Riding waves has been around, in one form or another, for as long as people. It is believed, Pre-Inca civilizations practiced surfing, but since they used a stick or paddle there is the contention that it would be more similar to what we know today as stand up paddleboarding. The earliest known description of surfing was from the journal of British naturalist Joseph Banks aboard the HMS Endeavour during James Cook's third voyage through the islands of Tahiti, he described several local men as entertaining themselves by repeatedly riding the waves in a canoe. It is believed that the islands of Western Polynesia practiced what would have most likely resembled today's surfing. Where we first really learn anything about surfing is Hawaii. They called it “wave sliding” and did not consider it merely a recreational activity, instead, it was integrated into their culture - the ability to surf well determined social structure. The best beaches and best boards (a massive 12 feet) were carved from the trunks of Koa trees, these trees were restricted and only to be used for surfboards by the upper ruling class.
Early Years & Personalities
Surfing first came to North America in 1907, when industrialist Henry Huntington brought George Freeth 'The man who walked on water' over from Hawaii as an attraction. At the time, visiting the beach for recreation was still a new idea. So he organized a publicity stunt to promote the opening of his new (Los Angeles – Redondo – Huntington) railroad that would hopefully make people aware and open up this new idea of leisure and bring vacationers to the shores of the Pacific. A couple of short years later surfing made it to the East Coast of America, when Burke Haywood Bridges rode his solid wooden plank board out into the waves of the Atlantic in Wrightsville Beach, NC.
Recreational bathing was still a very new idea and in those early years, lacking precedent, beach attire by default, carried forth the modesty that had been dictated by the more formal inland urban environments. By today’s standards, to say that turn of the century beach attire was modest was an understatement. Women wore hats, flannel dresses, and trousers which all became so heavy when they swam that women would have to hold onto ropes when they went out into the ocean. Showing your arms, legs, and neck was considered indecent exposure and could get you arrested by the beach police, who carried tape measures and who were actually a thing in many places. The men wore one-piece woolen tank suits, which had the ability to stretch and did not absorb much water. It wasn’t till the 1920’s that leisure dress styles started to relax.
In the early days of surfing, Before WWII, John “Doc” Ball, (who founded The Palos Verdes Surf Club) brought attention to the sport with his widely circulated surf photography. He also in a small homemade way made a contribution to the advancement of swim trunks. He didn’t surf in department store clothing like most people, but instead would sew his own - a thick, baggy cotton short that didn’t bind or blow apart during a heavy wipeout. He starting to create clothing for himself and his friends, that was the beginning of attire that was specifically purpose-built for surfing.
In Hawaii - Lyn’s of Waikiki, came out with belted, high waisted, rugged cotton-blended trunks w/ vertical stripping on the hip and sold a few pairs to The Outrigger Canoe Club. One associate of this club and probably the most famous surfer in the world at the time was Duke Kahanamoku who wore his throughout the depression. He traveled extensively giving surfing exhibitions, appeared in a number of Hollywood films, and because he was considered somewhat of a heartthrob with the ladies, his outfits had a big international influence on the perception of how surfers should dress.
In the late '40s, Members of The Manhattan Beach Surf Club would purchase white sailor pants at the Salvation Army and then would trim off the bottoms so that they ended just below the knees. Using larger sizes (with a drawstring that held them tight) gave them a baggier inseam which helped protect their inner thighs from the chaffing that occurred from constantly rubbing their legs against the paraffin wax on their boards. Whereas, in the past, men's bathing suits had been fitted, high waisted & often with belts or buckles. The members of The Manhattan Beach Surf Club, (who when not surfing) wore their pants low on their waist and often left the drawstring untied. They lived in those pants and to others, they might have appeared scroungy and dirty, but they had their own vocabulary, were young, handsome, and had a certain swagger, which made them very popular with the ladies. This functional, raunchy style started to define the casual purpose-driven attitude and aesthetic for future surf wear. The thing that helped fuel the influence of the Manhattan Beach Surf Club, in part was that their clubhouse was simultaneously morphing into the world’s first retail surf shop. (Velzy Surfboards - opened in early 1950s). They were all young at the time, but a lot of later big names in surfing came out of that group.