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vintage tennis wear

Vintage Wimbledon and 2013 Style

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 It’s that time again. My obsession with Wimbledon knows no bounds. If I wasn’t so glued to the screen, (and jet-lagged), I would have gotten this post out sooner…Better late than never right?

First of course I have to trot out some of my favorites from my youth because I am still in love with  their style. Chris Evert will always be the tennis dress diva in my mind due to her variety of custom-made frocks. Part of the thrill was waiting to see what outfit she would wear next. Notice her coordinating bows, jackets and towels as well… I dig coordination.

This was the era when players had their frocks custom made, before they were beholden to brands like they are now. Clearly more there was more individual style and flair.

1972

1975 How cute is the bow as a headband?

 At this time everyone had lace ruffles on their tennis pants!

I also loved the feminine style of Aussie Evonne Goolagong. The neck scarf was a pretty as well as useful and scallops are always a good idea.

 Before we get into the action this week, a bit of appreciation for the king, Bjorn Borg, please.

Have I mentioned I am campaigning to bring back the tennis sweater?

Bjorn Borg and Arthur Ashe looking preppy at Wimbledon in the late 70s. I have a reverence for the pukka shell necklace Arthur is sporting here as well. (Brings me back to dreamy guys in 6th grade…)

 The hair gods were good to Borg, no? He got a few other gifts as well.

This shot is purely for tennis sweater campaign purposes only. ;D

 Really McEnroe?  Next to Bjorn he has the look of an extra in Meatballs. (Remember that quality flick?) Hey, McEnroe didn’t behave so well either, unlike the gentleman Borg. Can you imagine guys going around with their shirts unbuttoned like this now?

Did I mention Borg never looked sweaty? Okay sorry!

Check out these wonderful vintage Tube posters.

Wimbledon requests white attire of it’s players.
 Tradition and all you know… 
Some players try to assert a little flair without breaking the rules. Stylish looks I appreciate this year…

Apparently Sharapova got in trouble for having these orange colored pants under her dress. As a tennis player myself, I love them. White shows everything.

Caroline Wozniacki’s Stella McCartney for Adidas dress was one of my favorites.

Sloane Stephens is very feminine and I loved this lacy headband.

Maria Sharapova always has pretty dresses. I just can’t stand her terrible squealing.

Serena was out early. She looked great as always and I believe her dresses are custom fit to her. I know tennis dresses and hers are always tailored perfectly to flatter her shape.

How inspiring was Kimiko Date-Krum of Japan? After retiring for 13 years to have a family, this 42 year old came back to make it all the way to the third round of Wimbledon where she played Serena Williams. Love stories like that!

Marion Bartoli of France won the final. Nice to see someone who had never been expected to get this far win. Also inspiring! Anything is possible.

As far as the men…

Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. He always keeps his cool. My son was ball boy for him and he’s a complete gentleman.

Dustin Brown of Germany has a unique style.

Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina also looked crisp and played a tough game against Djokovic.

Speaking of, I’m firmly in the Andy Murray camp, but Novak Djokovic has been growing on me. Here he’s riding his bike around Wimbledon. He actually dressed as one of the ball kids and ran into center court with them. He seems like a fun guy.

Hope you enjoyed Wimbledon as much as I did.

Kim

For more vintage Wimbledon style see my post on it here.

Find these photos and more on my Pinterest board Tennis Style.

Tennis Style

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My first memories of tennis were watching Chris Evert on TV. My Mom and I always loved how feminine she was compared to most players of the day with her bows, pretty dresses and hoop earrings.

Last year, my oldest son, Jackson was a ball boy for the SAP Open. I also was a ball girl back in the day for the ladies’ Avon tournament with my high school team, a thrill at the time. I still have my Prince racquet cover with autographs of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
 I didn’t play tennis in college and kind of stopped for a long time. Almost 25 years since graduating from high school, I began playing again. I am thrilled that my boys like tennis as much as I do. Watching them gave me the courage to start again. It’s been about 4 years now, and I play on a USTA ladies team. I am not by nature an athletic type at all, but I forgot how much fun it can be to play a sport. I am having a ball, meeting the nicest people and working on my game. Reminiscing with my son about my own experiences made me think about how much tennis has changed in the 25 years plus, since I was in school.
Tracey Austin 1980s in a pinafore dress. Love the pom-pom socks! We all had those.
Vitas Gerulaitis, was a wonderful player. The white Nike’s with blue swoosh are classics.

 When I was 7 we moved to a very suburban track home neighborhood, that had a little tennis club within walking distance. Dunnett’s Tennis Club, sadly no longer exists and was inexplicably bull-dozed to make more parking for an a rental car office. The little club will always live in my mind as a special place.  My Mom walked me over there when I was in fourth grade, to sign me up for lessons. My tennis pro was named Bonnie and I adored her. I remember buying her a mug with her name and a rose on it. For my classes, my grandmother sewed me two custom tennis dresses, that I helped design. One was a white swing dress with blue and red piping and ruffled pants to match. The other was a white pique halter style with crossed racquets on the collars. I still have one of these somewhere.

I loved everything about tennis and being at the tennis club. Even at age 9, I remember the exciting people who seemed to belong there. There were dreamy boys who drove MG Midgets and green Triumph TR7 convertibles and glamourous ladies in elegant tennis ensembles. I drank it all in. This was not my reality. We were a middle class family, who played tennis at the local park and who did not belong to clubs. Something about this lifestyle was then and still now so appealing to me.

Borg in graphics.

I continued off and on with my tennis. When I went to high school, my friend Monica convinced me to go out for the school team. We did and loved it and I’m so grateful she talked me into it. High school was the early 80s and the age of Swedish hunk Bjorn Borg, (who adorned my teen-age walls), Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova,  McEnroe, and so many other amazing players who dominated the game. When I look back to those times, they all look so clean-cut and preppy. I love the whites and stripes and sweaters that they all wore. The headbands,sweatbands, jackets and sweaters were their colorful accessories to the still mainly white wardrobes. I still admire those styles!

 Conners and Gerulaitus. Love his sweater and white shorts. What a funny and amazing guy Vitus was. After  finally beating Conners after a 16 match losing streak,  he famously said, “Nobody beats Vitus Geralaitus 17 times in a row!”


Today, whites are almost nonexistent on the courts! Today players sport brights in clothes and shoes. I am the first to like bright colors, but there is something about the formality and tradition of the whites that I miss. It made tennis seem a little more gentile than other sports and it was one of its great appeals. I love that they could dress like ladies and gentlemen, but still be some the greatest athletes in the world. In honor of the past champions, here’s a small gallery to inspire you, whether you play tennis or not.

Borg and Conners.  



Evonne Goolagong of Australia, 1970s. Love her scalloped dress.
Ivan Lendl in argyle – 1983. Adidas has recently brought back this line.
Bring back the tennis cardigan! Virginia Wade with the Queen, Wimbledon 1977.
Her sweater was monogrammed.
Arthur Ashe, gentleman and American legend. Wimbledon, 1975.
Margaret Court 1970s. An Australian mom who quit tennis to have kids and came back.
She had won more titles than any other woman.
Bjorn Borg 1976. Loving the pukka shell necklace too.  
Borg after defeating McEnroe, 1980 at his fifth Wimbledon title. 

Arthur Ashe for Rolex.
Martina Navratilova in a cable knit sweater.
No one in the world of men’s and women’s tennis still has a better win/loss percentage than Chris Evert. She personified grace on and off the court and still does.  

Kim 🙂

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