An independent visual archive of 171 iconic tennis dressesArchive of 171 iconic tennis dresses

AI garment reconstruction: Lea Pericoli, Wimbledon 1964. Lea Pericoli at Wimbledon in 1964: a scoop-backed mini with an oversized hip bow and overlapping skirt panels.

Match kit · AI garment reconstruction.

Lea Pericoli · 1964

A bow beyond the baseline

An oversized back bow turns a short tennis dress into formal dressmaking.

The story behind the look

Pericoli wore this Ted Tinling design at Wimbledon on 26 June 1964, during her match against Jacqueline Rees Lewis. Its oversized bow brought the elaborate construction of formal dressmaking to a short playing dress.

A curved back leads to the bow at the hips. Beneath it, broad overlapping skirt panels end in a fine scalloped edge. The drama is concentrated at the back, where the bow projects beyond the narrow bodice.