Written by The Strategy

Continuing with our somewhat beach themed week, today we are going to talk about surfing.

Not actually. However, we are going to talk about the influence of surf culture on fashion.

Not only has fashion adopted some general athletic wear as part of it’s responsibility, but there has been more and more instances of specifically surf inspired garb and accessories.

We’re sure you’ve all noticed the increase in all types of clothes made in this mysterious material called neoprene, which is commonly used in wetsuits. Neoprene dresses, pants, tops, blazers…you name it, there is most likely a neoprene version of it. The material first started being used by fashion for the majority of the “sport luxe” trend that wasn’t made of mesh. Then it gained popularity in swimwear, with the famous Triangl bikinis becoming the best thing since pleated skirts. With neoprene everything, including bathing suits, it was clear that surf was here to stay.

There also seemed to be a trend among designers to add surfboards to their list of special edition items. A few years ago, Chanel released a bunch of logo based surfboards, while Juicy Couture and Marc Jacobs came up with more artistically coloured boards, and James Perse went for a more minimalist grey, black, and white look. All in all, they were fairly simple, not overdone surfboards.

Meanwhile, over at Free People, there are hand painted surfboards that take everything to a whole other level. Even for people who have no business buying surfboards, and don’t know anything about surfing, let alone how to surf (ie: us), these surfboards are just down right pretty to look at. Anthropologie even got on the bandwagon, but instead of surfboards, they went with paddle boards in geometric, brocade, and snake print, among other designs. Which is kinda sorta the same type of deal as surfboards.

Of course, it seems like everyone has been in love with the concept of the illusive “beach” hair for forever. With every beauty company under the sun releasing products designed to create beach waves, sans actually travelling to a beach. So maybe the surf obsession was a long time coming for fashion. Whatever the reason, we’re glad that fashion fell in love with surfing. It goes hand in hand with our love for tropical print, and simultaneously allows us to pretend that we live in a much more beachy place than we do.

So keep doing what you’re doing, surf inspired stuff. Maybe one day we’ll even be inspired enough to buy a surfboard and attempt to successfully use it.

(Translation: We might buy a surfboard and then Instagram a picture of it with a Beyoncé related caption…but same thing right?)