Rush To Clothe The Surfies

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30892, 27 October 1965, Page 7

Rush To Clothe The Surfies

Fads and enthusiasms change rapidly in the world of fashion, and New Zealand manufacturers of men’s clothing are finding that they have to act quickly at the first reliable indication of a new trend.

One important enthusiasm that is catching on quickly in New Zealand is the surfing cult. At first simply an exhilirating sport that caught the imagination of thousands in Hawaii, the United States and Australia, it has now reached the stage where manufacturers are making clothing specially for its devotees.

Not content with paying £35 and more for special surfboards, the “surfies” have also developed their own uniform. They wear board-shorts, which are longer in the leg than ordinary beach shorts, to protect the legs from chafing when sitting astride the board. Underneath, they wear featherweight terylene racers for swimming. Another special garment is the insulated surf-top. enough to wait for hours Keen “surfies” are patient beyond the breakers for a

good shooter, and the best waves are usually produced when the wind is blowing. For protection from the cold, they wear tops of laminated material —nylon-silk bonded to a warm wafer of foam rubber or plastic. These surf-tops are both water and wind-repellent. They are made in bright colours and in a wide variety of patterns. Some wear short versions of the skin-diver’s “wetsuit,” often complete with hoods and long sleeves. A development of this is the shiny wet look that is becoming popular overseas in other beachwear.

The new surfing clothes have come into fashion so suddenly that New Zealand manufacturers have had to set to work turning out a supplementary range of beachwear for this summer. They expect it to be in the shops about November.