Tennis Outfits in the 1920s

Tennis fashion for ladies in the early part of the 1920s was a departure from the tightly corseted outfits being worn a decade earlier, when typical court fashion included not only long skirts and waspish waists but also stiffly starched collars that rubbed the neck and left the wearer gasping for air. In America and parts of Europe at the dawn of the 1920s, tennis and social clubs welcomed a new fashion freedom on the courts that at last provided ease of movement in "breathable" fabrics, not only for ladies but also for men.

  1. Suzanne Lenglen

    • In 1922, the famous Suzanne Lenglen caused a number of shocked whispers in parlors all over the world when she showed up at Wimbledon in a short skirt. Credited for raising hemlines to the knee, she also decided not to wear a hat in favor of a jaunty bandanna that kept her hair under control and helped her see the ball. Lenglen drew comments whenever she appeared, particularly as she was fond of pairing her skimpy skirts with a fur wrap, discarded before play.

    Helen Wills Moody

    • The winner of 31 Grand Slam titles, including seven U.S. Championship singles titles and four French Championship singles titles, Californian Helen Wills Moody was at the height of her tennis career in 1926. Considered to be "introverted" and "detached" off the court, on court she defiantly wore costumes that shocked spectators and critics alike, replacing the customary white silk stockings worn by lady tennis players with white socks. As Ladies' World Champion, she led the rest of the world tennis fraternity into the late twenties and early thirties when stockings were ditched permanently in favor of more sensible hosiery.

    Discomfort for the Boys

    • In the early twenties, a budding tennis ace might be turned out in gray rather than white, in flannel trousers or "ducks," slightly baggy pleat-waisted pants that usually featured turn-ups despite the tendency of players to catch their heels in the flap. A cotton shirt would be teamed with a brightly colored blazer, typically badged and braided with "Club colors" and two-tone shoes were worn in soft leather, treated daily to keep them fresh and clean. "Whites" had been temporarily abandoned, viewed as impractical due to frequent staining with grass and mud.

    Lacoste

    • Sporting designs greatly influenced street fashion in the twenties. The rich and affluent, able to afford golf, tennis, sailing and polo, favored clothing that allowed easy movement and the rest of the hoi polloi followed the trend. When French tennis icon Jean Rene "Crocodile" Lacoste lifted the Davis Cup in 1927, wearing a knit shirt with short sleeves and a fold-down collar, he began a fashion rage that survives to this day.