Cheerleading
The Life, the Lies, and the Love of the Sport
The Evolution of Cheerleading Uniforms
The Evolution of Cheerleading Uniforms
Cheer uniforms play a vital role in the cheer industry. It displays your team’s edge over the others. Uniforms embody your attitude, charisma, and spirit while not sacrificing your modesty and flexibility. Every detail of the uniform is significant as it reflects your team's pride.
Cheer Dominated by men
When cheer squads were introduced to support school sports teams in the 1880s, they were called “pep clubs,” and they were only open to men. Women weren’t allowed to cheer until 1923, and they didn’t dominate cheerleading until the 1940s, while their male teammates were serving in World War II.
​
Cheerleading uniforms for men consisted of a button-down cardigan worn over a turtleneck with the school letter or logo displayed on the front of the sweater. Later it became common for teams to embroider their school letter onto a megaphone symbol.
Modest Women
In the 1940s and 1950s, women wore sweaters, long wool skirts, collared shirts, and cardigans. Their uniform also reflected the fashion at the time. Uniforms became more matching and on the sweaters the letter of their school would usually be on the front. It was usually made easier to pick out the captain of the team as they would have a slighty different uniform from the others.
Moving forward
In the ’60s and ’70s, the women’s liberation movement was in full swing. Women were entering the workforce in record numbers. It became common for women to wear unisex clothing like jeans. The uniform skirt rose to above the knee and they wore breathable cotton shirts, sweatshirts, crew neck sweaters, and pleats were introduced into the style of the skirt. Now on, cheerleading began to be more of a girl sport. Sandals were replaced by tennis shoes and plaid patterns were introduced as well.
More Recent Designs
The uniforms in the 1980s and 90s aren't as much different from the ones that are around now. Tops were often a waist-length button-down sleeveless vests worn with or without the turtleneck underneath. In addition to pleated skirts that were introduced earlier, striped tapping was added to the sides or bottom of the cheer skirt. The preferred length was about mid-thigh. The general rule was the skirt had to be down to the end of the fingers when the arms were at the sides.
Today's Look
Since routines have become harder with more extreme stunts, harder tumbling, and faster dance routines, the uniforms became mostly made out of polyester and spandex. The skirt is generally no longer than 12 to 14 inches for tumbling safety reasons. Skirts are worn over a pair of colored, metallic, or printed spandex The top is form-fitting and either long-sleeved or sleeveless. Most high school teams wear a sleeveless top with a turtleneck bodysuit underneath. Cheerleading uniforms for colleges and professional teams are generally unregulated. A crooped shell exposing the midriff is mostly used by colleges. It is very revealing, and rarely worn by high school squads due to dress code violations. The top is typically worn sleeveless. The school's or team's logo is featured in the center of the top. The top ends right after the bra-line leaving the entire midriff of the cheerleader show.