She wore an itsy bitsy teeny weeny…

by Ivette Ricco

September 28, 2004

Tennis fans, sports fans, ladies and gentlemen, we’ve come full circle. We’ve gone from uptight, prim, proper, white, traditional, boring, tennis outfits, to a set of millennium standards for trendy fashion apparel with a sports twist.

And who better to model these new fashions and to show off her body than Serena Williams?

When Serena makes her entrance, men’s expressions freeze, appearing as if they’ve been caught in the headlights like a startled deer, women are wowed by her athletic and ripped body. And Serena always manages to add more spice to the bouncing ball than even the dirtiest old man could have ever imagined he’d behold on the tennis court.

The U.S. Open was another opportunity for Ms. Williams to make a fashion statement, she wore, boots. Boots? Yes black boots, knee high black boots!

In other sports venues pretending to be fashion events, Maria Sharapova stopped traffic in a leg revealing, metallic, spaghetti-strap dress. Elena Dementieva electrified her play with an electric-orange little number.

Andy Roddick wore a swirly T-shirt at the U.S. Open one of the few men to make a fashion statement.

Rumor has it that Anna Kournikova was paid $1 Million by a well-known sports firm to pose for an ad doing her imitation of Marilyn Monroe standing on a subway vent with her dress blowing up. Gabriela Sabatini is also helping make tennis a sexy show. Her fans are not only there to see her play, but to watch a beauty play. It’s not always about the game, the guys are there to see Gabriela!

Maria Sharapova has already unseeded Anna Kournikova, taking over the top spot on the Tennis Hottie Download Index, according to Screensavers.com.

The bottom line, is the bottom line, and what better way to show off apparel and fashion than by having the goods hung from the bodies of Michael Angelo-like humans?

Fashion and sports is simply a match made in endorsement heaven.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I came across of photo of Tom Brady with a pouty look and an open shirt for The Gap. And if your pulse isn’t racing after watching half naked bodies glistening in neon colored-sweat for Gatorade then you need a check-up.

Sports and sex, I never tire of this subject. It’s just so darn, well, exciting.
These two components are a volatile mix and often lead to all sorts of “situations”.

I have heard that some high-end prostitutes are taking advantage of this powerful combination by targeting wealthy tennis and country clubs. These professional “ladies” dress and act the part of the country club maven by wearing the best tennis clothes and talking the tennis talk. In return for their acting effort they make a very decent living at tennis tournaments. A week at a tennis tournament can bring in about $800-1000 a night for these tennis “pros”.

If the “pro” happens to look anything like Anna Kournikova she may be going for $1000 or more per night.

The court-side fashion purists point to the degenerating standards of dress throughout the sports world. There has been persistent debate regarding the women's volleyball bikini uniform of the Athens Olympics.

The Women's Sports Foundation founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King has taken the stand that form-fitting uniforms for women in all sports should be performance-related, but should never be exploitive. But the foundation supports freedom of choice, garments that give the female athlete "flexibility in choosing a garment that makes her feel most comfortable and perform at the highest level."

As evidenced at the recent U.S. Open, Serena Williams and company are raising eyebrows and questions of taste vs. sports vs. fashion as they begin wearing less traditional court attire. If nothing else, the outfits are getting a lot more attention than the final score.

Dress Emancipation for Women Through Sports

Early in the 20 th century it was not considered important for women to win at competitive sports and so clothes were not designed to give the movement that would allow them to excel. For golf women wore tailored blouses and skirts similar to clothing worn for business and shown in the header. 

By 1910 only golf allowed women to have expanding pleats down the sides of their tweed jackets to prevent clothes tearing when they did a golf swing. Even those pleats could not be decorative. Tweed was used in many sports and the golf sweater made its way into fashion as the first casual garment.

Mass production techniques being applied more swiftly in America , benefited sportswear for women and shorter hems were common on most American sports skirts. By 1917 Vogue urged women to put their overskirts in a knapsack once on a mountain slope and ski in their jodhpurs. 

Women had worn long skirts and restrictive clothing to play tennis until 1910.

In 1922 Suzanne Lenglen shocked the world when she dressed for tennis at Wimbledon wearing a short skirt. She abandoned the hat and also caused a stir with her hair bandeau designed to enable her to actually see what was going on. Such seriousness of purpose was unknown before. By 1930 a bare head was acceptable for tennis playing.

Even more shocking than Lenglen was Alice Marble who strode onto court wearing white shorts in 1932. Both outfits were at the time considered outrageous, but over the years other sports women have braved new ground with more appropriate dress.

Alice Marble's shorts 1932.

In 1947 Teddy Tingling influenced by Dior's New look began to put femininity back into tennis wear and produced waffle pique flared dresses. By 1949 Teddy Tingling designed lace trimmed knickers for Gussie Moran for Wimbledon . 

Practicality in sports clothes was set in the 1920s. Jean Patou was revolutionary in shortening sports skirts and accustoming people to the idea of suitability of purpose.

Oh well, that was then, this is now.

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