Skateboarders have gone their own way since the beginning, in the '50s, when they cruised suburban sidewalks on wooden planks lashed to metal wheels.

That's true not only of the way they skate but also of how they dress. Skateboarders have a history of flying in the face of the fashion mainstream. Some say it's because it takes an independent person to master this solitary, self-reliant sport.

"Skateboarders have always been a little bit rebellious," says Sari Ratsula, vice president of design and product development of Vans Inc. in Orange. "They like to give themselves challenges by jumping stairs and walls, and the same applies to their clothing. They want to be a little different and show who they are."

Skateboarders don't follow trends, but they do set them.

When Vans staged the 1995 World Championships of Skateboarding at the Hard Rock Cafe in Newport Beach on Sunday, a lot of eyes were on the top pro skateboarders--not only because of their vertical maneuvers but also because of what they were wearing.

"You go to a skateboard park, and these kids are wearing the exact same thing" as the pros, says Tony Hawk, who flew to victory at the world championships Sunday and has his own skateboard products and apparel company, Birdhouse Projects of Huntington Beach. "They even look at their shoes and copy how they're laced up. It's kind of silly."

Those in the fashion industry know how influential skateboarders are on what kids wear.

School kids in Iowa are still walking around in clothes that are three sizes too big for them because skateboarders helped make that look hot. Several years ago skateboarders wore their clothes super baggy--until oversized clothes became a certified trend.

"Two years ago I was at Sears, and I saw this big banner that said 'Oversized Clothing.' That's when I knew it was the end of oversized clothing with skateboarders," says Jim Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Santa Barbara-based International Assn. of Skateboard Companies. "Today, skateboarders have rejected that look. They wear normal-fitting clothes."

Fitzpatrick began riding a skateboard while growing up in the '50s. Even then, skateboarders were fashion rebels, he says.

They didn't have an entire industry devoted to their apparel and accessories, so they trolled Army-Navy surplus stores and used-clothing bins in search of fatigues and other comfortable clothing. Fitzpatrick wore GI-issue clothes he found in his father's foot locker.