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| The London fashion fortnight |
| Suveen K Sinha / New Delhi Jun 28, 2009, 00:29 IST |
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Wimbledon, in spite of the all-white restriction, still sets the trends in tennis wear.
Maud Watson won the first Wimbledon Ladies’ Championship in 1884. The vicar’s daughter was all in white as she defeated her older sister, Lilian, in the final, but it was an outfit that did not allow much movement: A bustled two-piece costume, topped by a male strawboater. In the later years, calf-length skirts became acceptable, but at the end of the 19th century women were still pleading for an attire that did not impede breathing.
In 1905, American May Sutton, who at home in California had taken to playing in her father’s shirts because of the extra freedom of movement they offered, caused a stir. She won Wimbledon in rolled-back cuffs that revealed her wrists. In the later years, hats disappeared, but women still played in two or three stiff petticoats, as well as corsets, until 1919, when Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen played the first Wimbledon after the First World War. Lenglen delivered the women players from the tyranny of corsets. She wore a flimsy and revealing calf-length cotton frock with short sleeves, propped up by yards of coloured silk chiffon and — a first for women — a headband.
The years immediately after the Second World War, just like those after the first, created sartorial sensation. Gertrude Agusta Moran, a leggy Californian promptly dubbed “Gorgeous Gussie” by the British media, created a furore at the 1949 Championships. Beneath her regulation white dress trimmed with white satin there was the occasional enticing glimpse of panties trimmed with lace. A racehorse, an aircraft and a special sauce went on to be named after her.
Despite Wimbledon’s unwavering insistence that players wear predominantly white clothing, its courts have for long been the ramp for tennis fashion, where models do their catwalk in between playing spots of tennis. It is easy to see why the Williams sisters cannot find enough time to play tennis round the year — look at what they wear, it takes time to design them. Maria Sharapova, whose best playing days seem to be getting further and further in the past with each tournament, made waves this year with her warmup wardrobe: A Nike military-style jacket. Serena Williams is sporting a mini-trenchcoat. Leading the male fashion parade, Roger Federer has been wearing a safari jacket with long, loose trousers and a waistcoat.
Still, one can safely say that while fashion statements at Wimbledon have become stronger, they have not really become bolder — Gussie would still take the cake. Besides, not all of the recent trends have been for the better. Very few can carry off what Federer has been wearing — and he is not one of them. At least get rid of that RF crest, Roger!
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