NetballExplained

History of Netball Uniforms

How netball uniforms evolved from Victorian-era long skirts and gymslips to the modern dress, bodysuit and bib.

Written by Claire McDonald · Last updated

What netball players wear has changed dramatically since the 1890s — a history shaped as much by changing social attitudes toward women in sport as by practical playing needs.

Late 1800s: full Victorian dress

In netball's earliest years, players wore long skirts, long-sleeved blouses, black stockings and ordinary shoes — full coverage of the body was the social norm, and sportswear at the time reflected general Victorian dress rather than anything designed for athletic movement.

The gymslip, 1897

A significant early change came in 1897, when Mary Tait — one of Madame Österberg's students — came up with the gymslip, which Madame then adopted for her students: — a sleeveless, pleated tunic dress that gave women far more freedom of movement than ground-length skirts and fitted blouses. The gymslip, sometimes called a pinafore dress, became the standard netball uniform for much of the early twentieth century, typically worn with bloomers underneath.

Early-to-mid twentieth century

Through the first half of the century, the gymslip remained the standard, generally worn with a blouse, bloomers and sports shoes. As general fashion moved toward shorter skirts over the following decades, netball uniforms followed a similar gradual trend, and bloomers were eventually replaced by sports shorts, with lighter cotton socks replacing wool stockings.

The knee-length dress and the bib

The knee-length pleated dress — often paired with a polo-style collared top — became a defining, long-standing netball uniform through much of the twentieth century. The front-and-back bib, showing a player's position letters, became a standard and essential part of the uniform as the sport's position-based restricted areas became more strictly codified and enforced — umpires rely on it to check players stay within their permitted zones. See the 7 netball positions explained for why that matters so much in netball specifically.

Toward athletic wear

In recent decades, uniforms have moved towards performance sportswear. Many teams have left the traditional dress behind entirely, favouring a fitted top with a skirt or skort — the same athletic, performance-focused design used across other women's sports.

Why the bib still matters

Whatever the overall uniform style, position letters have remained a constant. Today's rules require a registered uniform with the player's name or team number, and position initials 150mm high, clearly visible above the waist on the front and back (Rule 3) — still usually on a bib. That's a direct reflection of how central restricted playing areas are to how netball works, unlike most other team sports.

Sources

All information on this page is given to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing (October 2026), after referring to the sources below. Where sources disagree, we say so on the page.