Tinling adds colour to Wimbledon

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32639, 22 June 1971, Page 6

Tinling adds colour to Wimbledon

Teddy Tinting, the veteran designer of women’s tennis dress, has, apparently, broken quietly through the Wimbledon colour ban this year. He has used lilac trims on white dresses and “kool pants” for his international clients now competing at Wimbledon, according to a cable message from London.

But will the wearers be asked to change into allwhite before the tournament ends?

Mr Tinling believes that pastel colours are' ideal for tennis gear, for the 1971 Wimbledon contest he has tried to brighten the courts again by introducing touches of soft colour.

When interviewed in London recently by Penny Bryant, he said that if the Wimbledon authorities ever relented on the all-white rule, put on tennis apparel in 1962, it would be a slow process. “Coloured tennis clothing is very popular in the United States, even in Boston,” he said. “And you can’t get a

more conservative place than that.”

Tennis dress was no longer designed for tennis only. Women liked to wear it for almost any casual occasion and they preferred colours to all-white. So why shouldn’t they wear a little colour at Wimbledon? “COLOUR BAR”

It was Mr Tinling’s creation for Maria Bueno in 1962 that led to the Wimbledon “colour bar” on players’ court clothes, Penny Bryant writes.

The match that caused all the fuss was the Brazilian star’s shock semi-final defeat by the Czech player, Vera Sukova.

Mr Tinling himself has since written: “Maria’s controversial outfit was the natural consequence of all that had gone before; an ultimate build-up of trends and interests.”

The offending accessory was an Italian pink lining, which became fully revealed on the odd occasion when the breeze lifted the hem of Miss Bueno’s startling white dress.

It seems incredible now that sections of the crowd who had never before objected to her coloured “undemeaths” should choose this occasion to titter. And the titters, loud enough to be heard on the centre court, clearly unnerved her, CONSPICUOUS

The trouble, as Mr Tinling is quick to point out, was that the pink was made even more conspicuous against the sheer white and because it was a grey day. And the fact that she was not playing one of her best games brought the pink linings into even sharper focus.

He still maintains that if Miss Bueno had won, the splash of colour would have offended no one. As it was the Wimbledon committee, possibly fearing that the colour had contributed to Miss Bueno’s downfall, and possibly alarmed at outraging public opinion, ruled that from that point on it would be a case of allwhite.

The dress in question was designed to provoke the very opposite reaction. A dress, as every woman knows, should make her feel at her best and, as far as tennis is concerned, should provide the weairer with a psychological boost.. 1 ' INDIVIDUAL GAME I As Mr Tinling says: “Tennis is the the most in-|

dividual game in the world and the more people watch it, the more significance will be attached to the players’ choice of outfits.” Miss Bueno’s dress was not the first in which Mr Tinling had attempted to introduce colour.

In 1948, he was asked to work a little colour into the dresses of Britain’s Wightman Cup squad. But when, in the opening singles, the captain (Betty Hilton) was trounced by Louise Brough, the critics immediately hit at the dress she was wearing, saying she had lost because she was self-conscious about the colour.

Mr Tinling maintains that he has had the best years of the game. And certainly no-one can ever take away the remarkable distinction of having dressed 10 Wimbledon women’s champions since 1952.

By. strange coincidence, he rose to fame in tennis fashion with another major controversy. It blew up in 1949 when Gussy Moran from America and asked Mr Tinling to design her tennis gear. STARTLING He produced a startling dress of matt fabric trimmed with shining white satin. Then she popped the big question: "What do I. wear underneath?” At first he told her that underclothing was hardly his responsibility. But at Miss Moran’s insistence, he finally relented, and designed a pair of lace panties. They were the sensation of Wimbledon—at least from the crowds viewpoint. But the committee had different ideas, and in one outburst the chairman. Louis Greig, thundered: “I will never allow Wimbledon to become a stage for designers’ stunts.” The man who has probably done more for lawn tennis fashion than anyone else, does not play the game himself. He prefers to spend his spare time in his kitchen. His ambition is to design a “super-saucepan.” “I’m what you would call a domesticated bachelor,” he says. “I feel there’s a lot of room for improvement in the field of kitchen utensils.” Judging by his flair and eye for design when it comes to dressing Wimbledon chamnions, housewives should have a pleasant surprise coming to them when Mr Tinling finds the time to create his new line in stoveware.—Features International. The photograph shows Mr Tinling preparing a I meal in his kitchen.