Surf wear and girl surf fashion

If you were a woman looking for surf wear or surf fashion 25 years ago, you pretty much had one option. A bikini. But when the tipping point was reached for women actually hitting the water in serious numbers, things changed. And fast.

From the days where the only things in a surf shop for women were a few bikinis and maybe a few pareos for covering up when the sun started to go down, now women’s surf wear is big business. And it has grown exponentially, just like the number of women that are taking up the sport.

The first thing that took off for many of the companies was girl’s board shorts. When the 80’s turned into the 90’s every girl within howling distance of a beach had to have a pair of board shorts. Even if they never went into the water. They were and are great to throw on after a day at the beach.

When all the big manufacturers of men’s gear picked up on the sound of cha-ching with the women’s clothing market, an explosion of both practical and fashionable clothing arrived faster than you could duck dive under a wave. From Quicksilver’s Roxy line to O’Niell to Rip Curl, everybody jumped on the bandwagon.

Then they were joined by smaller lines that offered a little more diversity, Animal, Us Girls and Insight are just a few. The practical; board shorts, rash guards and of course wetsuits; soon were available everywhere.

Welcome the surf fashion clothes very soon after. While the market for the practical really only extended 50 miles inland, the love of the surf lifestyle and the image it represents made for a surf clothing and accessories boom everywhere.

From a few bronzed chicks that lived in places like California, Australia and Hawaii to a worldwide fashion trend in just a few years. A fantastic thing for the companies that were growing like steroid injected body builders. An amusing thing for those that actually lived on the beaches.

An even more amusing thing for those that were forced to see their surf wear commandeered by those who had never set a toe into the ocean.

Twenty years after the first companies really put forth an effort to cater to the needs and desires of women there is now an immense variety of both the things you have to have and the things you want to have.

Bikinis, wetsuits, booties, rash guards etc are things you can’t do without, and you need them to be high quality. Dresses, skirts, shorts and shoes complete the look, because even if your backyard literally is the sand you, unfortunately, can not wear a bikini all the time. Even if you have 14 of them.

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