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Sportswear During the Inter-war Years: A Testimony to the Modernisation of French Sport

2011; Routledge; Volume: 28; Issue: 14 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09523367.2011.604823

1743-9035

Sandrine Jamain-Samson,

Fashion and Cultural Textiles

Abstract Sport in France began an important chapter in its history during the inter-war years. As a ubiquitous witness that has often been overlooked by historians, sportswear offers a totally new perspective on changes taking place within the sports movement and in French society generally. First of all, changes in clothing reveal a constant quest for improved comfort and hygiene for the benefit of performance. Worn primarily as ceremonial dress and aimed more at enhancing an individual's social origin or gender, costumes of the post-war period took on a sporting dimension and, following the example of institutional reorganisation of sport, became more specialised and appropriate to the activity for which they were worn. In addition to growth in its clothing industry, France also witnessed a boom in the sports-related textile industry, which initially drew inspiration from foreign models, especially from Anglo-Saxon countries, before going on to develop its own tastes and products. However, the period was additionally marked by the impact of the sports entertainment industry on the rules of games and, more particularly, on the attire worn by sportsmen and -women. Colour, cut and other clothing evolutions bore witness to the new challenges linked to the growing spectacularisation of sport. Through transformations in clothing worn by sportsmen and -women during the inter-war years, the new French sports scene came to the fore, oscillating as it did between a quest for performance and the enhancement of sporting entertainment. Keywords: Sportswearthe Inter-war Yearstextile industryrulesmasculinisation Notes 1. Arnaud and Camy, La naissance du mouvement sportif. 2. A. Reuze, 'Tenues sportives d'hier et d'aujourd'hui', Miroir des Sports, 14 Jan. 1925. 3. According to Jean-Pierre Rioux and Jean-François Sirinelli, 'The transgressions and eccentricities which such a label entailed sometimes left their mark in art, but above all enabled the removal of certain prohibitions, by shaking up acquired beliefs and established systems of values': Rioux and Sirinelli, Histoire culturelle de la France, 203–4. 4. Bard, Les femmes dans la société; Christine Bard, Les Garçonnes; Deslandres and Müller, Histoire de la mode; Georges Vigarello, Histoire de la beauté. 5. Rauch, L'identité masculine; Vigarello, Histoire de la beauté; Bologne, Histoire de la pudeur. 6. As many treaties and hygiene manuals in circulation at the time attested: Stewart, For Health and Beauty. 7. This study fills a historiographical void in the panorama of works in sports history. Historical studies making sportswear an object of study in its own right are rare. The Anglo-Saxon works by Roberta Park (1989), or Barbara Schreier (1986; 1989) are pioneers in the subject. For a more recent, multidisciplinary approach, the works of Roshan Shishoo, Textiles in Sport, can be quoted. 8. Arnaud, 'Des Jeux de la victoire'; Arnaud and Riordan, Sport et relations internationales. 9. Garcet de Vauresmont, Les sports athlétiques, 1918, 93. 10. Duquesne, 'L'équipement du coureur de cross', 2. 11. Attached to bourgeois values of respectability and modesty, the players were relatively cold towards the idea of uncovering parts of their body. For a more detailed analysis of the atypical tennis attire during the inter-war years, see Jamain-Samson, 'Sport, genre et vêtement sportif'. 12. Poirier, Tennis Fashion. 13. Terret, 'From Alice Milliat', 1157. 14. Anonymous, 'La mode et le sport', Miroir des Sports, 24 July 1928. Anonymous, 'L'évolution du costume sportif?', Miroir des Sports, 17 May 1932. In this sense, the 1920s constituted an unprecedented clothing revolution in sport, which went beyond French borders, as Amanda Schweinbenz would seem to indicate in her analysis of sports garments worn at Olympic Games: Schweinbenz, 'Not Just Early Olympic Fashion Statements'. 15. We may wonder, like Nancy Green, whether the clothing manufacturer was not behind an 'implicit masculinisation': Green, 'Avant les jeans', 75–8. 16. The match was originally planned between two women's associations: 'En Avant' and 'Olympique'. But the latter was short of women players and had to call for men players so as to complete the team: Miroir des Sports, 29 April 1924. 17. As proof of the interest and importance of the issue of sportswomen's clothes, the sports daily L'Auto published in 1920 – in the same month – two articles intended to identify the most appropriate sportswear for a woman: Trouvons un costume pour les sportswomen' ('Let's find an outfit for sportswomen') (13 April 1920); then 'Le costume féminin de sport est trouvé' ('The female sports outfit has been found') (18 April 1920). The question of a detachable skirt was then raised. A few years later, the idea of covering up shorts under a small skirt also came up in the women's newspaper Minerva, particularly for cross-country runners: L. Lambergeon, 'Le développement du sport féminin', Minerva, 25 Oct. 1925. Differences in dress were perceptible depending on the sports association the player belonged to. For example, as Nathalie Rosol recalls, the women's clubs 'Académia' and 'Fémina Sport' advocated tunics or blouses: Rosol, 'L'athlétisme français'. 18. The colour of the shorts deserves further study. According to the photos available, it would seem that light colours were reserved for men. Sportswomen wore much darker coloured shorts. 19. De Coubertin quoted by Walter Borgers, 'Fashion at the Games' is the right title. De Coubertin was the author of a series of articles on the subject of sports outfits, entitled 'Autour des costumes de sport'. The second article deals with 'La psychologie du costume sportif', Revue Olympique 9 (Feb. 1909), 26. 20. Sohn, 'Chronologie et dialectique entre féminin et masculin', 24. 21. Louveau, Talons aiguilles et crampons alu, 11. 22. Giafar, 'Pronostics sur la mode', Minerva, 11 Oct. 1925. Camuset, Histoire du coq sportif, 45. The Camuset family was behind the label Le Coq Sportif. 23. Semerjian, 'Le maillot se dévoile'. 24. This information is taken from an interview conducted with the veteran international swimmer, 25 May 25 2005. Thérèse Blondeau was also a member of the Club des Mouettes, one of the oldest Parisian female swimming clubs. The interview appeared in Jamain-Samson's thesis, 'Sport, genre et vêtement sportif'. 25. This information is taken from an interview conducted with the veteran international swimmer, 25 May, 2005. Thérèse Blondeau was also a member of the 'Club des Mouettes', one of the oldest Parisian female swimming clubs. The interview appeared in Jamain-Samson's thesis, 'Sport, genre et vêtement sportif'. 26. Entraygues advertisement, in the Annuaire de la Fédération Française de Lawn-Tennis, 1935. From 1929, the Entraygues establishments presented the costumes as showing 'no signs of discomfort or rubbing'. 27. Anonymous, 'Echanges de maillot', Miroir des Sports, 11 April 1933. Anonymous, 'Sportifs élégants', Miroir des Sports, 25 June 1935. 28. At the beginning of the 1920s, the Tunmer firm owned several branches located in several Parisian boroughs, as well as in the major French cities (Bordeaux, Lyon). It was a candidate at the French Olympic Committee to supply clothes for the French athletes at the Paris Olympic Games in 1924: Jamain, 'S'habiller aux Jeux de Paris'. 29. Tunmer, Le Tennis, 7. It is interesting to note that the retailer recommended another fabric to sportswomen: 'The most pleasant fabric is fine wool or silk gabardine. We recommend they wear stockings with woollen socks over the top which they can roll down around the ankles.' 30. His works and ideas are presented in an article in the women's weekly Eve, 12 Oct. 1924: 'An old problem of clothing hygiene finally resolved'. 31. Kapferer and Gaston-Breton, La légende Lacoste. René Lacoste retired from the international scene in 1929 and moved into the textile industry, after a brilliant sports career in the 1920s (he was namely one of the four 'musketeers' who enabled France to win the Davis Cup between 1927 and 1932). With André Gillier, one of the prominent French textile industrialists of the time, at his side, he developed a new range of sports clothes. 32. Ibid., 4. 33. This precaution was not always followed by French sportswomen, as the newspaper Eve reports in 1924: French athletes do not always take 'the necessary precautions regarding their health and fitness. For example, we would like them, following the example of the English, to cover themselves up after a jump, a run, etc., with a coat or a cover': Gilberte, 'Les prix d'athlétisme', Eve 196 (29 June 1924). Ignorance, a lack of discipline or a lack of means for French sportswomen? 34. Terret, L'institution et le nageur, 128. This was initially observed in swimming, but is valid for all sport activities with regard to dress changes brought about during this period. 35. Several cyclists' shirts were studied at the National Sports Museum. They generally have a large pocket on the breast, fastened with a button, and one or two pockets on the back located near the kidneys. Jean Durry talks of the shirt as being like a 'second skin' for the cyclist: Durry, 'En selle!'. 36. Miroir des Sports, 22 Aug. 1938. 37. Clothing kits are particularly well detailed by Kirchhoffer in the fencing manual, published in 1924: Kirchhoffer, L'escrime, 59. 38. Like the fencing competitions of the Paris Olympic Games in 1924. Jamain et al., 'Les dessous des Jeux en images'. 39. Rarer, but not impossible: short-sleeved shirts are therefore a technical weapon, used above all by the forwards, to prevent the opponent from holding his direct opponent in a scrum: Joris Vincent, 'Le crochet, la passe et la mêlée'. 40. Saint-Chaffray and Dedet, Football, 79. 41. Swan, History of New Zealand Rugby Football. 42. Dedet, Le Football Rugby, 15–16. 43. Garcet de Vauresmont, Les sports athlétiques (3rd edn), 43–4. 44. Loubatié, Le rugby, 77. 45. Ibid., 79. 46. For Joris Vincent, this was linked to 'an implicit procedure in the professionalisation of French rugby': Vincent, 'Le crochet, la passe et la mêlée', 506. 47. Among these accessories can be quoted, for example: ear protectors, nose protectors and gloves: Leroux, Pour être bon joueur de rugby, 11–12. Added to that the progressive use of ankle and knee straps, made of elasticated fabric, for 'fragile or already damaged joints', notes F. Janson in 1933. Janson, Le rugby pour tous, 19. 48. Jamain-Samson and erret, 'Fabricants, détaillants et vendeurs', 55–67. 49. See the general competition rules of the code of athletics. These rules can be found in the Annuaire de la Fédération Française d'Athlétisme, 1920-39. The same instructions were reiterated between 1920 and 1939. 50. Pastoureau, 'Les couleurs du stade'. 51. Art deco is an international art movement that saw the light of day after the First World War. Extremely influential on architecture, it concerned all forms of fine arts, including painting, sculpture, furniture and fashion, between 1920 and 1939. Artists, designers, couturiers used henceforth more colours, especially bold colours. For example, red, yellow, orange or black appeared progressively in the furniture and painting. 52. Ibid., 13. 53. The issue of 'national sports colours' was not without meaning. It was notably debated by the French Executive Committee in view of the Paris Olympic Games in 1924. Jamain, 'S'habiller aux Jeux de Paris'. 54. Pastoureau, 'Les couleurs du stade', 15. On the symbolism of black in clothing, see also the work of John Harvey, Des hommes en noir. 55. 'The official shall wear a uniform consisting of basketball or tennis shoes, long white trousers and half-sleeve shirt, when possible, white': Official Basketball Rules for XIIth Olympiad 1936–1940, quoted by Ströher, Basketball, 5. The Protestant American origin of the game undoubtedly influenced the choice of colour. Chavignier, 'La genèse du basket français'. 56. From the 1923 'Annuaires', it was stated that 'the teams must be uniformly and decently dressed in the colours of their association or respective team. Only goalkeepers should wear a neutral colour. Any competitor whose outfit or language is incorrect may be excluded from the match, without prejudice to ulterior penalties': Article 73, Annuaire de la Fédération Française de Football Association, 1923–1924, 32. These measures were reiterated in 1938. 57. P. Champ, 'La question des couleurs', L'Auto, 24 Sept. 1920. Ibid. 58. Anonymous, 'Les footballeurs numérotés', Miroir des Sports, 29 Aug. 1938. 59. Taylor, The Leaguers. 60. Sport broadcasting on the radio began in France during the early 1920s. Boxing matches were first broadcast in 1923. At the end of the decade, the mythical cycling event the Tour de France was fully reported on the radio. 61. Mourat et al., 'La naissance de l'enjeu économique', 351. 62. Champ, 'La question des couleurs'. 63. Delavenne, 'Le coq dans le sport'. 64. Anonymous, 'Le coq fédéral', Miroir des Sports, 17 May 1938. 65. Delavenne, 'Le coq dans le sport'. 66. The emblem quickly became the object of rigorous coding by French sporting institutions: Delavenne, 'Le coq dans le sport'. 67. See the iconographic analysis related to the Paris Games in 1924 in Jamain et al., 'Les dessous des Jeux en images'. 68. Annuaire or USFSA, Code de Lawn-Tennis, Paris, 1920, 45. 69. Annuaire de la Fédération Française de Lawn-Tennis, 1935, 106. 70. Anonymous, 'Sport et élégance', Match L'Intran 161 (8 Oct. 1929), 13. 71. Saint-Martin, 'Sport, nationalisme et propagande', 206. 72. Lacoste quoted by Waser, Sociologie du tennis, 17. See also Reneaud and Rollan, Tennis. 73. Terret, L'institution et le nageur, 10. 74. Annuaire de la Fédération Française de Natation et de Sauvetage, 1922, 1089. This swimming code was largely inspired by the codes and statutes of the International Swimming Federation. 75. Colour was the last bastion against the transparency of the shirt. Moral and hygienic standards were often at the root of cold colours, which were the most common. Michel Pastoureau, L'étoffe du diable. 76. Annuaire de la Fédération Française de Natation et de Sauvetage, 1925, 158. 77. Terret, L'institution et le nageur, 110. 78. Thierry Terret, L'institution et le nageur, 10. 79. Annuaire de la Fédération Française de Natation et de Sauvetage, 1922, 108–109. This swimming code was largely inspired by the codes and statutes of the International Swimming Federation. 80. Colour was the last bastion against the transparency of the shirt. Moral and hygienic standards were often at the root of cold colours, which were the most common. Michel Pastoureau, L'étoffe du diable. 81. Annuaire de la Fédération Française de Natation et de Sauvetage, 1925, 158. 82. Terret, L'institution et le nageur, 110.