RIDING THE WAVE FOR RETAILERS EAGER TO EXPAND MARKET FOR SURF, SKATE AND SNOWBOARD STYLES - GIRLS RULE.

Byline: Candice Choi Staff Writer

The baggy street stylings carefully honed by aloof skaters for years is experiencing an upheaval.

The culprits? Throngs of girls who are jumping into extreme sports like surfing and snowboarding - or at least the casual styles they've inspired in the mainstream market.

``It doesn't have to be just the hats and typical skater stuff anymore,'' said Orlee Weisberg, a 15-year-old Calabasas resident shopping at Val Surf in Woodland Hills.

``You can find stuff like this or this,'' said Weisberg, pointing to a plaid miniskirt and mesh scoop neck shirt. The self-described former tomboy said she loves all the ``cute'' clothes she digs up at skater shops these days.

Take, for example, the yellow sundresses, lavender polka-dotted hoodies, and flip-flops with faux-diamond butterflies found at most skate or surf shops. They're as much a part of the culture as cargo shorts as retailers like Quiksilver and Pacific Sunwear set their sights on preteen girl shoppers.

Roxy, Quiksilver's line of clothing for girls founded in 1994, now rakes in as much as the flagship men's division. Yet Roxy is growing at a much faster rate and provides a greater potential for growth, said Randy Hild, senior vice president of marketing.

Girls now account for a growing chunk of the $12.1 billion skating, surfing and snowboarding industry, according to Board-Trac Inc.

The number of girls diving into surfing doubled between 2001 and 2003 to 37 percent; the number of girls skateboarding tripled to 20 percent over the same time, according to Board-Trac.

And that's just the sports.

On the fashion side, many more girls are becoming fans of the extreme sports' laid-back styles, said Marie Case, managing partner of Board-Trac.

``You've got flirty little skirts and dresses - it's not just stuff you'd wear while you're surfing,'' she said.

``We've definitely seen a big shift where a lot more girls are falling into extreme sports,'' said Steve Crane, owner of Boarderline, a Woodland Hills shop that sells snowboarding and surfing gear.

Women accounted for about 10 percent to 15 percent of sales just five years ago. Now about 30 percent of all sales are for women's products, Crane said.

It's no wonder Pacific Sunwear's newest print campaign - catered to both sexes - prominently features girls and is running in magazines like Elle Girl and Cosmo Girl.

``We just felt that as we try to grow our market this would be a good area for penetration,'' said Tom Kennedy, Pac Sun president.

There was a time when Pacific Sunwear catered almost exclusively to men; now the juniors market for girls 14 to 17 accounts for 46 percent of the company's sales, he said.

Gallaz, a wholesaler of girls' skater and surfer clothing, was launched as a footwear company in 2000 and has since experienced similar growth. The El Segundo offshoot of men's clothing line Globes has since expanded to a full apparel line.

``We were taking direction from the men's market at first, but we've really evolved well beyond that now,'' said Tabitha Ehrhardt, who manages Gallaz.

Girls are much more sophisticated in their shopping decisions than boys; they take into account a wider range of influences like celebrities, musicians and fashion magazines, Ehrhardt said. They also accessorize, making them a more lucrative market.

The fairer sex also prefers having a broader selection of merchandise, Crane said.

``Women need more of a selection than men,'' he said. ``They'll come in and buy the hairpiece, the purse. The get the whole outfit.''

Candice Choi, [phone]

candice.choi(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Kathy Willis, 6, of Agoura Hills looks over flip-flops at Val Surf, where young girls are being courted as customers.

(2 -- color) Orlee Weisberg, 15, of Calabasas, looks through Val Surf skater and surfer styles designed to appeal to girls.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer