When the pack at Laguna shoulders its surfboards out into the Pacific, it looks like anything but a fashion leader. But the fact is that, in leading the way in casual menswear, the coves and beaches of California have beaten the Eastern seaboard at its own designing game: When 200,000 surfers go down to the sea in style, they start a sartorial tidal wave that will make news from Balboa to Baltimore. The rakish aspects of California attire are apparent not only in beachwear, but throughout the entire sports wardrobe. By glomming the trail-blazing California styles pictured here, you can get a good look at the future of sportswear.
Geared to a world of beach frolics and top-down convertibles, the imaginative designers on the West Coast have put the emphasis on light, bright colors and created an entire wardrobe of "easy" clothes—easy to look at, easy to get into, easy to wear and, when the time calls for it, easy to shuck. The young Californian hops into his car and heads for the ocean like a lemming whenever he gets the chance. He wants casually correct clothes he can wear over a bathing suit, drape over the back of his car while he goes swimming, and in which he can later pass inspection at the Marco Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel.
The biggest single fashion influence from California is, naturally, seen on the beaches, where adaptations of the professional surfer's trunks are appearing in bold patchworks and bright solid colors. Slightly roomier than the swimsuits of recent years, the new models do away with the standard zippered fronts and opt for either lacing or heavy-duty fasteners. You may be sure these suits will make the beach scene in a big way this season. Another striking California innovation we foresee creating news is a knit shirt that looks like a cardigan. In the more traditional sports coats, the California image calls for a long, lean silhouette using the contoured one-button jacket offsetting closely tapered slacks. On view here, then, is an on-the-scene showing of the California styles of today that will be the national fashions of tomorrow.
