What Is Kustom Kulture? Pinstriping, the Flying Eyeball and Hot Rod Art

Kustom kulture is the art, style and lifestyle that grew up around hot rods and custom cars in postwar America. It includes pinstriping, flame paint jobs, the flying eyeball, rockabilly music and fashion, and tattoo-style artwork. The "K" spelling is part of the attitude: custom, but done your own way.

Every Vulture Kustoms design comes out of that tradition. Here's a quick guide to its biggest symbols.

The flying eyeball

The winged eyeball is one of kustom kulture's best-known symbols. It's most closely associated with Kenneth "Von Dutch" Howard, the pinstriper who helped make the art form famous in the 1950s. Today it shows up on garage walls, toolboxes, jackets and hats, including our VK Flying Eyeball trucker hat. Many builders read it as the all-seeing eye of the builder: always watching, always looking for the next project.

Pinstriping and flames

Pinstriping is thin, hand-painted line work, often symmetrical, applied to dashboards, trunks and body panels with a long-bristled brush. Flames are the other signature: licking back from the front wheel wells of hot rods and kustoms. You'll see both on our LOUD. LOW. QUESTIONABLE. and RAISE HELL tees.

Monster art and tattoo flash

Kustom kulture artists also drew wild cartoon monsters driving hot rods, and the style crossed over with American traditional tattooing: bold outlines, a limited palette, roses, swallows, skulls and banners. Our GITTY UP tee, with a gremlin riding a vulture over a cowboy skull, is drawn in that tradition.

Frequently asked questions

Why is it spelled "kustom" with a K?

The K spelling became shorthand for the custom car scene itself: hand-built, rule-breaking and personal. It's why we're Vulture Kustoms.

What is kustom kulture style clothing?

Graphic tees, work jackets, trucker hats and patches with hot rod, pinstripe, flame and tattoo-flash art, worn with denim and boots. See our hot rod and rat rod t-shirts.

Is kustom kulture the same as rockabilly?

They overlap. Rockabilly is the music and fashion side; kustom kulture is the cars and art. Most car shows have both.