BASKETBALL

Basketball deserves credit for initiating change in exercise outfits for women. When basketball for women was invented  at Smith College in 1892, it's creator, Sendra Berenson (1868-1954) saw the long skirts as being too restrictive, so she modified the outfit to a bloused top and a pair of wide, baggy knee-length bloomers. This outfit became a symbol of the college girl; it was a bold move for the time and as the game was adopted at other schools in the United States, the uniform followed.