Women’s Tennis at the Turn of the Century

This month is the US Open, and in celebration of the powerful females on the court today, I’d like to take a look back at the women who were playing at the turn of the century. We may look to Serena Williams now for fashionable inspiration as well as her incredible abilities on the court, but 100 years ago female players would typically wear a practical version of their usual day wear clothing.

The women below in this photo stylishly pose in their tennis gear, except that there is no discernible difference between how they dress themselves for the court and how they would dress themselves for day’s activities. The large leg-of-mutton sleeves are typical of the 1890’s silhouettes. The straw boater hats perched on top of their hair (which has been swept up into a top knot) was also a popular choice at this time and into the 1900s for any activity in the sun. Their long dark skirts that contrast the large, light-colored shirtwaists was a preferred look in the 1890s for any woman. The woman on the left wears a necktie and the woman on the right appears to have a bow tie with a starched shirt front. This would have been a slightly more masculine accessory choice, but one that was also very typical for that period. These women emulate what would have been called the New Woman at that time, meaning the kind of woman who was breaking away from a more traditional, home-bound role and was more independent and active – both in a physical and political sense. Still, this represented a large group of women at the time and this look would have been relatively common sight. In short, these women were able to wear their normal day wear clothing to also engage in physical activities like tennis. They are both stylish and mobile enough to play in their wide skirts.

Two Women Dressed for a Game of Tennis, January 1, 1895, Queensland, Australia, State Library of Queensland  [No restrictions]

The Australian Mermaid: Annette Kellerman

Annette Kellerman was ahead of her time for her physical abilities in the water, her belief in the need for women to maintain a healthy body, and importantly in fashion by her swimwear. She seemed to live in a different era, undeterred by the formalities and restrictions, (whether real or self-imposed) that prevented most women from doing the same. In fact, many of things she did would never have occurred to most women of the early 20th century.

Originally from Australia, Annette took her talents worldwide, breaking swimming and diving records, traveling to various theater stages in Europe and the United States, and eventually made Hollywood silent films that showcased her talents. Hollywood later revisited her incredibly life story, and Ester Williams would channel Annette in The Million Dollar Mermaid (1952).

Annette Kellerman in a self-designed bathing suit, ca. 1903-1913, [Public Domain]

Vogue and Harper’s Baza(a)r December Holiday Covers

Happy Holidays to all Femme Fashion Forward readers! I decided to dedicate this post to the holiday season, and admittedly, primarily Christmas. I thought it would be interesting to compare holiday covers for Vogue and Harper’s Baza(a)z throughout the FFF timeline (1880-1930), and inevitably, the seasonal messages that were shown for December on major fashion magazine covers during this period were geared towards the celebration of Christmas if a specific holiday was mentioned.

Vogue and Harper’s Baza(a)r would also specifically publish additional “Christmas Gift” or “Christmas” editions around December.  For Vogue readers around 1911, an extra $0.25 could purchase this special gift guide that “Let Vogue do your Christmas Shopping,” as their ads proclaimed. Acting as a catalog, Vogue selected fashionable items from “the leading shops of New York,” and would deliver them to the reader as selected with no extra charge for delivery.  A foreshadowing of Amazon Prime? Not to be outdone, Harper’s Bazaar offered a similar holiday guide issue and gift ordering service.

I hope in analyzing the stylistic details of these covers from Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar (and Bazar) there is something interesting for all to take away regardless of personal holiday celebrations, in terms of insight into the art world and society at large. Overall, I think you’ll enjoy the following fashion magazine covers for the month of December!

Fashion Unraveled, Exhibit Highlights

The Museum at FIT’s latest history gallery exhibit focuses on unfinished and “imperfect” works of fashion in Fashion Unraveled. This exhibit opened May 25, 2018 and will be open until November 17, 2018.

In this post I highlight some pieces that relate to the Femme Fashion Forward (1880-1930) timeline. The exhibit was broken down into 5 main themes: Mended and Altered, Unfinished, Repurposed, Behind the Seams, and Distressed and Deconstructed. I’ve chosen pieces found in each of these themes, except for Distressed and Deconstructed because most of those objects were from a later date. The exhibit challenges the idea that clothing that has been altered or changed in some way decreases in value, and argues, in many cases, this will add a historic importance to a museum’s collection and can be embraced by modern designers. This blog post does not focus on more recent interpretations of this idea, so you’ll have to head to the Museum to see those particular examples, but I think you’ll enjoy the incredible fashion pieces I’ve selected below from the 1890s and 1920s!

Mended and Altered

These stockings have been darned as the toes and heels became worn, and this was a common practice to preserve the life of such a well worn, luxury item. The Museum notes, however, that this occurred less frequently as the 20th century progressed because ready-made stockings became more available and were inexpensive enough to be treated as a disposable piece of clothing. Soon stockings would be made of a cheaper imitation silk, like rayon and nylon.

Blue Silk Knit Stockings, 1920s, USA

Socks and stockings have continued to be viewed as disposable today to the point where it would be highly unusual for someone to darn the holes in the toes of their socks instead of throwing them away. Mending in general is much less common in 2018. Not just for socks, but if a T-shirt or some other clothing item has a hole, many times we’ll toss it before considering repairing the piece ourselves. Some food for thought on how this shift in mind set has changed throughout the 20th century!