Modernness in technology has also changed the way tennis
uniforms look and their performance as well. Spandex, nylon, and other
synthetic fabrics have been continuously created to wick away perspiration are
essential—and a far cry from what athletes used to wear 100 years ago.
According to Keren Ben-Horin, a fashion historian and co-author of “She has Got
Legs: A History of Hemlines and Fashion,”
when Victorian women played tennis within the 1880s and 1890s, they were
wearing their clothing, including heavy undergarments like corsets, bustles,
and petticoats, and voluminous skirts that grazed the bottom ."
Let’s take a glance back at how women's Tennis Apparel and tennis uniforms have changed through the
ages.
The 1990s
Women's Tennis Apparel
Tennis grew popular in Victorian England, and therefore, the
clothing matched the style of the day: dresses with high collars and long
sleeves. White clothing, which dirties easily, became a logo of the rich, very
similar to the game itself. “Tennis whites” gradually became a rule, with
Wimbledon mandating all-white uniforms for its players in 1890. Within the
early 1900s, women played tennis in floor-length skirts, stockings, and
long-sleeved tops (all of which prevented a variety of mobility). British
athlete Dorothea Douglass (shown here) won the Wimbledon Women’s Singles title
seven times.
The 1920s Women's Tennis Apparel
French athlete Suzanne Lenglen caused awe when she stepped
in to play Wimbledon with bare arms and a knee-length hemline. Her outfit was
designed by French designer Jean Patou. Lenglen also wore flapper-style
headbands on the court. During that decade, French athlete René Lacoste created
lightweight, breathable cotton shirts (now referred to as polo shirts) and
began mass-producing them in 1933. Today, the Lacoste brand continues to
manufacture the tops emblazoned with the long-lasting crocodile.
The 1940s Women's Tennis Apparel
The ultrafeminine attire put on by American athlete Gertrude
Moran at Wimbledon in 1949 was just a trailer of 1950s trends to return. Her
top had ruffles, and she or he (intentionally) wore shorts designed by British
couturier Ted Tinling with lace that peeked out as she played. In attempts to
urge pictures of her lace shorts, photographers laid flat on the bottom.
Nowadays the best Tennis outfits are designed keeping the rigorous routine of the players and
mostly the attire is gender fluid.
Anyone can get their hands-on tennis clothes online. The tennis dresses online have a large variety and you can
get in your desired fabric and brand.
