The Only Essential Apparel
This is a story about the time I bought a new Brewer for $20.
It’s also, improbably, a column where I offer you, dear readers, unsolicited fashion advice.
Me! Forty-something. Grey. But suave as fuck. You should listen.
Two days ago, Rip Curl was sold to Kathmandu for $350 million. I’m sure you’ve already read about it, but the news extends beyond the business section because Rip Curl were the last of The Big Three companies to go public.
Those industry titans, Rip Curl, Billabong, and Quiksilver, who shaped surf culture for decades, largely because the people who ran the businesses were surfers. They reflected our values, shared our aesthetic, and sold it back to us in one great big symbiotic hook up that we were happy to be a part of.
They were surf companies. We were surfers. We wore surf clothes.
The rot set in when they floated and brought Joe Public into the fold. Billabong and Quiksilver made increasingly bizarre decisions while chasing quarterly dividends for non-surfing investors: they introduced bedsheets and manchester lines, boardshorts for football teams and stadium rock acts, they whacked a Billabong logo on a Renault Clio - the Euro version of a Ford Fiesta, same goes for badged computers, pool toys, and then came the supermodels, the YouTubers, the Instagram Influencers.
All of a sudden it seemed like everyone was in on the symbiosis. Owning a surfboard was no longer a prerequisite for a seat at the table. Their table. No longer our table.
Once that social compact was lost, surfers had little sympathy when the GFC kicked surf companies to the kerb. Every article about bankruptcy, or sell offs, or write downs, was met with a hail of derision often ending with a rhetorical flourish: who wears surf clothes anyway?
But you see, the fundamentalist rejection of surf clothing is a put on. I know this because I can walk into a room, any room, and spot the surfer. You may reject Quiksilver and Billabong but I can see you. You’re still speaking to the tribe in subtle ways.
So here then is a suggestion. Like a queer eye sashaying in to dress the slovenly straight guy, I’ll show how it’s possible to reject the corporate turncoats while looking as sharp and recognisable as a surfer should, and in a holy triumvirate of righteousness, it even benefits the good guys.
The idea came to me during my last visit to Hawaii. I’ve always coveted Brewers and I had space in my board bag to take one home, however I didn’t have space in my bank account for the price tag. The compromise was simple, and comfortable. Size M if you must know - suave and fit.
I’ve since bolstered my quiver with wearable art from Buttonshaw and Browny, Ryan Burch, Greenough’s spitfire, and Stuart Paterson’s spiral. This summer I’m looking out for Corey Graham’s hand/foot, Maurice’s bear, and Michael Mackie’s tree. I covet much but can afford little. This is aspirational fashion at its finest.
None of it is available at SurfStitch.
Non-surfers will never know the feeling.
Get in on the ground floor, people. Stay there.
Comments
If you outgrow the t-shirt, there's a 9'4 Brewer gun at Drifter on Bali for only 40mio Rupiah. Fucken beauty.
Excellent
.
Well done.
Good luck to the little guy.
Ive got a Dewey Webber Surfbords T. 1968 and its even got a pocket for your durries.
Not many years left in it tho. Starting to show signs of wear like its owner.
Spot on Stu net,
I have a special Da hui I shirt I bought from a yard sale for a dollar and an xcel wetsuit vest I picked up for 2 $.
I've got a Bylseys Surf Shop
69 Shirley St
t-eo.
wages for one of the days I worked for him.
Gold !
That cannot be beaten.
Good old Mitchell Rae often sneaks an Outer Islands tee with the spirit eye on it into the box with my new boards. It's not a rare occurrence that it will be the catalyst for a very enjoyable 45 minute yarn at Ngurah Rai, and on one occasion led to the gifting of a secret spot from an old fella who reckoned he had done his last trip to the islands. God bless the magic tee.
Awesome .
Support your local shaper people !
Outlaw ..
Perfect. What a great idea. Support the people who are contributing to surfing, rather than just seizing another money making opportunity.
New T-shirt please . . . . living the dream all over again :)
They lost me when they killed the Bali surf labels [Amphibia and Lost Boys] I wore the lost boys tees till they were rags.
Bonza! Add ...purchase hand made boards from your local shapers and we begin training the industry back to the light
I don't think there's a lot of money to be made in selling stuff just to surfers. That's the problem the surf companies had and still have.
"Surfers don't have any money"
I've heard that before.
Nah man, that's not what I meant. A lot of surfers have plenty of money. We just don't like spending it on stuff not directly related to surfing. $3000 trip to Indo? No problem. $30 Rip-Curl Teeshirt? Not so much.
$30 Rip Curl T?? Shit, you haven't been shopping for a while Spud
Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. I wouldn’t have a farken’ clue how much one of those shirts cost.
But isn't that the point ,it's not about the money it's about being a surfer.......that's where the big 3 went wrong ,lost touch with the soul of surfing and appealed to the masses....and I hope they rot in hell......real surfers surf for the love not the fashion trend.
Yep
Hear hear Stu. I reckon the writing was on the wall when endless hapless petty thieves and drunken celebrities disgraced the TV news in Rip Curl, Billabong and Quiksilver shirts.
I thought to myself, every wanker is a faux surfer.
I like to unashamedly boast about where i've travelled to via my terrible fashion sense, so I go to the souvenir shops and pick out a lairy fluoro singlet that says "Puerto Escondido" or "North Shore" or "Vailima" (the local beer) or "Iluka" (the fishing & tackle shop on the way up to the wall has some good T's). Then every now and then a fun & nostalgic conversation starts with someone who recognises it and has travelled there to surf too.
Exactly. Nice Yocal. I lost my baby blue 'Seki A Seki Samoa' t-shirt years ago, but the amount of joy and cred it gave me.!!
Precision Equipment Da Claw shirt X 2 - one of which is the last one. Thanks Tom!
Needs do some low cost surf-appropriate gear as well.
I like it, a good idea.
What is everyone's take on the 'de-logo'd' surf brands of the last 10 years or so? They are made by younger crew, far less visible logos, often plain shirts/shorts. It has been associated with the Byron Bay/longboarding way, includes zipper wettie jackets etc - all free from big logos. I'd say "hipster" but there's more substance to it than that throwaway tag - it's a reaction back to basics, and these brands have got back to a visual basic. In actual real gear, you have the Need wetties, which by accounts are excellent. All this is a reaction to how the major labels listed and went hyper-commercial?
I don't disagree VJ, but the zip front vests? Pure hipster bullshit, especially when worn unzipped. Most of us worked out they were uncomfortable shit 40 years ago!
I'd say why would you pay $60 for a blank " hipster" brand tshirt, when you can buy the same blank shirt from target for $5. Probably out of the same sweatshop factory to!
They look the same but they’re not. A $60 t-shirt from Patagonia or Outerknown has definitely not been made in a sweatshop and you’re paying for the ethical supply chain. I still don’t understand how anyone can wear a $5 t-shirt (or anything from Target, K Mary, Billabong, etc) and be comfortable knowing some poor kid in a 3rd world country has worked a 70 hour week for a few bucks to make it. There’s a massive difference between a $5 t-shirt and a $60 one, from the right company.
Yer look, I get it. I'm as social libertarian as the next teenage anarchist. I wasn't talking about ethical business like you listed, more the RVCA, Afends types that probably source there plain Ts from similar sources as target etc. 600% mark up for a small screenprinted logo. No thanks.
And as ethical as Patagonia or outerknown are, I'm not paying $60 or above for a tshirt.
I donate the money I save to the Greens to offset my exploitative guilt.
Plus it lets me track where the corporate pigs are exploiting next. Used to be China but now they have a burgeoning middle class, the shirts come out of Bangladesh. Viva la revolution!
Forty-something is code for 'I'm old and cant remember my exact age' and size M means you're short, not fit.
The thing is there are truckloads of surfers on this planet so they had no problem with their client base. Problem is they got fucking greedy and their true client base shrunk exponentially with $80 price tags for boardshorts, etc.
Look at the tennis and golf brands and the cash they splash out on sponsorship, prizemoney, etc. They are able to do that because their client base is mainly rich pricks who don't blink at spending up big on their equipment and gear.
Surfing not so much - most of us are average joe tightarses and these surf companies should have recognised that and maybe adjusted their business models to suit volumes and not massive profit margins.
when I first started surfing Piping Hot was the ducks nuts in wetties and clothing. It near broke my heart when their gear started appearing in Target! So now - I go to the Op shop and I'm gonna start my own clothing brand look out for it! Won't be made by slaves in Bangladesh either.
my favourite shirts are as follows:
-Surf Chicama
-Samoan Surf riders
-Raglan Surf emporium
- Steele Lewis Designs
if someone gives you shit about the brand of your shirt, its instantly obvious that their opinion isn't worth giving a shit about.
support the locals when you travel.
or the neighborhood underdog having a crack.
Tamba
That's another favorite of mine .
mambo did a T shirt once "particularly nasty weather" where 2 high pressure systems over Oz kind of made out full frontal female parts....
I've still got that t. Love it, but have to be careful about where I wear it. Certainly not to work!
Just saw a fella walking down the main street of town wearing a Centrelink t-shirt.
Could've been a shout out to his sponsor but I suspect it was an old shirt.
My lady did a screen printing course whilst we were stationed up at a dusty old North West inland town for a while . She’s not bad at art and so she printed hand drawn images of some my favourite line ups at the time with appropriate iconography such as light houses , headlands for each on the back of T Shirts . With a little version on the front left chest.
Wore them till they died and then some.
Yeah id wear that kind of stuff, personally i haven't bought a surf brand T-shirt in 15+ years but i do have them, mates hand me downs and missus buys them for me, half the time i whinge because i really dont want them, really id prefer a no name brand from Big W with a cool design these days than a Billabong or Quicksilver tee.
Only T-shirts i actually buy myself are band T-shirts at gigs, always the wrong size either too small or too big because my size has sold out by the time i buy one, after the gig pissed.
RIP Rip Curl , who cares . . . been buying NeedEssentials wetties for 5 years , best wetsuits ever , IMO !
How many times have you seen people wearing "BIG THREE" surf clothing just to get some 'street cred' ? makes me want to puke . VANS are being worn by office jocks who would not have a clue at any local skate park , again , just wanting to look COOL .
Buying a Tee from your local shaper is waaaay better . These jonny come lately COOL dudes wont get the significance . Great idea people !
By the by , surfed a little 'outa the way' spot with my buddy , he's wearing his $599 Ripcurl , I'm wearing my $225 Needsessential , he gets out 40 minutes before me, cause he's cold !
Vans are the pits now. Owned by some luxury brand (LVM) or something, not the family company they were when they first became cool. Absolutely everyone is wearing them now thinking they’re edgy.
https://gashsurfboards.com/collections/tees?page=1
I don't think this marriage will work out. Kathmandu's business model seems to be to grossly over inflate the RRP on their clothing so their bi-monthly 30% - 50% off everything sales seem good value which it isn't. How will this sit with surfers and the clothing and wet suits they buy? These items haven't traditionally been priced/discounted like that so the new company will have a Jeckyll and Hyde personality.
I would also argue Kathmandu is only a few degrees removed from the very low end adventure / bush walking retailers so is it a good corporate fit for RC who seem to have enjoyed a high corporate image while Quik and Bong got a fully blown corporate reaming.
Yeah I tend to agree with you Guy. Kathmandu try and sell rashies for $99 retail but they only sell for half price when they have one of their big sales. But a standard price for a rashie is $49 in a surf shop anyway. Just don't know how their Kathmandu mentality is going to work for Rip Curl. You can't just double the price of everything Rip Curl in order to discount it and say it's 50% off
Slight sidestep but how’s how every random celebrity or athlete will throw a Shaka on the telly these days. Makes me cringe. That was purely surfing to me growing up. And it’s kinda like those brands these days. I don’t throw shakas any more but I sure still get boards shaped
Nice one Stu, rebuilding surf culture one T at a time.
I walk past a surf shop everyday. Occasionally I buy .......... a block of wax.
I went into a surf shop to buy a block of wax
to find they don't sell wax
only surf clothing
Surf boutiques,
There was one in my home town.
Not boards, no wetties, no wax.
Just clothes, this was in the mid to late eighties by the way.
New surf order.
When Mambo was the big alternative brand, my mum did a bunch of surf shirts with cool colour prints and a silhouette of a surfer dropping down the face. They even had a little logo tag "Mumbo".
A group of professional thieves from Brisbane came into Byron one weekend and basically knocked gear off that wasn't nailed down, including my Mumbo shirt off the clothes line. Lucky for the thieves he didn't wear it around town.
Interesting! Make your own.... Quik was the logo to have on boardies in the early 80's, that silver reflective logo. M&D couldn't afford it for us, we got the Target 'Catchit' boardies. More than one mum at the school would find used, dead quikky boardies at Op shops and then transfer the logo to the cheaper brand for us kids.
Reg Mombassa a big fan of the postwar Australian beach shack architecture, me too, always liked his paintings of these houses. In the Mambo book, taught me the 2 minute noodles/motel kettle meal recipe lol.
Hairy Dog Trumpet was pretty good too.
So many old blokes going into Deus 'temples' to fawn over bikes and departing in a shirt/cap instead. That model is working pretty well for ol' Dare.
Even a shop in Milan,Italy,believe it or not,saw it the other day.
Watching the surfing in France last night and started playing a mental game of spotting the Deus shirts in the crowd. They were everywhere.
Was like Quiksilver in the ‘90’s
They're like NY caps and anything with RVCA on it, just another handy way of spotting the bog standard.
Worn by every Tyler, Taylor, Tayla, Taylah and Gravel with their standard issue tatts.
The Deus Dad is a whole species on its own. Well built, still attractive but otherwise balding/ageing middle management type with two kids and a late model Range Rover.
.My wardrobe is full of cheap Balinese genuine fake labels and Kirra Surf seconds. screw the man
Kuta lines.
Surf Ratz
Hey Stu n Ben ... In line with this 'concept', what about doing a story on the old surf shop. You know, local independent, been around for years, sells boards n wax, n wetties, clothes etc and puts up prizes for the local boardriders?
Give 'em some exposure and help rewrite the vibe?
Couple come to mind:
Beachtown Surf Shop in North Haven.
Brunswick Surf in Brunswick Heads.
Cabarita Surfshop in Cabarita Beack / Bogangar.
I'm sure there's others the swellnet crew can name.
I reckon there is a story with every one of them.
Kent at Southern Man in Ulladulla
Only new surf shirt I get every year comes with boardriders rego. Even that's printed in a back shed.
I had an awesome Soul Arch Surfboards hoodie that I wore everywhere, until I left it in a boat moored at a jetty in Kent a couple of years ago. Now my only "wink-wink, nod-nod" secret handshake pieces of apparel are a holy old Campbell Bros t-shirt and a hideously overpriced On the Edge of a Dream shirt I picked up at the screening in Mullum last year. Wrong size, so I hardly ever wear it either...
In the 80s & 90s all my local surf shops/board makers did T-shirts and hoodies etc and they were super popular, but now i dont think they do them or if they do i never see anyone wearing them.
Kind of weird how it's changed.
I've got a mate who makes coin in the " retro vintage " hipster market. Old faded mambo shirts are particular gold. Gets old surf and band ts that are worn from op shops and flogs them for $100 to young cool cats who are being ironically cool. My old mans cupboard is worth $1000's.
That reminds me of when Rodney Rude heard that the sperm bank was paying ten dollars for a deposit and he realised he had a towel under his bed worth three grand.
Ha, that's gold!
"... and this shirt was worn to a real Def Leppard concert in '89..."
"It's so authentic."
I'm not kidding. He told me today he go $150 for an old shirt just this week.
Incidentally, where can we buy the size-M Swellnet shirt?
Vinnies or the like is where I get my clothes mostly. (The faux surfer ditches it cause it’s out of fashion, so I get it for the next 5 years). Just to recycle and because, like everyone has said, big brands are way too pricey for the average surfer. Everything has to be scaled down and made to last if there is any hope. But I’ve lost hope. I give humans 50 maybe 100 years before chaos reigns. We’re fucked.
No , you’re fucked.....I’m looking forward to the apocalypse.
I’ve been spending my days digging a basement which I’ve stocked full of Heinz Big Eats and Hungry Man dinners. Thousands of them.
I’ve got a brewing kit , a monopoly board , old school porno mags ( no batteries required) and a commercial quantity of moisturiser.
A few years downstairs and I’ll re-emerge stronger than ever , just in time to pick off the few weakened remnants of mankind.
Notice I said mankind specifically ? That’s no mistake, I ain’t going all Justin Trudeau on you . I aim to eradicate every last male, then harvest all the women into a harem the likes of which the world has never seen.
Whoa , there !..... I can see Steph , Sally , Tatiana and Sage getting all misty eyed at the thought of it . Sorry , girls , I don’t plan on being out surfed on Planet Blowin. You’ll be going the way of the Kyle Sandilands, the Eddie Maguires and the Scott Morrisons of the world .
Now that I think about it , there might not be too many sexy girl surfers left if I cull them purely because they’ve got a more fluid cutback than I do. Perhaps I’ll just banish them to close out beach breaks till I desire their company ? An endless procession of hot chick rippers building up intolerable levels of shit surf frustration with myself as their only outlet for that physical desire . Where on Earth can I find a spot large enough to accommodate thousands of women yet never provide them with a hollow section, a clean face or any down the line speed ?
Looks like we might need to rename Manly.
It’s going to be good to be the King.
Or France. Or Trigg.
Just remember to balance both arms with that commercial quantity of moisturiser, otherwise you will be continually falling to one side when you re-emerge.
Blowin can I have your Anzac biscuit recipe please.
...and Art to boot!
with you all the way see saw. bit of disso in the wash with the boardies, prevents travellers and your good.
Triggerbros tracksuit pants.
F#ck the corporates. Support the local shaper. Buy a tshirt or hoodie and keep ‘em in durries, a slab or a new pair of things cause the old ones blew out. Outereef, Island, Trigger, Mick Pierce, Corey Graham... the list is endless...