In 1919, Suzanne Lenglen walked onto the courts at Wimbledon in front of King George V and Queen Mary wearing a short-sleeved pleated dress. No corset, no petticoat, which was the standard attire for women players then. Women's tennis clothes were never the same, and her couturier, Jean Patou, went on to design the sleeveless dresses she became known for. A century later, the idea is still the same: a dress you can move in.

 

That is how I think about the exercise dress. It is a dress with the shorts already sewn in, so you skip the outfit math and go. Outdoor Voices made the category a household name with The Exercise Dress, which first launched in May 2018 and, per Business of Fashion, became the brand's most successful single-item launch. The brand's own About page says it was founded in 2013 by Ty Haney, and the dress is the clearest picture of its point of view: clothes for doing things, not for performing fitness.

 

Picture her heading out on a cool October morning in the black Outdoor Voices dress with the contrast strap trim, a cropped zip jacket over it. The navy version has a flared skirt and pockets in the liner, so it also works for a walk that turns into lunch. The lululemon Flow Y in navy has a light-support bra and drop-in side pockets, while the soft pink Align high-neck is the one I would pick for yoga and then coffee. The Sweaty Betty All Day Dress has a hidden undershort you can pull down at the waist, the Nike One Dri-FIT is the white one with the flared skirt, and the Beyond Yoga gingham is the sweetest of the set.

 

My tip: before you commit, do a deep squat and a high knee in the fitting room, and check the liner stays put.

The tennis dress is the oldest ancestor of everything on this page. FIT's fashion history timeline notes that in the 1920s tennis was the most popular sport for women and so the biggest inspiration for fashion, and Lenglen's pleated dress and bandeau, made by Patou, were part of that. Those pieces left the court and went to the street, which is exactly what these do now.

 

Nike has two black ones: the Victory in Dri-FIT is sleeveless with a high neck and a flared pleat-free skirt, and the NikeCourt Slam adds mesh side panels for airflow. The adidas Tennis Climacool is the white cami-strap one with a small chest print, plain and clean. From lululemon, the Court Champ is a white racerback with an orange colorblock stripe and a built-in bra, and the Ace Advantage has a cutout back and a pleated skirt.

 

Picture her in the light blue Vuori Tiebreak halter on a late-season doubles morning, a sweatshirt tied around her waist. It has a built-in shelf bra and liner, in a BreatheInterlock stretch knit. The Lacoste stretch piqué polo dress in sinople green brings the club feel, with a polo collar and a pleated skirt. The Splits59 Monah is cobalt with black straps and white trim.

 

Fitting-room test: raise your racket arm all the way overhead and see if the armhole gapes or the hem rides up. Then bend to pick up a ball, and check the liner's hem still sits flat.

 

What I would skip: a pleated skirt if you know you will mostly be sitting. It looks best moving, and a flared pleat-free one is calmer on a bench.

A racerback is a practical choice more than a style one. Straps that meet between the shoulder blades tend to stay on the shoulders when you swing or sprint. These eight are all about that, and most carry the liner you need underneath.

 

The Nike Dri-FIT racerback minidress is black with white piping and a flared skirt, and it reads sporty without trying. The SPANXshape Get Moving is black with a scoop neck and a fitted bodice, closer to the body than the flared ones. The adidas ADI365 running dress has three-stripe trim and is the one for a run. The lululemon Layered Racerback is light blue with a layered white-trim bodice. Rhone's Lightspeed Court minidress is sage green with a navy elastic waistband, and has built-in shorts and a bra.

 

In our fashion dreams, the Vuori Solstice in white is on the court at 8 a.m.: an A-line skirt with a gel gripper liner, an open back with crisscross straps. For the studio, the Beyond Yoga You're a Force has a V-neck and integrated shorts. The Outdoor Voices Warmup in black has a side slit and TechSweat fabric, and it is the one I would wear to the airport.

 

Test for any of them: hold your arms out and swing them forward and back, then rotate your torso. Watch the straps and the neckline, not the skirt.

 

What I would skip: a fitted racerback if you want to throw layers over it on the way to class. Choose a flared one instead.

Active dresses get quiet in October, which is exactly when they get interesting. Longer sleeves and longer hems turn the same idea into something you can wear from a trail to a lunch table.

 

Start with the sleeves. The lululemon Softstreme half-zip mini is black and soft, and made for cold mornings. The BloqUV dress has a mandarin collar, a zip and built-in thumbholes that keep the sleeves in place. Cabana Life's quarter-zip in indigo comes with pockets and UPF 50+ fabric with mesh detailing. TravisMathew's Pulse in olive smoke is a ribbed quarter-zip mini with a flexible knit.

 

Then the midis. Sweaty Betty's Explorer ribbed racer dress is black with a scoop neck and a full flared skirt, and the halter version is crimson red with a gathered waist. Picture her in the red one with white sneakers and a long cardigan, crossing a farmers market. Beyond Yoga's Around the World twist-front midi in nocturnal navy has a waist cutout, and the Twist Keyhole midi in black has a keyhole at the bust.

 

Buying test: lift your arms and check the sleeve doesn't ride up past the wrist, and walk up stairs to feel the midi hem in the stride. Then sit down and see if the zip pulls at your neck.

 

What I would skip: the keyhole or cutout styles for a day of hard intervals, where something simpler and fully covered will behave better.

Color is what turned this into a category people shop for fun. The Outdoor Voices dress was all over TikTok in summer 2022 per Who What Wear, with people styling it for hot girl walks and showing off the newest prints and colors. I went deeper on a related idea in The Winter Outfits Edit: Five Lessons for People Who Dress for the Walk, Not the Car.

 

Outdoor Voices keeps that energy here. The Wildflower has a black tank top and a white and floral patchwork skirt, and the Joggy is a one-shoulder colorblock mini in bright lime and green. Vuori's Set Point in limelight is a bright yellow tennis dress with a fitted bodice, and it was designed as the outer layer of the Set Point set. Beyond Yoga's Spacedye Starting Line is a heathered ballet pink with pocketed inner shorts.

 

For tennis, Beach Riot's Remi in strawberry is hot pink with a teal and green colorblock waist, a pleated skirt and built-in shorts with drop-in pockets. The Lilly Pulitzer Caleta is a pink and white floral that is UPF-rated, so it works on the courts and at a garden party. From the FP Movement line, the Free People Triumph is red with a white ruffle hem, and the Cool On The Court is hot pink with a V-neck and flared skirt.

 

Pairing tip: let the dress be the loud thing and keep the rest quiet, with white sneakers and a plain visor. Check the color in daylight before you commit, since bright shades can look different outside.

 

What I would skip: a busy print with a busy cardigan. Pick one pattern and let it do the talking.

I would start with what you do most days. If it is walks and errands, go to the built-in shorts with pockets. If it is tennis, go for a flared skirt and a liner with grippers. Then check the strap, and the fabric, and only then the color.

 

For cold months, I would add sleeves and a zip. Wash it cold, tumble dry low, and skip the iron, as the Outdoor Voices care label says.

 

And then wear it somewhere Lenglen would not have expected. A century on from that Wimbledon morning, a pleated dress with no corset is just Tuesday.