Thugged Out and Fluoro: Snowboardin Style Gone Mad?
Evening Ladies,
I'd be interested to get a female opinion on this article that we've just posted on [url]http://www.SnowSphere.com[/url].
It's all about how snowboarding fashion seems to look a lot like ski fashion did a few years ago, and also looks at the rise of "Gansta Snowboarders" and Fluoro.
The article is somewhat contreversial and opinionated.
Let me know what you think...
Read Here: [url=http://www.snowsphere.com/special-features/fashion-faux-pas-thugged-out-and-flouro-snowboarding-style-gone-mad]Snowboarding Fashion Gone Mad?[/url]
I read the article this morning and have been thinking about it this afternoon. Here's my two cents. :wink:
I'm def not up on the latest styles, my gear is older, and so am I when compared to the younger set. Yet I find his stance abit hypocritical. Really ,does it make you a better snowboarder if your gear is old? I don't think so. Just like (as he's pointed out, it doesn't necessarily make you a better snowboarder if you have new gear) I think snowboarding gear and style is like anything else in life. You make choices based on your personality. How is it really any different than having a wild hair colour or dressing a certain way because that's what appeals to you. Isn't the whole snowboard culture about being yourself? If neon green appeals to you, go for it. If it doesn't then don't buy it. There are more choices than ever for outer wear so why shouldn't people have fun with it. (esp if you are like us in Canada and wear your winter coat for practically 8 months of the year!)
As for his statement about those people that have all the gear and no clue, well I understand because I've met some of them before and seen them on the hills but again I think you are going to have those people in any sport or any profession. That's just life. I think he's perched up there on his soap box and needs to come down with the rest of us. If he truely believes that snowboardind is ultimately about having a good time then he needs to stop worrying about silly stuff like what the kid in the lift line ahead of him is wearing. :D
It's an interesting article. The opinions are extreme, the author seems to be offended by some of the fashions, while I don't like some of them I don't really care too much what others choose to wear. Most of the stuff they're moaning about isn't impractical in any sense. Bandanas: keep the wind chill on the face down a little; peaked beanies: keep your ears warm and the sun out your eyes, nothing wrong with that. OK, never quite got the low trousers thing, when I've asked about it, they admit getting snow down them is a problem, laugh and say it mixes things up a bit and gives them even less incentive to fall - each to their own eh? I like the yellow trousers and helmet, wouldn't choose to put the whole yellow outfit together, but do like a bit of colour coordination.
I reckon it's a case of 'whatever' - if what people are wearing looks daft I get a good laugh at them :lol:
I won't condemn them for it - I probably look silly to them in my old scabby gear :cry:
So I'll just point and laugh, and have a slightly better day for it :D
Let's face it, a day on the mountain without spotting a few fluoro one pieces on two planks isn't a proper day's boarding :wink:
it's well written, and his opinion, but i dont really know what the problem these days is with people wanting to spend money on their clothes and gear!
i personally spend a fortune on clothes - snowboarding or otherwise, but thats my problem - if i want to go out and spend a couple hundred quid on new gear, i worked for that money and i should be able to. I like to wear what 'I' think is fashionable (although i think a lot of the leeds fashionista's i live around would disagree) on and off the mountain!
This year i went away with a mate, who although she had only riden twice, knew she loved it and spend a fortune on new gear (board, boots bindings, clothes etc) so for that week i guess she looked like one of those 'all the gear - no clue' people the writer hates....but you know what, she was warm, had boots and board that were right for her and was happy. again, it was her cash, if thats what she wants to spend it on, then so be it! She rides once a week now and the gear has been well used. How do you know these people you mock, aren't just like her?!?
So what if some people look fools in their une-pieces/matching pants-jacket combo's/peaked beanie (which i love!)/excentric stylings just look about you, wouldn't things be really dull if everyone wore the same style pants and a colour co-ordinated jacket (but not one that matched! obviously!).
I think its great we have these choices, styles to choose from and i think that any money spent in the industry can only be a good thing!
Have I misread this article? The writer says in the last paragraph of the article wear what you want, but speak with your snowboarding. I thought he was having a go at those people who buy all the gear but for all the wrong reasons ie because they want to fit in with the snowboarding 'scene' but don't really care about what snowboarding is about.
Thanks for everyone's comments on this.
The article caused quite a bit of chat on various snowboarding forums - so we've written a little "sum up" about who said what.
You can read that here: [url=http://www.snowsphere.com/snowsphere-news/snowspheres-snowboarding-fashion-article-causes-stir]SnowSphere Fashion Article Causes Stir[/url]
If anyone feels strongly enough to write a reprisal article - we'd be happy to take a look and publish it on the site.
cheers
Oy vey !
Snowboarding was born a rebel and a misfit with a 'fuck off' attitude!
This has obviously changed with the mainstream-ification of the 'sport' but no matter what, the rebel attitude will always remain a part of the scene.
So what if we rock around in obnoxious colors, flashy gear and with an attitude ?
You yourself say that for you, snowboarding is not about fashion but having fun ! So why all the grief ?
Lay off the bitterness and do what the rest of us are doing, irregardless of what gear we're wearing, having fun!
I assure you banana-man-in-head-to-toe-yellow-2019-yet-to-be-released-cause-I-got-it-flowed-from -my-mate-who's-a-rep and the-guy-in-gear-pre-dating-snowboarding-in-the-Olympics are going to enjoy the first tracks in the glades that patrol opened just 2min ago..
You on the other hand? I don't know, you seem to be too preoccupied by something quite pointless.
Seriously mate, chill and enjoy the riding. That's what the rest of us are doing while you get your knickers in a twist.
Powder to the people !
My goodness. I never notice what folks are wearing.
If I'm riding I'm checking my line, or if I'm in a line/on a lift I do admit I'm lookin' at other folks boards to see what they're riding, and then I may ask them about it.
I just wear what i like and not if it is a signatured clothing.
Don't really notice what others wear but the gangsta in the article looked horrible.
[quote="snojenn"]
That's just life. I think he's perched up there on his soap box and needs to come down with the rest of us. If he truely believes that snowboardind is ultimately about having a good time then he needs to stop worrying about silly stuff like what the kid in the lift line ahead of him is wearing. :D[/quote]
Soo- didja notice this line got quoted on his website??? And a few others, some from other sites.
I'm a little wary of his trolling for editorial content via responses to an article he wrote himself, yet doesn't say so in his post. (sinbad =sam, i recall from older posts)
I know his website is new, and it's an interesting method of increasing traffic, but, it's weird.
I won't be responding anymore to his posts if he's going to take them to his site.
Hi there,
I'm sorry I missed this too. I hadn't realised that your comments on this site were being quoted elsewhere
Only once have I allowed another publishing company to reproduce comments from the site - and that was a UK snowboarding magazine reproducing comments from a thread that I believed wouldn't cause issue with the posters and wouldn't identify them beyond their forum names either.
It's not acceptable to take comments from our forum and quote them elsewhere without the authors or our permissions.
I'm sorry if this has put you off posting your opinions, which we really value as part of our community. I'll be discussing this with SnowSphere to make sure it doesn't happen again.
[quote="hot_toddygal"][quote="snojenn"]
That's just life. I think he's perched up there on his soap box and needs to come down with the rest of us. If he truely believes that snowboardind is ultimately about having a good time then he needs to stop worrying about silly stuff like what the kid in the lift line ahead of him is wearing. :D[/quote]
Soo- didja notice this line got quoted on his website??? And a few others, some from other sites.
I'm a little wary of his trolling for editorial content via responses to an article he wrote himself, yet doesn't say so in his post. (sinbad =sam, i recall from older posts)
I know his website is new, and it's an interesting method of increasing traffic, but, it's weird.
I won't be responding anymore to his posts if he's going to take them to his site.[/quote]
"shrugs shoulders"
I guess that's a lesson to me. It's too bad as I feel that coming on powderroom is for the most part a safe forum where we all get to express our opinions. Just like the author of the article did.
Firstly - if we annoyed anyone for quaoting your comments we apologise. Causing any uneasiness on Powderroom was not the intention, and again we're sorry for that.
In our defence, we don't believe there has been any wrong-doing here. Take a look around the wonder that is the world wide web and you'll find sites quoting others sites everywhere.
In fact I've read many posts here on Powderroom in which small portions of content from other sites have been cut and pasted into the post - for example various news items and other articles, and as long as the source is identified there's nothing wrong with this.
It's also worth noting that anyone in the world with internet access can read your comments on Powderroom - it's not like it was a private conversation behind closed doors which has been leaked to the press. The comments were already in the public domain, accessible by anyone, and no one was identified beyond their forum name.
The other forums (Goneboarding and SCUK) that were also quoted had no objection to the follow up story, and in fact several forum members actually commented that they enjoyed it, because it was interesting to read about the opinions from other forums.
Again - we apologise if you feel that we've over stepped the mark here, but we genuinely didn't realise that there would be any problem.
[quote="sinbad"]Firstly - if we annoyed anyone for quaoting your comments we apologise. Causing any uneasiness on Powderroom was not the intention, and again we're sorry for that.
In our defence, we don't believe there has been any wrong-doing here. Take a look around the wonder that is the world wide web and you'll find sites quoting others sites everywhere.
In fact I've read many posts here on Powderroom in which small portions of content from other sites have been cut and pasted into the post - for example various news items and other articles, and as long as the source is identified there's nothing wrong with this.
It's also worth noting that anyone in the world with internet access can read your comments on Powderroom - it's not like it was a private conversation behind closed doors which has been leaked to the press. The comments were already in the public domain, accessible by anyone, and no one was identified beyond their forum name.
The other forums (Goneboarding and SCUK) that were also quoted had no objection to the follow up story, and in fact several forum members actually commented that they enjoyed it, because it was interesting to read about the opinions from other forums.
Again - we apologise if you feel that we've over stepped the mark here, but we genuinely didn't realise that there would be any problem.[/quote]
I think that before you take what anyone says and use it for your article you should ask them first. It is their words and not yours. If I was interviewed for a newspaper I would know that what I was saying could possibly be put in the newspaper. I just don't think that anyone on here thought that their words could be repeated anywhere else.
I know the subject is almost closed, but I'd still like to respond to the article.
My opinion is that the way we dress mirrors who we are as individuals and not necessarily how competently we ride. What we choose to wear on the mountain is a reflection of our personalities. As we do in normal everyday life.
If you wear the loudest all-in-one suit, or the 'yo'-est baggy pants on the piste or ride the Palmer Platinum and brand new gold plated bindings it's probably because you're the most confident but sadly I think this can also mean financially confident too.
I've been riding a while and love being lucky enough to work in the industry, but I earn way below the national average and a snowboard holiday involves sleeping on friends' floors, cheap flights and making do with holey socks and scratched goggles. So when someone comes along with all the new gear and no clue there's a real twinge of envy.
However, on the flip side if I could afford it I'd be rocking the new stuff too. In fact, I'd probably quite fancy a really loud jacket and some fresh new bindings, I think it would represent a little bit of who I am and resemble the kind of things I like to wear normally. Please note, I am not rad in the park and cannot ride half pipe without it being mainly on my arse.
Ultimately, wear what you feel confident in and what you can afford, it's all about the riding. It's not about what other people are doing.
[size=75][i]PS. I don't mind if my comments get copied and pasted, but I think powderroom should be credited when they do. It's because of Powderroom that I choose to post at all.[/i][/size]
Well im new to this forum having been registered for a while, but thought i would add to this debate.
On the whole the article seems to make mostly valid points, to a degree, but seems to be written from a pretty negative point of view. I really dont see why you would spend so much time and negative energy worrying about what others are wearing on the slopes, if ultimately and i quote "It's about having fun with your friends, seeing new places and being amongst stunning natural terrain". How about enjoy this and not worry about what some dude is wearing?
Whilst for a while certain snowboard magazines printed photos of spectacular 1 piece ski suits from around the globe, as i remember this was dropped because snowboard fashion was becoming a little too close to the ski suits that were being 'ridiculed' and i think it was questioned whether or not this light hearted feature could still continue in the same format. Correct me if im wrong, but thats how i remembered it at the time.
The author conveniently neglects to mention also that the 'new breed' of freestyle skiers now quite happily don the snowboard brands and styles that are openly being slated in the article. For me this isnt an issue as these guys and gals are representing themselves, but if this is to be an arguement about snowboard fashions then surely it should encompass skiiing too. Once again, i am open to being shot down if i have missed something in the article here.
I could go on and on but i imagine you'll all be getting pretty bored reading this by now, and to be honest, im not sure its worth writing too much. Everyone is entitled to their opinion so its all cool. For what its worth, i think the majority of snowboarders who wear the clothing being referred to are not just in to snowboarding for one week a year. It is for the most part their passion and lifestyle, and the way they dress is a representation of who they are, on and off the slopes. As with any walk of life trends and fashions are used in marketing and promotions world wide to sell anything from yoghurt to Ipods, and everybody, no matter how hard they try to deny it, wants a little piece of the latest trend. Its just the way life is. But if you give youself up to snowboarding then why not wear what you feel happy in, and if this is baggy as, then thats all good. I really dont understand why it would bother someone to this extent. If the issue is people who cant ride wearing all the latest kit, well im sure when most people start riding, there are 2 paths you can take. Either the financially able path that allows you to buy all the latest kit and fashions or the path that most people i kow took, of the hand me downs and second hand stuff. Either way the purpose is the same, getting on to the slopes and having fun. But i reckon most people given the choice would have the brand spanking up to date kit if their wallets allowed.
I guess ultimately it is all about the ride and the fun, but, in the same way that we want to look good and feel nice when we go out on the town, the same applies to riding. If we feel happy then we probably ride better. Still dont understand why it bothers some people so much.
I find the attitude with all the gear and no idea amusing but then maybe, Really does it make you a better snowboarder if your gear is old. Just like as he's pointed out, it doesn't necessarily make you a better snowboarder if you have new gear, I think snowboarding gear and style is like anything else in life. You make choices based on your personality
A good read. The last couple of paragraphs sum it up perfectly for me. I find the attitudey kids (and some adults) with 'all the gear and no idea' amusing but then maybe thats cos I'm an old fart too!!
tas