Barbie

Malibu Barbie, 1971 The California beach girl swapped couture poise for a golden tan, a bright smile and easy swimwear, and in doing so she matched the relaxed, sun-seeking mood of the early 1970s far better than the gowns of the decade before. Mattel says she introduced the first deeply tanned skin tone in the Barbie line. She made Barbie feel less like a model to be dressed and more like a girl at the beach. The flip side is that the sun-bleached blonde, tanned California look became the default picture of Barbie for years.