Baggy clothes have their history, although not explicitly.
In the 1970s and 1980s, skaters and hip-hop artists fancied baggy clothes, prevalent again in the 1990s with the grudge culture.
Here, I’ll explain why skateboarders wear baggy clothes.
Why Do Skateboarders Wear Baggy Clothes?
Why do skateboarders wear baggy clothes? Skateboarders wear baggy clothes because they provide comfort, flexibility, and freedom of control when skateboarding.
Baggy clothes keep them cool and protect them from injuries during falls. In addition, casual styling with baggy clothes is fashionable in the skateboarding community.
Below, I elaborate on why skateboarders wear baggy clothes.
1. Provide Freedom and Comfort
Comfort refers to being contented with or enjoying a clothing style. Comfortable clothes should not restrain your walking, running, sitting, or stretching.
Skateboarding is a sport that requires constant movement. Skateboarders find walking, bending, sitting, and jumping easy when wearing baggy clothes.
Baggy clothes have ample space for airflow, allowing the body to breathe easily; giving relaxed body surroundings.
When in hot weather, baggy clothes disperse sweat. While sweating may be imminent, baggy shirts don’t show sweat patches.
And skateboarders get a cooling effect because air circulates well around their bodies.
Unlike baggy clothes, however, tight clothes restrict freedom of movement when worn.
It becomes difficult for skateboarders to perform skateboarding tricks.
The tight outfits also strain the body’s breathing and restrict blood flow. As a result, skateboarders compromise comfort and health.
What of layering? Skateboarders can wear one cloth on top of another for weather suitability.
When it’s too hot, they can peel off some layer; when cold, they add another to keep warm.
2. Offer Protection From Falls
Falling while skateboarding can be dangerous and even worse when the skater has no protective gear.
Baggy clothes can minimize the impact of falls and reduce the chances of getting bruises and cuts.
Other injuries associated with skateboarding falls that can be prevented are:
- Long bone fracture
- Wrist fracture
- Head injuries
- Ankle fracture and sprains
More Reading>> Why Does My Ankle Hurt When I Skateboard?
Skateboarders can also avoid blisters and swelling by putting on oversized shoes with loose laces that snugly hold the feet and provide enough room for breathing.
The shoes are oversized but suitable for skateboarding.
More Reading>> Why Do My Feet Hurt When Skateboarding?
3. Appeal to Skateboarders as a Lifestyle and Culture
The skateboarding community fancy baggy clothes because they appeal to their lifestyle, as per The sport journal
Some skateboarders wear baggy outfits because it sits well with their dressing style, while others wear them because they’re fashionable in skateboarding groups.
For the love of the sport, skateboarders copy professional skateboarders in magazines, videos, and competitions, who often wear baggy clothes. The likes of Tony Hawk, Mark Gonzalez, and others.
In a way, skateboarders make a fashion statement with baggy apparel, according to the encyclopedia of American Folklife. To them, baggy clothes complement their lifestyle.
Baggy clothes were made famous by hip-hop culture. Skateboarders tend to imitate wearing them to bring a hip-hop vibe(street life) into skating.
In this respect, they want to mix and match the “old school style” with the “new school style”.
By wearing baggy clothes, skateboarders reflect on their music messages, emulate their skateboarding legends, and keep true to their lifestyles.
More Reading>> Why Do You Skateboard?
4. Promote Stability and Coordination
Stability on the skateboard is gained when one correctly spreads their feet and assumes the correct standing.
Baggy clothes guarantee the freedom to spread your weight evenly and comfortably on the skateboard.
As for coordination, loose clothes make it easy to perform footwork drills while switching skateboarding styles and tricks.
Last, baggy clothes provide enough room to maneuver the skateboard and maintain constant stability.
5. Are Relatively Cheap and Easy to Find
Finding fitting clothes takes patience, and sometimes one has to take body measurements for a custom-made.
One can easily find baggy clothes at a lower price without the hustle of measurements and resizing.
Even more, maintaining baggy clothes is cheap. Baggy clothes are loose on the body and don’t wear fast during slamming or skateboarders’ falls.
But tight clothes wear fast. Because they’re tightly holding the body, there is great friction during slamming causing wear and tear.
During skateboarding, the constant stretching of the body, too, weakens tight clothing fabric. When one falls, it easily tears.
Contrary to tight outfits, baggy wears are easy to maintain and not tightly holding body parts.
So when stretching, jumping, or sitting, they can not tear-making maintenance cheap.
