Editing The evolution of surf clothing and culture

Ever wondered how <strong>[http://www.pegworld.com/news-and-articles/the-evolution-of-surf-clothing-and-culture/ surf clothing]</strong> became so popular?

Surfing was never just a sport, it's become an entire culture in itself. Over the years, it's influenced popular culture affecting fashion, music, film and even language.

Surfing gained popularity in the 50′s and 60′s, starting out in Hawaii, Australia and California. It soon spread worldwide and its laid-back lifestyle and "beach bum" attitude spread along with it.

Surf clothing trends were already beginning to blossom. Starting in the 30′s, with the growing popularity of the infamous and funky ‘Aloha shirt.' Ellery Chun was the first dude to print native Hawaiian designs and motifs, such as hula dancers, tropical fish, palm trees and flowers, onto silk and rayon shirts. These shirts became so iconic their popularity resurfaced in the 70′s, 40 years after they first entered the market.

In '46, the world was introduced to the first bikini. Louis Reard designed the iconic newsprint bikini. The new breed of costume made worldwide headlines, but it was considered too revealing. It wasn't an instant hit.

Boardshorts, or Baggies, were first created in Hawaii as custom, hand-made swimming trunks. But in the 50′s, Alan Green reinvented and redesigned them, making them the awesome boardshorts we're familiar with today. Then, in '58, nylon boardshorts, made specifically for surfing, came onto the market.

In the 80′s, Tony Brown was the first to make a hooded heavyweight fabric jacket.  Surfers used these rad fleecy jackets to keep warm on the beach. They were actually the first type of hoodie on the market and were commonly known as "Streaky" jackets. This was because the unique traditional Indonesia ikat weaving and the dyeing techniques used to make the jackets, giving them a cool streaky appearance.

Although surfwear was originally geared towards surfers, surfing culture has become so popular that most sales of surfwear are to non-surfers.  According to the former owner of the surfing label, Rusty, 80% of surfwear sales are to people who identify with the casual clothing and want to be part of the surfer counter-culture dream.