Skate Clothing And What It" s All About

When it first started becoming popular, skateboarding was tied closely to surfing. However, as its popularity spread in-land, to groups of people unfamiliar with the surfing culture,' skateboarding and skate clothing began to develop a unique culture on its own.

Skate clothing was initially tied to punk fashion, which included clothing, hair styling, piercings, tattoos, and jewelry. Punk fashion has a wide-range of different sub-categories, from "glam punk" (which includes brightly-dyed hair, drainpipe pants, and leopard prints) to "hardcore punk" (which includes mute colors, muscle shirts, and Dickies T-shirts) to "deathrock punk" (which includes black shades, fishnets, corsets and angled bangs).

"Skate Punk" became a term coined to define the combination of punk fashion on skate clothing. It included plaid button-downs, hooded sweatshirts, wristbands, and work-pants cut off into shorts. Some skate clothing brands include Krooked, Alien Workshop, Blind, Deathwish, and Powell Peralta.

Another influence over skate punk fashion is the "cholo gang." This fashion style gets its name from the ethnic slur "cholo" created by Hispanics in the 1500s as a categorization for people of mixed Native American heritage. This look' includes khaki trousers, bandanas, knee-high socks, wifebeater' tee shirts, as well as plaid button-down shirts.

A popular "cholo" name brand is Dickies, which obviously connects itself to complete skateboard fashion through the punk clothing culture.

Skate clothing is derived from the popular assumed image of the skateboarder: a non-conforming, rebellious punk. It was because of this image that some cities fought against the creation of skate parks in their districts, fearing a complete skateboard takeover amongst the youth. In fact, the entire nation of Norway banned skateboarding for over a decade (The ban was lifted in 1989).

However, the "punk" image has faded in recent years. The incorporation of rap, reggae, and hard rock in skateboarding music videos has drawn the interest of a wider audience. while simultaneously diluted what was once a purely-punk association.

It was in 2007 that the world's most famous skateboarder and video game mogul Tony Hawk launched his own skate clothing line. "Hawk Clothing" is sold exclusively at Kohl's, and features backpacks, shirts, shorts, and skateboarding shoes for young adults, boys, and even infants.

Nowadays, skate clothing can be anything from jeans, bracelets, keychains, patches, wallets, and long or short sleeved t-shirts.

However, what most casual fans fail to realize is that, like any other sport, the type of clothing affects the competitor's performance. This is why professional athletes in basketball, football, baseball and hockey all wear different uniforms, and it is no different in skateboarding.

A great, yet simple example, is padded shorts available through a majority of skate clothing companies and distributors. Not only do these kinds of fashion products increase comfort to the athletes involved, they also provide an additional level of protection. It's a classic win-win situation.