Skater Outfits: A Comprehensive Style Guide

The Meaning of Skater Style

Some of the most famous skateboarders were creative thinkers who didn’t follow the rules and that’s what made them go down in history. This is often mirrored in how skate style has changed over the years, but there’s something that they all have in common: the skater’s outfit has always been about comfort and practicality.

The accent falls on provocative looks while functional in the designs and materials that make them last longer and let you move freely. Not surprisingly, lycra thread mixed with stronger fabrics are the preferred choice as they help you perform better!

What Would a Skater Wear?

When you’re shopping for quality skateboarding gear, you want to turn to experts such as Nike sb gear where you not only find the latest trends but also clothing and shoes produced within the margins of comfort for riding a board.

After all, it’s in their name, as SB comes from skateboarding, which is what matters the most at the end of the day. So, that being said, starting from the bottom up, next, I’ll be discussing the clothing elements that make an authentic skater outfit.

1. Skate Shoes and Socks

There are three different heights of skate shoes: low-cut, mid-cut, and high-top. Low-profile slip-ons were first made in the 1960s and are now made by all the big skate brands with a special sole that offers a great board feel. What also makes a huge difference are the materials used to make skate shoes.

These materials affect how long they last, how heavy they are, how comfortable they are, and how well they work on your skateboard, especially if you’re a beginner. Soles, tongues, ventilation holes, and even lace eyelets have all been created to make skateboarding better.

Socks are also always worn with skate shoes to give your feet extra support, and an additional way to express yourself as skaters have been known for cool-looking socks with different logos and colours. Also, when you’re skateboarding, high socks give your knees and shins extra padding, which is good for both comfort and safety.

2. Skate Pants and Shorts

Skate pants are widely used in street fashion as they are for skateboarding. Many skate pants are made with high denier threads, which means they are very thick, to make them last longer through all sorts of adventures the athletes take them through.

They are also often made with flexible materials that help them stretch when you drop down for an ollie, which is why they’re part of the typical skater’s look instead of regular pants and shorts that may be somewhat restrictive. Skaters wearing shorts do so to let more airflow through and make it easier to move around. However, they usually combine them with high socks to protect their shins. Skater shorts usually have a loose fit and end at the knee.

3. Skate Hoodies

Since they became popular in the 1990s, hoodies have been an important part of the typical skater style and a staple for modern street fashion influenced by Millennials and Generation Z’s relaxed styling preferences. So if you were debating if you should get one for yourself, you should as you’d be able to capture the full skater spirit. Check out the Nike sb collection for some inspiration.

4. Iconic Skateboarder T-Shirts

When skateboarding, you really can’t go wrong with a plain and oversized T-shirt in your favourite colour or graphic design, combined with the popular Nike SB cargo pants. However, some brands and logos, like the DC Star Logo, are significant to skateboard culture. Additionally, skateboarders are known for wearing the faces of provocative personas, together with rebellious quotes and sayings while others opt out for aesthetic representation with drawings, graffiti art and other expressions of the self.

5. Skate Hats and Beanies

A Nike sb hat or cap is an important part of a skater’s outfit for both protection from the sun and for completing the signature skater look. There are many kinds of caps, such as, but not limited to:


• Snapbacks
• Trucker hats
• 5-panel structured baseball-style hats
• Low-profile, unstructured hats (a.k.a “dad hats”)
• Bucket hats

You can find some of these at the range of Nike SB hat in equally cool designs as any of the other bits and pieces of skater gear. And when it comes to beanies, which are usually worn during the colder months of the year, they can be worn on top of the head rolled up, and above the ears as it is in style right now with the skater gang.

In the end, being a skater is all about being wild and free to express yourself through an individual styling decision. So, use this guide as an inspiration, and create your own outfit and signature skater look!