By: Fabiola Grosshan
Submitted: 2010-05-13 06:58:22 | Word Count: 498
Since the beginning of the sport, golf apparel has remained fairly conservative, and ladies golf apparel especially so. Golf first came to the United States in the 1870s, and in the decade that followed, golf courses and country clubs spread across the country. More than just a sport, the country club was a place where young men and women could meet and talk. Thus, ladies golf clothing at the time had to be fashionable and proper. As the years passed, though, it began to take on more practical aspects.
In the 1890s, women’s golf outfits consisted of a simple, long-sleeved blouse with a long skirt that was raised just a few inches off the ground to allow motion. However, the full swing of the golf club was complicated by the blouse sleeves, which were much too fitted. And even though the skirt was raised, it still caught the club swing sometimes.
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At the start of the 1900s, there came some improvements to women’s golf apparel, the first by designer Thomas Burberry in London. Improvements included a free-stroke coat with special sleeves that allowed more motion, and the reintroduction of the adjustable skirt, which had been used widely by female crochet players in the past.
For the first two decades of the 1900s, the standard ladies golf apparel included a blouse, a jacket, and a long skirt. Around 1909, the women’s golf jacket started being replaced by the cardigan sweater. Knit jersey became the fabric of choice for blouses and skirts, and pleated skirts were introduced.
In the early 1920s, the standard ladies golf outfit became the two-piece dress. These were generally plain with pleated skirts. This is also around the time when women golfers started being featured in golfing magazines wearing knickers. However, knickers would have been unacceptable in most country clubs of the time. In the mid 1920s, the one-piece golf dress started to become popular. The “Shirtmaker” dress by New York's Best & Co. became the most popular sports dress of the time and it remained so for the next three decades.
Throughout the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, the ladies golf outfit remained the same, simply following the trends in popular fashion, and unlike in tennis, golf skirts did not start getting shorter. It wasn’t until the 1960s that sleeveless blouses and Bermuda shorts started to become acceptable and common attire for women golfers. It was also in the 1960s that the now famous skort became an option! Skirt and short length also got shorter in the 60s, allowing female golfers to stay fashionable and comfortably covered.
After the 60s, the golf dress pretty much fell out of fashion, as women came to prefer slacks, shorts and skorts. In recent years, though, long golf skirts and dresses have started to make a comeback.
