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Looking back, it would appear that one of the many things women needed emancipation from a century or so ago, was their wardrobe.
This was true in women's day to day life as long skirts got in the way of routine chores, while they sweated in their long sleeves and stockings no matter what the weather because -- horrors! no one should ever see their limbs.
And don't even get me started on suffocating organ-crushing contraptions like stays or corsets.
As restricting as the average woman's clothing were on an average day, women who had the audacity to be involved in anything remotely related to sports were really weighted down. To play tennis at the advent of the twentieth century, for instance, a woman was expected to wear long skirts, jackets with tight sleeves, hats and gloves.
And women accepted this docilely, though one might suspect with some grumbling amongst themselves, as they sweated -- oh, pardon. Women were said to glisten, never perspire.
The lot of female athletes, constrained as they were as to what sports they were allowed into, and as confined as they were by the clothing they wore, was not an easy one.
You try to do a proper golf swing in a tight jacket.
Eventually a few women decided they'd had enough of this and decided to see what would happen if they followed reason rather than tradition.
In 1905, Mary Sutton decided she'd had enough and shocked the crowd when she showed up at Wimbledon in her father's shirt, with sleeves rolled up.
In 1922, Suzanne Lenglen hit Wimbledon in short skirts and bright sweaters, with an assortment of bandeaus for her hair that kept the fashion-conscious of the day fascinated.
In 1932, white shorts for women were introduced on the frame of Alice Marble.
In 1949, Wimbledon was shocked yet again as Gussie Moran walked onto the court in knickers trimmed with lace.
During the time that women were loosening up on the tennis court, the United States welcomed the bicycle. They were great for men. Not so great for women.
A woman on a bike was considered downright dangerous. Maybe she was, considering the skirts she was expected to wear.
But women wanted to ride bicycles, so in the challenge between women's clothing and the ability to ride, something had to give. As it turned out, it was the clothes.
One early experiment was a woman's skirt fastened about her legs with a buckle. Once off the bicycle, the buckle was undone, and -- floof! She was properly and demurely covered again by her skirt. Bloomers, something called leggins, and corsets were worn by women who just wanted to go for a spin on their bikes.
In the past century, the path toward greater freedom for women has dealt with bigger and weightier issues than clothing. But thank goodness we got to change our clothes into the bargain.
Sources:
Women and Bicycles
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/bicycling/a/women_bicycles_fashion.htm
Dress Emancipation for Women Through Sports
http://www.fashion-era.com/sports_fashion_until_1960.htm#Dress%20Emancip...
The History of Women's Fashion in Tennis
http://www.sportspundit.com/tennis/articles/457-the-history-of-women-s-f...
Visit Jody's website and blog at http://www.ncubator.ca and http://ncubator.ca/blogger
Reviewed on April 26, 2012
by Maryann Gromisch, RN
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