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| SURF INDUSTRY SERIES THE SURF TRUNK |
| CANVAS HANG TEN SURF TRUNKS CIRCA 1971 PURCHASED AT THE OLD SURFLINE HAWAII SHOP HONOLULU, HAWAII |
| First came surfboards, and right on the heels of that came surf trunks and wetsuits. You need trunks to keep comfortable, covered, and out of jail, and wetsuits to keep in the water when it gets colder Surf trunks may seem like a simple thing, and certainly they created the surf fashion industry, but they really are something special. A wetsuit is really a piece of equipment when you get down to it. Bathing suits have been around forever, in various styles, but the surf trunk was revolutionary. Surf trunks were designed to handle long hours in harsh environments. Salt water, sand, abrasion, and endless sunshine really take a brutal toll on clothing and bodies. The pounding surf empties pockets and forces ripped seams. Early trunks were made of canvas and cotton, offering a wide range of comfort and durability: rash central in some cases, total comfort in others. The introduction of nylon and nylon blends brought quick-dry comfort to materials while the basic designs have remained fairly stable, with the biggest changes appearing to be in lengths. Durability has kept pace with swimming pools and hot tubs; although most manufacturers won't warrant trunks which have been subjected to that kind of heat, in fact most handle it nicely. If you don't think a real surf trunk isn't worth it's weight in gold, go buy a nameless off-the-rack swimsuit and wear it religiously for a week of heavy use. I can almost promise you it will be in the Goodwill box. You can eat and age your way out of most good surf trunks before they actually wear out. It is a natural that surfers who buy trunks could use other apparel, like t-shirts, hats, shorts, and sandals. Thus began the surf apparel industry, which has burgeoned into being The Surf Industry, dwarfing actual surfboards in financial importance, and currently rivaled only by sunglasses, footwear, and wetsuits. |
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