Tennis skirts are a comfortable and visually appealing garment often worn by women during tennis matches, but also for other sporting activities or fashion reasons. They have evolved from heavy dresses to lightweight, pleated skirts with elasticated waistbands and are now popular for everyday wear.
A tennis skirt is a piece of clothing intended for, and often worn by, women during tennis matches. They are often designed as a fairly simple or lightly patterned skirt with small vertical pleats running the entire length of the garment. While the name certainly indicates an intended use, due to the comfortable and often visually appealing nature of the garment, tennis skirts are worn by some women for other sporting activities or for purely fashion reasons. Although not always a traditional part of women’s tennis clothing, these garments are known as tennis skirts due to their importance on the tennis court.
By the end of the 19th century, when women began to play tennis in recognized tournaments such as Wimbledon, common tennis fashion included full dresses made of heavy materials, stockings, hats, and even furs. As women continued to play tennis, the fashions they wore changed to accommodate their needs for comfort and the ability to play for long periods of time. Dresses worn were turned white, as colored fabrics showed sweat more easily than white garments, the hem began to rise up revealing the player’s ankles, and furs and hats were removed. Throughout the 20th century, the various sports garments continued to change for both men and women, and soon women were completely replacing the heavy dress with a tennis shirt and skirt or shorts.
The preferred tennis skirt worn by many women is lightweight, breathable, and moves with the woman as she plays a match. These skirts are often pleated to allow more movement and create an attractive look during play. Elasticated waistbands are common for a better and more comfortable fit, although some modern styles of tennis skorts may feature a vertical zipper on one side. Some skirts are not pleated, but are flat and smooth, and other styles even incorporate short, cropped leggings under the tennis skirt to create a “skirt” or skirt-shorts combo.
Although perhaps meant to be worn on a tennis court, this type of garment has also become popular for fashion uses. Since a tennis skirt is generally designed to allow comfortable movement while providing a flattering shape, many women enjoy wearing tennis skirts during other sporting activities or just for everyday wear. Although the popularity of such garments as fashion accessories can fluctuate like any other garment as styles change, several different designers have used one type of tennis skirt or another in their collections.
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