So I was hanging out at the mall, bringing my kid to see some really lame Shriners clowns who were out stumping for the upcoming circus. Of course you can’t go to the mall without surveying the goods and services available. There were two major department stores with skateboards as display props. I borrowed a point and shoot camera on the spot and did a little investigating.
Skateboards as props in displays
First up is Nordstrom. As you can see below, they are going for a urban chic vibe, with the pinstriped embroidered skateboard and the low rider bicycle. I think the dog may be left over from a fall oriented display, becasue it looks more like a hunting dog than a pitbull.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that this fancy padded longboard was familiar. Turns out we covered it a couple years back. If you look closely at the display, you’ll notice that the skateboard is just leaning on a metal stand, unencumbered by any sort of physical locking device or noticeable security alarm. I’m not advocating anything, especially since this dispaly is really close to the outside door. I’m just pointing it out…
Also nearby is this wall display with an awkwardly photographed kickflip. From a distance and even up close it kind of looks like the kid is sitting on the bench with his feet resting on an upturned board.
Next I ventured over to Macys. They may have a larger corporate organization than Nordstrom, but the merchandise is definitely more pedestrian. Looks like they are going for urban not-so-chic. Yes that is a Spiderman skateboard displayed with the Sean John (Puff Daddy) line of clothes.
Here’s an Ecko display with another toy store skateboard.
From the other side you can see this Variflex board (and all the others) looks like it was left out in the rain. They don’t quite have the budget for displays that Nordstroms does. They must have gone to Good Will for these props. They left the turf dirt on the wheels to lend grit and credibility.
However, it looks like Macys does have a special purpose display board stored in the mannequin archives. This one had a very nice flat gray paint job.
Now that’s a kingpin worthy of being called King! I’m not sure what stage Indy’s these are. Maybe they are some sort of Bizarro World Grind Kings.
That’s it. I didn’t bother to go to the Pac Suns and minor clothing chains, so there might have been more. These were the two that were most out of place.
13 comments
Prickly Pete
Okay, we’re beyond the saturation point with this Quicksilver scrolly stitching shit and skulls. It’s the Cosby sweater of our time. Make it go away!
talentlessquitter
Too bad the skull,with the white stitching is sideways.Should be along the length of the deck.Your typical non-skateboarder ‘artwork’!
Hateboard
upon further investigation i believe that the grey board, mongo pushing, sketchers wearing mannequin was beheaded for its heresy.
burn the witch!
Hateboard
i love the 200mm krypto’s that are probably made of hard ass plastic. this is exactly what i’m hoping for in skateboarding..things like this that are lame enough to likely kill it again. (as much as it can be killed, anyway.) it’s just gotten to fucking big. when i was a grom you couldnt carry a skateboard THROUGH nordy’s much less see one on display. if i hadn’t invested 20 something years in this skooterboard business, this would totally turn me away from it.
Livmo
Rumor has it Sizzl’n Steve Bacon got busted and fined like $100 by Macy’s in the 80’s for trying to steal a display Sims snowboard. Same deal, right by the exit door.
LP
josh brolin’s wristguards wer ebackwards in the poster for thrashin’…i bet at that store display they play Jet and the Strokes on a loop.
cskate
I’ll donate a hoody to whoever claims that padded longboard.
conahan
Nice Ben Hur axle nuts too. If I ever get hired as a window-dressing skateboarding consultant, I plan to mount all the trucks backwards too. Douchebags. I was carrying around phonecam snaps of that Nordstrom display for a post but it just crushed my spirit.
Kilwag
Backwards mounted trucks… I didn’t even notice! I was gawking at the massive kingpin, watching over my shoulder for management to approach and tell me that photos weren’t allowed. The Variflex board is mounted backwards too. This is an epidemic. Maybe I could get a job as a skateboard display advisor. Maybe not, since I didn’t notice it.
jacknife
I heard puff daddy changed his name again.
cold ones
Maybe the mannequin is skating switch?
chompy
of course the Mannequin is pushing mongo….
Carl
The backward mounted trucks were a nice touch.