A quick look through Wimbledon fashions

Thursday 01 January 1970

Back in the 1800s women entering the Wimbledon Tennis Championships could be expected to wear a body-length undergarment, corset, 2 petticoats, silk dress, straw boater and tennis apron. Yes: a tennis apron. The whole thing could weigh as much as 4.9kg. Things have changed a lot since then.

Check out this 1900s Steen skirt and blouse:

1900s tennis dress, Wimbledon Museum © WLTM — © WLTM

Attitudes relaxed after World War I. This is a mid-1920s Pique dress:

This dress was worn by Mary Hardwick Hare in 1958:

This is a 1972 dress worn by Wimbledon Ladies Winner Evonne Goolagong:

This little number was worn by Steffi Graf in 1988:

And finally, this is the dress worn by 5-times Ladies Singles Champion Serena Williams in 2012:

And this is just a sample of the fashions on display at the Wimbledon Museum and Tour, where collections reflect the styles up to the most recent Championships.