Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tom Sims - Snowboard Fashion Icon

 
Tom Sims was one of the founders of our sport and he is undoubtedly a snowboarding legend. Today we take a look back at his other great contribution to the sport – his awesome fashion sense...

Before he made his name in snowboarding, Tom Sims was already an established part of the skateboard fashion scene. Back in the 60's he was mostly seen rocking a rather splendid moustache and bandanna combo.




And the best way to enhance the wearing of such a fine moustache is without doubt a half-heartedly buttoned Hawaiian shirt...


...or hot pants. 


OK, so the hot pants thing didn't really take off, unlike Tom who was setting a World Record in this photo. Fortunately for both the future of snowboarding and for very different reasons the future of skateboard pants, Tom decided to move to colder climes, because in the 70's snowsports were about to get radical.

Body warmers - hot pants for your torso

Tom was a real leader of the fashion for clothing with important parts missing. Here is is sporting a gurn and a T-shirt without sleeves, which he called an I-shirt.

Tom is a breast man


Tom also invented Usain Bolt's victory celebration and the short lived fashion of wearing oven gloves.



Another of Tom's fashion cul-de-sacs was the mash-up of snowsports and equestrianism that culminated in his famous arrest by the fashion police for the crime of wearing jodhpurs.

Tom also invented gay

and lesbians, and threesomes...

Legend


The one thing Tom consistently rocked during the early days of snowboarding was the figure-hugging suit. 

In an age of bad clothing Tom was king


This photo is a telling explanation of why the trend for baggy pants kicked in after this era. The fearsome up-crotch shot.



Here's Tom sporting a set of Boot Chic...



What's Boot Chic you ask? Its this season's must have for the fashion concious lady. It would probably deserve a whole article of it's own if it didn't make me die a little inside...



Over the last few photos we have smoothly moved into the 80s. By this point, and due in no small part to his awesome tight-fitting attire, Tom was now riding so fast that his hair was actually moving back from his forehead to improve his aerodynamics.

That's how you do branding


He was forced to start wearing baggy one-piece suits and fanny packs to try and slow himself down and reduce the effects on his previously flowing locks...


and eventually he was forced expand his wind resistance further by wearing hats, which he has done in every photo ever since.

Tom Sims, fellow snowboard pioneer Jake Burton, and the most epic woolly jumper known to man. 


The most epic shirt known to man...



These days Tom is toning things down in the fashion stakes and he's even saved off his legendary moustache.

Tom does his famous Pope impression


So there's your fashion fix for the week. Maybe there were a few ideas in there that might influence your snowboarding look for the new season. I'm squeezing out a moustache as I type.



Related Articles...

Take a look at the Snowboarding History Timeline to see how Tom Sims contributed to the origins of our sport.

4 comments:

  1. Who was the author of this website? Also please don't cuse .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, don't cuse.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tom Sims was a beast. Thanks for detailing his fashion timeline.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah, don't cuse.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

 
© 1896. Design by Main-Blogger - Tinkering by Zhang - Colouring in by Illicit