subject: The History Of Surf Clothing [print this page] The History Of Surf Clothing The History Of Surf Clothing
Back in the post war fifties, surfers were known as "beach bums". Then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, everybody wanted to be a surfer. Everybody wanted to be a part of it and those baggy trunks that surfers wore became the first surf clothing fad. How did surfers go from being virtual outcasts to the creators of a fashion craze that has lasted to this day?
Most people attribute surfing's meteoric rise to the Beach Boys. However, they were relative late-comers. It was a film made about a Malibu teenager that first brought surfing into the limelight. The movie, "Gidget", was based on a true story that was published as a book in 1957 and released in 1959 as a movie.
Starring superstars Sandra Dee, James Darren and Cliff Robertson, the movie featured handsome young athletes, bikini-clad girls, lots of action and a hit soundtrack. It was all about the Malibu surfing community and made surfing look like what most surfers would agree it really is - the ultimate lifestyle.
The popularity of that movie led to many more imitators. In pop music, surf music became huge, with groups like Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys making in to Number One on the charts. About the only teenagers who didn't like their music were surfers, who really preferred to keep their sport to themselves. Instead, they listened to the music of bands like Dick Dale and the Ventures. The fast-paced guitar licks in instrumentals like "Perfidia" and "Walk, Don't Run" were what they listened to before they tackled the waves.
There was nothing that surfers could do to stop the rise of surfing. By the sixties, surfing was on the map and everybody wanted to be a surfer. Those who lived near the beach started surfing, while those who didn't started dressing like surfers.
In those early years, men's surf trunks and girl's bikinis were the only "official" surfwear accessories. Over the years, entire ranges of surfing gear were designed and marketed by surfwear companies, a few of which have become giants in the sports apparel industry.
Surfwear is not just for surfers anymore. You can find it in the most far-flung corners of the world. From the limited apparel of the sixties, the range of surfing related clothing and accessories has grown to include all kinds of men's and women's clothing, shoes and even watches and jewelry. Today, you can be dressed for any occasion in surfing brands and styles.
Surfing and surf clothing have entered the mainstream and are no longer on the fringes. The best surfers in the world make millions of dollars and the big surfwear companies compete for their sponsorship dollars. You can't help but wonder what Gidget thinks about all the changes.
