the advertising copy and PR pieces were very, very white. I was sure I would escape all my troubles (including racism) if only I could move to Sunny California. There I would find love and unconditional acceptance.
Well, after high school graduation, I joined the Marines and got stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. I was over the moon when I got my orders, and felt like I was the “luckiest girl in the world!” I lived in Oceanside from 1979 until 1988 and embraced everything “California” even though most of the people I knew at CamPen hated it and wanted to leave. In those days I was young, thin, in love, and felt like the world was always sunny and nothing was impossible. I had dreams and by God, I was going to fulfil them!
Looking back, I now realize I was living in a bubble. In spite of it all, I had a blast while I was on active duty and later as a military wife. I went out and explored as much as possible, even tried my hand as a model and at “making it” in Hollywood (clearly I didn’t!) The California “reality” finally set in 1992 when I was living in Oregon watching L.A. burn during the riots. I watch the news footage with tears in my eyes and knew I would never return there to live. Yet, in spite of the reality, the dream still continue to burn inside me and I would still occasionally go on vacation to Malibu, to SF, and other places. Didn’t really get it out of my system until my 50s.
It seems like most of the people I knew who moved to SoCal back in the 70s and 80s ended up moving back to their hometowns within a decade. Of course, California has never been cheap, but after the 90s, the prices just got ridiculous. Only the rich can truly afford it. The people I know who still live there are are desperate to leave. They can’t afford to be there, but yet they can’t afford to move, either. I think I left at the right time (1988) that way my happy and positive memories remained intact.
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Thank you for your own CA story and it is a fascinating one. And I love how you got there initially by enlisting.
Today LA is still a vibrant place for artists and creative souls though like so many places it has become so costly.
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