Amanda Villapando, a Mira Costa student, relaxes in an Adele summer dress from Dive N’ Surf. Amanda is the Friendship Circle’s Ambassador of the Year and serves as co-chair of their teen board.
Tarsan Stand-up Paddleboard instructor Travis Coco with his treasured Bark Dominator at Paddleboard Cove in Palos Verdes. He’s wearing Body Glove’s VaporSkin Tropic Thunder boardshorts, and Hippy Tree’s Crest Hoody. His Vans shoes and socks from Spyder Surf make for a comfortable trek down the trail.
Photos and Production by Pete Henze (PeteHenze@gmail.com)
High couture certainly has gained a foothold as the area has gentrified and distinctive boutiques and designers set up shop in the South Bay. At the other end of the spectrum, the Beach Cities were the epicenter of West Coast punk’s explosion, and though that scene peaked decades ago, a punk strain still courses through South Bay style.
But the most native, authentic, and influential South Bay style is the clothing we wear on the sand and water.
Southern California beach culture was made possible by the perfection of the wetsuit by Body Glove co-founders Bill and Bob Meistrell in the 1950s in Redondo Beach. The wetsuit allowed surfers to surf year-round and thus enabled beach culture to truly take root. Everything that has flourished since, including beach fashion, owes a debt to this innovation.
“Active wear” hardly describes the array of clothing made for – and made possible by – life at the beach. Surfers, paddlers, skateboarders and volleyball players are adorned in clothing that turns function into style. Board shorts and bikinis, like surfboards and paddleboards, are sturdily made for the water. But they also convey a strong sense of style.
Local photographer Pete Henze in these pages turns his lens on the fashion of beach action. The clothes range from action sports wear to post-session wear. His models are all South Bay athletes – surfers, paddlers, volleyball players – and everything they wear comes from local sources. Even the boards, by shaper Pat Ryan and paddleboard legend Joe Bark, are from here. The paddleboards are from the pioneering local shop Tarsan’s. The clothes come from Body Glove in Redondo Beach, Spyder Surf in Hermosa Beach, and Hippy Tree in Torrance.
Travis picked out a Body Glove Back Zip Short John to keep him warm during a workout on his Bark Dominator from Tarsan’s Stand-up Paddleboards.Redondo High’s Luke Meyers and Mira Costa High’s Jordan Wible anticipate the start of the South Bay High School Surf League competition. Luke is wearing Body Glove’s Stretch Fluro Boardshorts and Jordan gets coordinated in a Body Glove Aurora rash guard and Body Glove’s Smoothies Loop Surf Rider bottomsJordan Wible and Luke Meyers check out the swell at Paddleboard Cove. Jordan is wearing Body Glove’s Muku board shorts, a Hippy Tree Kodiak Hoody and wigwam Beanie. Luke’s staying warm in Hippy Tree’s yam-dyed, Sherpa-lined Ridge Flannel and stretch cotton twill Cedar Pants and a Hippy Tree baseball cap.Amanda Villapando, a Club Mizuno Long Beach volleyball player enjoys the Palos Verdes sunset in a Serepe Misty Top and a Serepe Tie Side bottom by Body Glove.Amanda Villapando, a Mira Costa student, relaxes in an Adele summer dress from Dive N’ Surf. Amanda is the Friendship Circle’s Ambassador of the Year and serves as co-chair of their teen board.Jordan prepares to check out the surf on her Globe Mini Skateboard from Spyder Surf, wearing Electric sunglasses, Reef shoes and Body Glove’s Muku board shorts and Smoothies Loop Surf Rider top.Surfer and free style wrestling coach Christopher McDonald waits for the opportunity to ride his new Pat Ryan thruster at Boneyards. He’s wearing Body Glove’s VaporSkin Beats of Fury.
