COURTING INFORMALITY

Preston Lerner said “Suzanne Lenglen ruled Wimbledon in dresses that grazed the grass” (“Tennis Whites, Anyone?” Style Sept. 1). True, she ruled Wimbledon, but the only thing that grazed the grass were her nimble feet.

In 1919, Lenglen arrived in a “shockingly” knee-length skirt that had the English calling her “that French hussy.” She won the tournament with unprecedented style and grace and returned to please an adoring crowd the following year with an even shorter skirt, pleated and made of translucent silk. She also wore a brightly colored sweater with a coordinated silk bandeau wrapped around her bobbed hair. The “Lenglen bandeau” became the fashion rage.

Lenglen not only delivered women from the Edwardian age with her on-court fashions, but she also changed the women’s game forever. Free of steel-boned corsets, ankle-length skirts and chin-high starched blouses, women were finally able to move about the tennis court with ease.

Jody Cohan

Studio City