Early kit and new gymslips!

 

A basket instead of a ring... and long skirts

 

Students proudly wearing their new uniform

In the early days of young women’s sport, coverage of the female body was accepted as normal. Note the long skirts, white long-sleeved blouses, black stockings and ‘normal’ shoes.
The playing area… with a basket instead of a ring on the post… and no lines!

In 1897, one of Martina Bergman-Österberg students, Mary Tait, invented the gymslip: a dress that facilitated practical movement for women playing sport, replacing the ground-length skirts and mutton-arm blouses that were normally worn by contemporary sportswomen. Madame adopted the new apparel for her students, which became a standard uniform among British schoolgirls during the 20th century (note the black stockings too).