America Supports British Decision

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 749, 23 August 1929, Page 7

America Supports British Decision

STOCKINGLESS TENNIS “MODESTY NOT DISAPPEARED” "In a game like lawn tennis there can scarcely be anything but unwritten laws about such things as, for example, what players are to wear on the court. This is particularly true of the apparel of players of the fair sex.’' Thus in an editorial a recent issue of “American Lawn Tennis” supports the decision of the Wimbledon authorities that in the matter of costume players could be relied on to do what was right and proper. "The ground-trailing skirts, corsets and variegated headgear of a quarter of a century or more ago,” the editorial continues, “are now as archaic as the craft from which that word is derived. This is an athletic age, and those who engage in games and sports take the common-sense view that their apparel should be in keeping with these avocations. “There has been less change in the habiliments of the men than in those of the women. It is true that ‘flannels’ are no longer de rigueur. In nether garments “ducks” are now as much used, if not as fashionable, as are the heavier and warmer flannels which the Dohertys, the Larners, the Whitmans and the others who occupied the Seats of the Mighty when the century was young—r-or when the previous one was in its decline—wore. As to shirts, there always was variety in their materials —and the “vest” of today is proof that freedom of choice is the prerogative of all and sundry. About the only thing unchanged is the adherence to white on the part of the men. Galleries—at Wimbledon, Forest Hills, Germantown, ad. fin. — are still insistent on that. “Sartorially, as ,in so many other matters, the 'one-time weaker sex takes advanced ground and is a law unto itself. Skirts become shorter and shorter, and the number of other articles worn has, in many cases, reached an irreducible minimum. Downright young persons disport themselves in garments that would have made our grandmothers—perhaps even our mothers —shriek in anguish. “We men sit, or stand, and gaze at these players without batting an eye. Lawn tennis is a strenuous game, the standard of female play improves steadily, the ability to cover court swiftly is absolutely necessary. Limbs —legs and arms —must be free and unhampered, weight and bulk in female court garments are taboo; perfect frankness concerning the matter rules, and the. court of last resort is the body of girls who play the game. Thus far and no farther is the law laid down; and there is no transgressing it.

“At the same time the cables have been telling of Wimbledon’s reaction to sockettes,. and reporting that they —that is, bare legs—would be officially banned on the famous centre court, and presumably on Xos. 1,2 and 3 courts, and so on down the line. Later came a statement of an official character: the governing committee at Wimbledon, after a private conference, issued a brief communique, the gist of which was that in the matter of costume the players would be relied on to do what is right and proper. “In adopting such a course, the All England club has been wise. Once it is sought to impose restrictions, whether general or circumstantial, the way is opened to vexatious and controversial discussions and disputes. Even in this advanced age, with its deluge of flappers, common sense continues to prevail. The girls who want to go on the court bare-legged will do so, and their sisters who prefer to wear stockings will adhere to their preference. Only through the force of public opinion can we legislate against bare legs, shorter skirts, fewer garments. True modesty has not disappeared.”