Heading to the Adelaide International this week? You’re probably looking forward to warm summer nights, world-class matches and, most importantly, tennis fashion! We serve up the looks and check out Adelaide’s history of courtside fashion.

WORDS: Grace Waye-Harris

Tennis has always been entwined with dress, and while it’s the players’ outfits (check out stylish Spanish player and the world’s number two Paula Badosa below!) that usually make the headlines, the culture of spectator fashion has evolved into an off-court spectacle.

Who can forget Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle’s iconic, albeit frosty, appearance in the royal box at Wimbledon in 2018. Meghan looked elegant in her striped Ralph Lauren shirt but committed the ultimate faux pas by bringing a straw hat. Smart dress is the only expectation for sitting in the royal box, but hats are discouraged because they can obstruct the view of those behind. The next year, Meghan left her hat at home.

While Adelaide International doesn’t have the sartorial protocols of Wimbledon, its history of spectator fashion is still laden with tradition, intrigue and status.

SA’s Sartorial Elite

In the summer of 1907, crowds flocked to Memorial Drive to watch the interstate lawn tennis finals. Adelaide’s elite hurried to secure their spot in the prestigious northern stand, which had become the place to be seen due to its favorable position out of the sun. Amongst them was leading socialite, Mrs. H. Rymill, whose “pretty” blue muslin gown with matching hat and velvet bows received a special mention in the Adelaide Chronicle. Her daughter, Miss Katherine Rymill, would also make a sartorial splash at the 1934 tournament by wearing a navy and white spotted blouse with a French straw beret.

Memorial Drive has also seen some major fashion fails. During the tournament of 1910, the weather was too cool for summer clothes but too warm for autumn attire. To compromise, ladies wore white summer dresses with the latest style winter hats. The social pages did not approve. The combination was condemned as inappropriate and “unbecoming”. An even more unusual trend, however, would occur in the 1920s when people favoured fur coats and tweeds.

Spectator Fashion: Then and Now

Thankfully, tweed suits and furs have given way to loose linens, polo shirts and chinos. Boater hats are evidently an enduring feature of tennis spectatorship – unless you’re in Wimbledon’s royal box, of course. While our modern styles are more about comfort than fashion, these items are still bound to ideas of tradition and social distinction because they signify a time when playing and watching tennis was the preserve of the leisure classes, like Mrs. Rymill.

So, when you don your linen blazers, summer dresses and straw hats for Adelaide International this week, you will be participating in Memorial Drive’s longest-standing tradition – the sport of spectator fashion.

Adelaide International is held from January 8–13 at The Drive (War Memorial Drive, North Adelaide)