Forget riding the wave. Today’s surfers are ahead of it when it comes to style. The same goes for skateboarders and snowboarders.

They play by their own rules, often combining function and fashion to satisfy both their needs and image.

Until recently, though, extreme sports was a niche market, largely teenage boys who aren’t usually at the top of the tastemakers’ go-to list. But then someone realized that these guys are cool. Now, not only are floral board shorts as common on city sidewalks as on Hawaii’s beaches, they’re a source of inspiration for some of fashion’s big names.

How did that happen?

“Tropical idolatry,” says pro surfer Laird Hamilton, who’s been tapped to represent American Express and Davidoff Cool Water fragrance in advertisements.

“Why do you see board shorts on the street? Because people are seeing an escape. It’s the same reason people go to movies and listen to music,” Hamilton says.

When the ads featuring Hamilton and his surfboard broke in May, retail sales of Cool Water that month jumped 28 percent from the year before.

The casual chic image associated with surfing and its descendants has an undeniable appeal.

FOR USE WITH AP WEEKLY FEATURES ** In this photo provided by Kohl's, skateboarder Tony Hawk puts his name on a line of clothes sold at Kohl's that aims to bring street credibility to teen clothes. (AP Photo/Kohl's)

“The lifestyle of California and the action sports here are so desirable,” says Janine Blain, West Coast director of trend-tracking firm the Doneger Group. “They incorporate color, pattern, out-of-the-box prints – they’re all part of the surf-skate lines, which have crossed into fashion.”

Patagonia, a name associated with alpine apparel, recently opened its first surf store, and fashion darling Marc Jacobs sometimes puts surfboards in his stores. Chanel created its Black Satin nail polish with the skater chick in mind, and ESQ Swiss makes a watch called Blackfin, with a wave symbol on the dial and a textured rubber strap that’s water-resistant.

Jeweler Edward Mirell is making a “twine” surfer-style bracelet in titanium that retails for $925. And top-tier label Prada, which uses high-tech nylon for its signature backpack, showed a suit on its Milan runways with a sport anorak over it.

“Designers see their customers mixing their collection with throwaway items like flip-flops. They said, ‘Why not make them ourselves?”‘ says Stephen Watson, fashion editor of Men’s Vogue.

He notes that Jacobs launched a subsidiary line called Stinky Rat about five years ago – at a much lower price than his usual $100-plus T-shirts – that captures the wannabe surfer look and the name has the right ring for the market.

In an outtake from the Davidoff Cool Water ad campaign, marketers use surfer fashion to sell their product.

But it’s not a one-way street. Watson points to snowboard-maker Burton’s niche high-end apparel that is “almost a designer collection.”

“They want to play in the fashion realm more than ever,” he says.

Trends in sports apparel, however, are driven more by function than the runways.

Skateboarders put on the now-popular-with-the-masses skinny jeans years ago because they allow them to do their moves without pesky fabric flapping in the wind. Surfers have been longtime fans of the quick-dry nylon fabrics now being used in childrenswear. Snowboard jackets were among the first to make pockets specifically for electronic gadgets and to create a space for headphone wires.

Clothes for extreme sports weren’t always so forward-thinking, veteran pro skateboarder Tony Hawk says. When he started in the late ’70s, the look was bright colors and too-short shorts.

But as skating grew in popularity, companies that made skateboards realized they could make complementary skateboarding clothes.

The style of surfers, skateboarders and snowboarders are now on the racks of mass retailers, including Tony Hawk's line sold at Kohl's.

“I always felt skating was pretty progressive. It’s as much an art form as sport, so it attracts a lot of creative people. Skaters were taking the lead in music, culture and fashion, and suddenly there was a shift in the perception of skaters,” Hawk says. “The kids in school who were skating were the cool kids – the one the other kids looked to for trends.”

Hawk launched his own line of skater-influenced apparel in the late 1990s, and now the label is produced by Quiksilver exclusively for Kohl’s stores, emphasizing skateboarding’s mainstream appeal.

“In the late ’90s, no one really cared about kids looking cool. It was all Gymboree or OshKosh B’Gosh – all the kids looked like little dolls. I wanted skate jeans and surfer trunks for my kids,”‘ says Hawk, whose children are 13, 7 and 4 years old.

“My 13-year-old is one of those cutting-edge kids. I’m looking to him for ideas now,” he says.