What to Wear Skateboarding: An Apparel Guide

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On the board or off, skater style prioritizes both form and function. In this apparel guide, we’re going to cover how you should dress for skateboarding, as well as how to add popular elements of skater style to your everyday looks. 

How to Dress for Skateboarding

While there’s really no specific dress code for skating, we generally recommend opting for comfort over style. Luckily, with today’s top skating and apparel brands, looking the part and staying comfortable is easier than ever. 

As a rule of thumb, we always suggest going with anything that’s flexible, breathable, and durable, but we’ll get into greater detail below. 

Shirts

While we wouldn’t say that shirts are the least important part of your skating attire, we will say that this is where you can focus more on your style preferences without worrying about sacrificing performance. 

However, skateboarding makes you sweat! So, if you’re someone who tends to sweat a lot, make sure you wear breathable fabrics that allow you to twist, turn, and raise your arms freely. For the most part, you can’t go wrong with cotton t-shirts. Just make sure they fit you properly. 

Sweatshirts

One of the best things about skating is that it’s often a year-round sport. While we never recommend riding when the ground is wet, you don’t need to let a little cold weather stop you, as long as there’s no snow. Cotton-based hoodies are always a solid go-to. As always, just make sure that your layers don’t restrict your movement. If you live in an area that snows or rains quite a bit, try to find an indoor skate park! 

Bottoms

Here’s where you’ve got to start putting a little more consideration into your fashion choices. Falling is inevitable, no matter how good of a skater you are, so you’ve got to make sure your legs are covered by the bare minimum of a sturdy pair of pants. 

Your bottoms need to be able to provide some sort of protection from hard surfaces such as cement, but they should still be comfortable to wear and allow a wide range of motion. Jeans can be a safe bet, so long as they’re not too skinny. Straight leg pants that stop a few inches above the ankle tend to work best. 

But what about shorts? While long pants provide additional protection for your shins, sometimes, you’ve got to take the weather into account. Additionally, shorts can provide more flexibility when bowl or vert skating. Depending on the type of skating you’re doing, you may want to consider pairing shorts, and adding knee padding. 

Socks

Socks help to protect your feet from the harsh demands of skateboarding. You could technically throw on any pair of socks to skate, but there are better options out there. First, you want to ensure that your socks fit properly. Older pairs of socks tend to lose their elasticity over time, causing them to sag and fall around your ankles. Many skaters opt for crew socks as they offer extra cushioning for the shins, especially if wearing shorts. There are also socks that offer heel, toe, and arch support. 

Skate Shoes

Skate shoes are an absolute must every time you ride. Far more durable than the average sneaker, these shoes are optimized for grinding, impacts, and contact with grip tape. The right pair of skate shoes also makes technical skate tricks easier to perform by providing better board feel. The most important thing is that you wear a sturdy, well-fitting pair of skate shoes with a low profile (so it doesn’t catch) and a flat, cushioned sole. 

Everyday Skater Style

Whether you skate or not, everyone can participate in skater style thanks to the re-emergence of 1990s street culture. Your sense of style off the board has a little more freedom, as you don’t need to put as much emphasis on durability and flexibility (although we always recommend choosing the most comfortable options possible). 

Below, we’ll go over some of the easiest pieces of skate wear to seamlessly include into your everyday style. 

Shirts

Graphic t-shirts are the easiest way to incorporate elements of skater style into your personal style. Try to opt for loose, oversized, crew neck designs. Shirts with recognizable brand names and logos splattered on the front seal the deal even more. 

Bottoms

If you’re used to wearing skinny jeans every day, going for straight leg pants might seem a little foreign, but it’s a practical move for skaters who need to flexibility to bend and squat. For the most part, any pair of straight leg trousers with the hems cuffed a few inches above the ankle should do the trick. Cropped wide leg trousers work well too. 

If you’re in the market for a warmer weather option, a pair of skate shorts can help you keep the aesthetic going while staying cool. 

Hoodies

Hooded sweatshirts are another way to ease into skater style without going over the top. Just like with shirts, opt for styles with logos or graphics on the front. 

Headwear

When you’re actually on the board, your headwear should be your helmet. Off the board is where you can exercise your creativity and personal style. Baseball caps, snapbacks, and beanies are popular and easy ways to bring some of that skating edge to your everyday fit. As always, logos seal the deal. 

When choosing what to wear when skateboarding, the most important thing is that your movement isn’t restricted and that the most vulnerable parts of your body have some sort of protection or cushion. On the other hand, adding elements of skate wear to your everyday style allows for more creativity and personal expression. Whatever route you’re taking, The House has plenty of versatile apparel options from top brands like Etnies, Volcom, and more to get the job done.