THE FASHIONS
AT WIMBLEDON
G'day folks,
Wimbledon today is known for showcasing the tennis talents
of both male and female competitors, with household names ranging from Andy
Murray to the Williams sisters to Marina Sharapova. It is astonishing to think
that in the tournament’s earlier days, women were expected to make a decent
serve dressed in full-length skirts, corsets, and a bulky shirt: the ‘tennis
whites’ of the time. It took some real champions to make a name for women in
tennis.
At the turn of the century, there really wasn’t much to
differentiate a female tennis player from the average lady walking down the
street to do her groceries. Corsets, petticoats and floor-length skirts were
just part of the game. At the time, the officials at Wimbledon were mostly
concerned with preserving the ‘modesty’ of these top athletes – something which
might seem a little irrelevant to us today. The ladies on the court did look
very prim and proper, but their outfits probably weren’t the best choice for
pursuing that Grand Slam, or even returning a couple of balls. It isn’t hard to
see why women were consistently outperformed by their male counterparts when
they were weighed down by weighty skirts, shirts, belts – and don’t forget the
statement hat.
Unperturbed by the dress code, meet the formidable British
athlete Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, who dominated Wimbledon in the
early 20th century. Douglass made her first appearance at Wimbledon in 1900,
looking sharp with a shirt and tie on the court. It’s hard to imagine playing
tennis in that dress,
but Dorothea was up to the challenge – she went on to win seven Wimbledon
Women’s Single titles, and even won the gold medal at the 1908 Summer
Olympics.
Douglass also pretty much wrote the rule
book on female tennis fashion. In 1910, she wrote Lawn Tennis for
Ladies, containing advice for female players including court
etiquette, dress code, and the correct equipment needed to emulate Dorothea’s
tennis prowess. A pretty impressive side-project for a tennis champion and
Olympic gold-medalist.
After Douglass, French competitor Suzanne Lenglen made a
name for herself as tennis’ favourite flapper and a prima donna in the
1920s. Her antics on the court kept the audience on their toes. Lenglen was
known to swap her court-side drink for a swig of brandy, and always played with
a full face of makeup, which she managed to keep intact despite being known to
break down and cry during a bad game.
American tennis champion Bill Tilden commented on Lenglen
that, “her costume struck me as a cross between a prima donna’s and a
streetwalker”. Despite attracting media attention through her ostentatious
clothes and dramatic personality, Lenglen became known for her grace and talent
on the court. She dominated women’s tennis in the Roaring ’20s, with a
personality to match the period. She earned the respect of the tennis community
and became a household name, opening up the game for future generations of
women.
Tennis trends were challenged once again after WWII. In
1949, the tennis player Gertrude Moran caused a stir during her first
appearance at Wimbledon, receiving the more memorable nickname ‘Gorgeous
Gussie’. After winning the singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles
categories at the US indoor championships, the Californian athlete, who
preferred to be known as Gussy, shocked the crowd and officials at Wimbledon
with her ‘revealing’ tennis whites.
Before the tournament, Moran had approached the official
Wimbledon host Ted Tinling to design her outfit, originally asking for sleeves
and a skirt in block colours. Because of Wimbledon’s rule that outfits had to
be white only, Tinling instead agreed to design an alternative outfit.
Tinling’s skirt seemed
an appropriate length when Gussy walked onto the court, but as soon as play
began, onlookers were shocked by Gussy’s frilly knickers on full display.
The All England Club’s committee chastised Moran
for bringing “vulgarity and sin into tennis”. Even politicians at the time
got their knickers in a twist, and questions over appropriate clothing were
raised in Parliament. Tinling was cast out of the Wimbledon community for 33
years, despite his long career as an official Wimbledon host. However, due to
the sensationalist nature of the story and Gussy’s attractive figure, she was
an instant hit with the media and public.
Clancy's comment: Ah, the old days, eh? And, I wonder how much they were paid compared to today's prima donnas.
I'm ...
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