Firstly, being a resident of Southern California, I can verify that OC Richard is correct. There has been a resurgence of State symbols used as fashion accessories as of late, particularly among the young, college aged.

Secondly, the flag was originally intended to be a PEAR, not a BEAR. California was, then as now, an important agricultural centre...except that a dispatch message written (some stories say a misheard word during dictation, and others say it was a simple transposition-related error) to one William Todd (Future-President Abraham Lincoln's nephew) was hardly legible. In June of 1846 Mr Todd then designed a flag based upon the earlier Lone Star flag of California. The new Bear Flag was adopted as the official standard of the short-lived California Republic.

The current version of the flagis a revised design dating to 1889.