Victory in mint and blue

A crystal-bright dress designed for one of the most watched and consequential matches in tennis history.

Athlete: Billie Jean King
Tournament: Battle of the Sexes
Date: 20 September 1973
Design: Ted Tinling
Documented round: Exhibition matchSingles exhibition
Match result: Wonvs Bobby Riggs

The original look

Billie Jean King serving in her mint and blue dress during the 1973 Battle of the Sexes.

Getty Images · Via Elle · Editorial reference; public reuse permission has not been obtained. Resized for web.

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The story behind the look

King wore this mint-green, royal-blue and crystal-detailed Ted Tinling dress when she defeated Bobby Riggs in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes exhibition. Tinling treated the match as theatre as well as sport, making a tailored silhouette that registered across the Houston Astrodome.

The outfit is now held by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Its preservation reflects what the night came to represent: a decisive athletic performance tied to a much larger argument about women’s ability and equality.