Women’s Tennis Fashion History

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.