I've decided to start looking more at the fashion side of skateboarding, and see how skateboarders's sense of style changed over the years.

from very baggy and colourful t-shirts (90's)

http://us.elementbrand.com/c/blog/skate-and-create---90s

to darker

and more original clothing.

I found a really good article of the 90's skateboarding called

''SIGNS YOU WERE AN EARLY ’90S SKATER''

http://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2013/10/03/signs-you-were-an-early-90s-skater/

As skateboarding entered the ‘90s things were pretty exciting. The rawness of H-Street’s Hokus Pokus and World Industries’ Rubbish Heapmarked a shift from the super slow-mo, skitted out, big production Powell Peralta videos–a needed and necessary change. It wasn’t that Powell’s videos were bad or lacked innovation, they were just too Hollywood. Skateboarding was small, street skating was emerging as “the” discipline, and while none of the kids in your cul-de-sac were as fluid as Hensley or could smith grind a rail (who cares if it was a 3-stair) like Jeremy Klein, no one wanted to “run through a graveyard” anymore.

YOUR FAVORITE SKATE VID IS VIDEO DAYS

Let’s start with the video that defines everything good about the early-‘90s. Video Days had a lot of the same intentions that the big budget Powell videos did, with slo-mo tricks and skits, but filmed on a clunky VHS camera and with the production budget a fraction of the worst B-movie ever made.

The result was inspiring, motivational, and often confusing. Were these guys serious with the afros and side burns? Why was Guy wearing a Powell “Supreme” T-Shirt? Did Jason Lee cut his pants too short on purpose… and why did he cut them in the first place? Did anyone notice that his part started with him skating vert? Could you imagine if Marc Johnson started his Pretty Sweet section skating a ramp? Exactly, it wouldn’t happen. Gonz wearing an Israel shirt, “No war for heavy metal,” jazz soundtrack, people “dying” in the end. Are they really getting drunk? Is any of this legal? And for most kids of us suburb dwellers, what the fuck was Benihana and why would I wanna go there?

YOU SCRAPED THE GRAPHICS OFF YOUR BOARD AND OR SPRAY PAINTED IT A SOLID COLOR FOR NO REAL REASON

You just dropped 50 bones on a new deck–maybe some 101 board with killer graphics. Now it’s time to scrape them off or paint it over. Don’t get the sides or its gonna look dipped like a Steve Saiz and that’s cut. Why? Uh, no idea really. Was it inspired by the Big Brother “Red” issue or countless videos and photos of pros on painted decks. It’s a little confusing and gets more complex when we talk about “creating” a blank.

YOU KNOW WHAT THE “UNIFORM” IS AND PROUDLY WORE IT

That brings us to “The Uniform.” If you are just staring blankly at the screen, let me give you a refresher. At some point around ’93/’94, everyone in skateboarding started wearing the same thing–the exact same thing. Plain white T-Shirt, borderline stonewashed jeans, preferably Blind jeans, and low top Etnies or Airwalk “Sorrys.” That’s right folks, Airwalks were cool and acceptable into the ‘90s.

There’s no better display of the uniform than the Blind team clip from Pack of Lies and their section in Virtual Reality. Sure we see some occasional colors, stripes, and the Gav kind of fucks up the flow with the shants momentarily before dawning the uni, but the ratio is mind-blowing. Too bad Rocco didn’t pull a Supreme and just sell 3 packs of Hanes white tees for inflated prices to the lemming, or maybe he did and I just don’t remember.

Of course this list could continue on, addressing such topics as “What would have happened if Natas didn’t get hurt and had a Video Days-esque part in a 101 vid?” or “How come no one knew how to successfully bleach their hair blonde in the ‘90s?,” but let’s not continue down that bottomless pit of nostalgia any further–it’s not healthy. Fellow ‘90s survivors, let’s just look at this era as a lesson, a colorful, interesting, strange, and kind of dumb one that temporarily kept things interesting until the skateworld simultaneous said “What the fuck are we doing?” and moved on.

BIG SKATEBOARDING BRANDS In the 90's

SUPREME

Roots: Founded in 1994 by James Jebbia in New York City. It's hip-hop and punk, menswear and streetwear. The unifying aspect is deep roots in skate, music, and art.

The 25 Best Skate Brands Right Now

Polar Skate Co.

Roots: Founded by Pontus Alv in Malmo, Sweden.

It's too cold and dark to skate in Sweden for about six months out of the year. Not only are the brand's hats, tees, and hoodies some of the most coveted gear in the skate universe, the Polar team travels the globe hosting events, filming video clips, and getting people hyped on vigilante-style street skating.

Screenshots from the video above

Cliché

Roots: Founded in 1997 by Jeremie Declin in Lyon, France.

Make no mistake, not all European skate brands are provincial microcosms. Cliché has one of the most stacked teams in the industry, including the Australian master of pop Andrew Brophy and manual wizard Joey Brezinski. But the real star of the squad is Frenchman Lucas Puig, who has a stellar signature shoe for adidas, and an upcoming line of caps called Hélas that you will undoubtedly be hearing more about in the near future. Team aside, thanks to strong art direction, a prolific video program, and a highly covetable product offering that includes a dope collab with NYC mainstay DQM, Cliché is très ill.

Palace Skateboards

Roots: Founded in 2010 by Lev Tanju in London.

'90s nostalgia is the name of the game. VHS tapes. Grimey hip-hop. Drinking forties, smoking blunts, skating filthy street spots at night, and general hooliganism are cornerstones of skateboarding's mid-90s golden years, and Palace is all about that life. No wonder you see the tees and skate decks stocked at Supreme, the only brand that compares to Palace when it comes to nailing that "fuck it" aesthetic. Palace gear has been causing an uproar lately—yes, Palace was on that designer parody tee shit before everyone else, and yes, the collab with Umbro was one of the best we've seen in years.

Huf

Roots: Started as a shop founded by Keith Hufnagel in 2002 in San Francisco.

Huf has come a long way since its humble beginnings slinging the best sneakers and streetwear in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. Keith Hufnagel and his team quickly outgrew the boutique niche and have become a full blown skate apparel and footwear brand. Today Huf has a stacked teamed (including low-key legends like Joey Pepper, who recently got a signature shoe), a wildly popular range of product (weed socks, anyone?), and some hefty celebrity co-signs.