Since the late 1800s when the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club was founded there has been a strict dress code: competitors in their Tennis Championship games could wear any color… as long as it was white! But every time I watch Wimbledon I can’t help but wonder why this rule was established. Why do tennis players wear white at Wimbledon?

It seems that there are quite a few theories in circulation regarding this time-honored tradition. The following four reasons are the most often touted ones:

Reason 1: White masks sweat

In the late 1800s and early 1900s it was considered extremely unladylike and ungentlemanly to show signs of perspiration. As a result, white tennis outfits were encouraged because the color white is particularly good at masking any dreaded sweat marks. (Atkin 2010)

Reason 2: White reflects the summer heat

The Wimbledon Tennis Championships occur in the summer months so one often-suggested idea is that the white dress code is a practical matter to ensure the competitors keep cool as their clothes reflect the sun’s heat more efficiently.

Considering that in the early days of tennis long sleeves, long pants and ankle-length dresses were expected to be worn by gentlemen and ladies, the white color was particularly important as the main method to relieve heat.

Reason 3: The high standard of the club was reflected in the high standards and requirements from club members

Some sources suggest that the all-white dress code at Wimbledon was strictly adhered to in order to create an exclusive, high-class feeling at the Tennis club. Crisp, white clothes carried an underlying implication that all their members were well-kept, clean, civilized, respectful of rules and generally “high-class”.

To this day critics are heard saying that the white clothes rule adds an air of classiness to the Wimbledon Championships.

Reason 4: Tennis players wear white because it’s become a tradition

After a while, the rule that tennis players wear white at Wimbledon became a tradition, which lent yet another reason for the dress code: adhering to it simply to respect the history of the Wimbledon Tennis Club.

. . .

Tennis players wearing white through the ages

Although the color code hasn’t changed much over the years, the fashions have changed immensely! Check out some of these earlier tennis outfits worn at Wimbledon in the late 1800s and early 1900s:

Men’s tennis fashion in 1880:

Image Source: Wikipedia

Yes, in the early days long white pants were worn to play tennis! The first man to wear shorts at Wimbledon was Bunny Austin in 1932.

Women’s tennis fashion in 1884:

Image source: www.wimbledon.com

I know it doesn’t look like it but these women holding the rackets are dressed for tennis! The first women who played tennis at Wimbledon had to wear a white heavy flanel-like material, bustles, hats, corsets and some even opted for furs! The tennis fashion remained conservative for many years. Here’s another picture from 29 years later in 1913:

It was only in 1919 that corsets vanished and lighter calf-length frocks with short-sleeves were introduced to Wimbledon, as can be seen in this 1920s photograph:

We’ve come a long way since then!

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References

Atkin. R. 2010. AELTC, The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club official website. Fashion at Wimbledon.

When you think “sailors” you may picture men in Cracker Jack style Dixie cup hats and Popeye-esque anchor tattoos, or you may picture men in navy and white horizontal “sailor stripe” shirts. Have you ever wondered why nautical fashion involves the famous sailor stripes?

Why sailors wear stripes:

It was the French navy that is thought to have been the first to utilise the sailor stripe pattern for its sailors in 1858, and its function was purely practical: If a sailor fell overboard the bright, distinctive striped pattern acted like a modern-day neon jacket which could easily be spotted amidst the waves. Later, many French fishermen also adopted these “marinière” striped shirts for similar reasons.

The sailor stripes are particularly associated with the coastal French region of Brittany, from where it is thought that the sailor stripe originated and from whose port many stripe-shirted sailors set off to sea. For this reason the pattern is also known as the “Breton stripe”; Bretons being the locals of Brittany. The sailor stripe pattern is so closely linked with Brittany that their flag, designed in 1923, also contains the Breton stripe pattern, although it’s in black rather than in navy blue.

Why is the color of the sailor stripes blue and white?

If being spotted at sea was the general idea, lots of colors could have been used to do that job: red, yellow, bright green.. so why were the colors blue and white chosen?

One theory is that the navy blue symbolises the color of the sea and also of the skies, whilst the white may symbolise either the point at which the sea and the sky meet at the horizon, or it may symbolise the white frothy surf of the waves.

Is there meant to be a certain number of stripes in a sailor stripe shirt?

Some sources say that originally the French navy’s Breton stripe shirts had exactly 21 stripes; symbolising 21 of Napoleon’s victories.

These days, aesthetics is the main thing that determines the number of stripes.

How the Breton stripe sailor fashion became a fashion staple in the landlubber world

You may have noticed that in our day and age you don’t have to be a sailor nor a Frenchman to don the Breton stripe. In fact famous people ranging from Kate Moss to Andy Warhol and even Picasso have all been photographed wearing the Breton stripe. How did a sailor shirt enter the non-nautical fashion world?

It is said that the force behind the emergence of the Breton stripe in the world of fashion was one influential French lady: Coco Chanel.

It is believed that when fashion designer, Coco Chanel, travelled to the coast some time in the early 1900s, she noticed the distinctive pattern on the sailors’ shirts and was taken with it. Inspired, she began incorporating the stripes into her own designs, wearing the Breton stripe herself. With her backing, the design quickly caught on in the fashion world, making the Breton stripe shirt a popular choice amongst celebrities, fashion-lovers in France, and later, throughout the world.

Despite many a landlubber adopting this sailor stripe pattern, its connection with the sea is often retained, because to this day fashionistas frequently don the design in summery beach weather, on sailing expeditions and whilst holidaying by the sea.

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