Yes, Venus is wearing them!
In a week when Sharad Pawar was threatening another increase in the price of yet another essential commodity, the burning question for sport buffs around the world was whether the long and leggy Venus Williams was wearing any underwear at all underneath her slit-to-the-navel tennis skirt.
Well, apparently she does wear a wholesome underwear under her provocative dress which has had a million tweets on Australian Open websites and the revelation came after a wag dared to float the query at a full-fledged Press conference!
Well, Venus whose power on the court has long been as awesome as her dress sense, took the rather embarrassing query in her stride and laughingly informed the gentry that she would know best as she had designed both the skin coloured underwear as well as the multiple-slits yellow skirt that is being talked about as much as Sania’s nosering was in previous years.
Now that we are relieved that Venus is not all that improper on court, we can safely go into the history of women’s fashion in tennis. It has been as long and alluring as it has been a matter of debate all these happening years and fashion takes various hues in various grand slams.
Chris Evert Lloyd, the eternal rival of Martina Navratilova, was known for her V-shaped panties and low-cut T-shirts which made her a lensman’s delight even when she lost to her competitor.
In more recent times, Maria Sharapova was asked to explain why she wore a red underwear and castigated for improper dressing on Centre Court.
The William sisters came into fashion mags first through their hairdos and only now with their apparel lines.
The most “appropriate” and conservative is of course Wimbledon which has a strict dress code for all players. You could call it the game’s stiff upper lip. Everyone has to wear white and leave audacious apparels in the suitcase, probably for evening parties. The officials also have a dress code, which has long been designed by none less than Ralph Lauren.
And at Wimbledon, as opposed to Australian Open, Venus would have been sent back to her dressing room if she were to wear her yellow skirt. We all know how Andre Agassi decided to give Wimbledon a go-by in what was a strident dress rebellion. He said no whites and stayed away till 1991 when he fell in line.
A dress code violation at a practice session had the trendy Anna Kournikova being made to take off her black shorts in court. In 1985, another player Ann White created a sensation by walking into the court wearing an all-in-one skin-tight cat suit. The sight was so unwelcoming that during a rain break the referee asked her to change into something white and appropriate.
Nadal had his own set of problems in 2005 but he petitioned to the Wimbledon committee to allow him to wear “pirates” and sleeveless T-shirt. He was lucky to get a go-ahead for the pirates, though only in white but the committee drew a line on him wearing a coloured sleeveless top.
Opposed to this, all the other three grand slams — the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open — are much more relaxed, experimental and indulgent to aggressive, contemporary fashion on court. In all the three, players can wear anything or nothing at all though the latter is a yet-to- happen incident. There is a whole lot of colour and a whole lot of couture which adds to women’s tennis.
Sharapova’s lacy dress, designed for her specially by Nike with whom she has a $70 million contract, got the worst reviews with negative tweets in the majority. Here are some: “As much as I hate Sharapova upset in first round, I'm relieved her dress is out of the tournament.”; “Looks like she got caught in some curtains en route to court.”; “She crashed into a peacock.”; “The hideous dress a portent of things to come.”
Well, apparently she does wear a wholesome underwear under her provocative dress which has had a million tweets on Australian Open websites and the revelation came after a wag dared to float the query at a full-fledged Press conference!
Well, Venus whose power on the court has long been as awesome as her dress sense, took the rather embarrassing query in her stride and laughingly informed the gentry that she would know best as she had designed both the skin coloured underwear as well as the multiple-slits yellow skirt that is being talked about as much as Sania’s nosering was in previous years.
Now that we are relieved that Venus is not all that improper on court, we can safely go into the history of women’s fashion in tennis. It has been as long and alluring as it has been a matter of debate all these happening years and fashion takes various hues in various grand slams.
Chris Evert Lloyd, the eternal rival of Martina Navratilova, was known for her V-shaped panties and low-cut T-shirts which made her a lensman’s delight even when she lost to her competitor.
In more recent times, Maria Sharapova was asked to explain why she wore a red underwear and castigated for improper dressing on Centre Court.
The William sisters came into fashion mags first through their hairdos and only now with their apparel lines.
The most “appropriate” and conservative is of course Wimbledon which has a strict dress code for all players. You could call it the game’s stiff upper lip. Everyone has to wear white and leave audacious apparels in the suitcase, probably for evening parties. The officials also have a dress code, which has long been designed by none less than Ralph Lauren.
And at Wimbledon, as opposed to Australian Open, Venus would have been sent back to her dressing room if she were to wear her yellow skirt. We all know how Andre Agassi decided to give Wimbledon a go-by in what was a strident dress rebellion. He said no whites and stayed away till 1991 when he fell in line.
A dress code violation at a practice session had the trendy Anna Kournikova being made to take off her black shorts in court. In 1985, another player Ann White created a sensation by walking into the court wearing an all-in-one skin-tight cat suit. The sight was so unwelcoming that during a rain break the referee asked her to change into something white and appropriate.
Nadal had his own set of problems in 2005 but he petitioned to the Wimbledon committee to allow him to wear “pirates” and sleeveless T-shirt. He was lucky to get a go-ahead for the pirates, though only in white but the committee drew a line on him wearing a coloured sleeveless top.
Opposed to this, all the other three grand slams — the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open — are much more relaxed, experimental and indulgent to aggressive, contemporary fashion on court. In all the three, players can wear anything or nothing at all though the latter is a yet-to- happen incident. There is a whole lot of colour and a whole lot of couture which adds to women’s tennis.
Sharapova’s lacy dress, designed for her specially by Nike with whom she has a $70 million contract, got the worst reviews with negative tweets in the majority. Here are some: “As much as I hate Sharapova upset in first round, I'm relieved her dress is out of the tournament.”; “Looks like she got caught in some curtains en route to court.”; “She crashed into a peacock.”; “The hideous dress a portent of things to come.”
Published January 24, 2010 in Sunday Pioneer; http://www.dailypioneer.com/231322/Yes-Venus-is-wearing-them!.html
Comments
Post a Comment