Boardshorts are not simple swimwear, swim shorts or even swimwear. They are central garment of a whole movement. In English, they may well be called the jacks under the name Surf Trunks, swim shorts or colloquially. Regardless of how the Boardshorts calls, with them you always get a trace of surfer charm.
Boardshorts – Style and Culture
Boardshorts unmistakably come from the field of water sports – especially surfing. Although many windsurfers or surfers in Europe resort to wetsuits on colder shorelines in Europe, the shorts are still a popular style on land as well as warm waters, so they also flowed into various other styles.
With the commercial high of the surfer culture in the 1990s, the Boardshorts increasingly popular and were also worn off the beaches. Especially in North America and Australia, they became part of the skater punk fashion, the Southern hip hop and the broad youth culture. Boardshorts are already a fixed style part in the warmer regions.
Boardshorts – Design, Prints, Material
The boardies or baggies, as they are also called in Australia and South Africa are especially practical. After all, they come from the sports field and are therefore also geared to the conditions of their sport. Their design is optimally adapted to surfing:
- Nylon or polyester as a material (light, extremely strong, fast drying)
- Long cut (to protect against involuntary waxing by surf board wax and friction)
- Drawstring instead of rubber band (so that the pants are not lost in a stormy sea)
The boardshorts are ideally suited for surfing. When the surfer lies or sits on the board, they protect against friction and abrasions on the waxed board. If he is thrown down by the same, he does not lose it in the whirlpool of waves as the cords around his body holds the pants firmly.
The design of the boardshorts is often based on classic motifs. Floral patterns or Hawaiian prints especially popular designs – the more colorful the better. Even technical designs with graphic patterns are popular motifs for men’s shorts and women’s shorts. Here too, season by season trends are emerging. For example, at the beginning of the 2000s it was common practice to wear the board shorts just above the buttocks.
Apart from the water, wide tank tops or also generously cut T-shirts with Sufer prints are usually worn with the loose pants. Women combine the pants with a contrasting bikini and also grab cool tops and a pair of tennants. So the boardshorts are always styled casual.
