About

The Super S Stussy, also known as Cool S, Super S, the Pointy S or a Stussy, is a symbol consisting of 14 lines that form a stylized "S". The symbol is typically drawn by children, usually on notebook paper during school hours. While it has been frequently associated with the clothing brand Stussy, examples of the "S" or near-examples of the "S" dating back prior to the company's forming.

Origin

It is unclear when or where the symbol originated, but many believe it is based off a logo for Stussy^[1], a clothing company based in Irvine, California. However, others question that claim since there's no irrefutable evidence that the symbol ever appeared on any of Stussy's clothing lines and the symbol itself is believed to date back as far as the late 1950's. Some believe the symbol was created by unknown graffiti artists in the past.

LEMMiNO Video

On August 10th, 2019, YouTuber LEMMiNO published a video on the "S," researching the origin and possible affiliations the "S" has with geometry and graffiti. The video shows photographic evidence of the "S" from the 1960s, primarily in the street art and graffiti at the time, including references to the S by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who refers to the S as the "classic S of graff" in the 1980s. Finally, the YouTuber focuses on an 1890 book by professor Frederick Newton Willson entitled Mechanical Graphics, which includes an S as an example of Railroad Type. LEMMiNO theorizes that Willson may have taught geometry students how to draw the "S" to students when teaching at Princeton University in New Jersey.

Spread

The Super S symbol became very popular in the 1980s and 1990s, and is considered a staple of the latter decade among those who grew up in that time period. However, many schools didn't like students drawing the symbol and some schools would later ban it all together, usually in the belief that it was associated with gangs and was a distraction in class. To this day, the "Super S" can be seen drawn on notebook paper by children.

The mystery of the "S" has long-been debated online. For example, on January 7th, 2011, an anonymous Redditor posted about the design in the /r/wtf^[2] subreddit (shown below, left). A little over a month later, Redditor TheAmazingJordo posted a Rage Comic about the "S," which received more than 530 points (93% upvoted) in less than 12 years (shown below, right)

Usage of the symbol continued throughout the 2010s, with many millennials using the image as a sign of teenage rebellion and attitude. On December 7th, 2019, for example, Twitter user @ghoulcabin posted a version of the design that combines elements of the cartoon character Bart Simpson. They captioned the post, "My body is my journal and my tattoos are my story." The post received more than 5,900 likes and 640 retweets in less than two years (shown below).

Media Coverage

Numberous outlets have attempted to solve the mystery of the design's origins, including Vice,^[2] Ranker,^[3] Print,^[4] NYU Local^[5] and more.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References