WHAT TO WEAR WHEN YOU WANT TO PLAY TENNIS

 


Mutton sleeves & long voluminous skirts.

Still puffed but shorter sleeves.  Hats had best be pinned on tightly.

Long tight-fitting sleeves might cramp your swing a bit?

Matching outfits with long sleeves loose at the top and pretty decorative skirts.

Looser long sleeves and slimmer skirt, but now you have a tie flapping in your face.  In the photo she does have her tie tucked into her belt, but you know it's not going to stay there.

Mixed Doubles






Gradually skirts began to get shorter and tops more easy-fitting.  But again, with the ties?  Why?? (flap flap)  At least two of the gals are smart enough to know better.

There was the occasional publicity shot, of course.

Back to the sedate ‘30s.




A couple of these gals appear to be wearing knee-length shorts.

Lucille Ball in the 1940s

Rita Hayworth.  I love the outfit. :)

Women’s 2-piece tennis outfit in 2026.  Are women’s tennis outfits headed in the same direction as those worn by beach volleyball players?  Interesting thought, but I can’t quite see it.  Then again, women playing tennis in the 1890s would be flabbergasted at the thought of wearing something like this!

Or this!

Were I playing tennis back in the 1890s I’d have chosen something like this to wear.

I learned how to play tennis, sort of, in high school PE class and I have a scar visible to this day reminding me of how bad I was at it.

:->

La Nightingail

Comments

  1. Barbara RogersMay 29, 2026 at 2:13 PM

    Women somehow managed to run around a court and swing a racket in many kind of clothes. I like when the whites finally gave way to more interesting designs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike BrubakerMay 31, 2026 at 7:37 AM

    This was a fascinating timeline on the evolution of athletic fashions. Considering how women dressed, and men, too, in those early decades of tennis, their game play must have been more tame than today's pickleball. How did they manage to keep those long white dresses clean on clay and grass courts? The players at the French Open this week are complaining about the heat. They should be glad that tennis fashion has changed.

    ReplyDelete

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