Dressing for Social Dances/Parties

The key thing for me is to dress simply with two factors in mind:

a) Freedom of movement

b) Ventilation

For me, I usually wear a nice pair of neat pressed slacks and a nice dark colored t-shirt (always carry a spare or two, a towel and anti-perspirant) and good shoes of course that are comfy and allow me to feel the floor. The ventilation aspect is so vital to me since I do EC Swing, Latin and Hustle, all of which are strenuous (but so darned much fun). It doesn't do much good to be all decked out and yet roasting, dying and drowning in sweat .

Like I said, neat good-looking simplicity and comfort is my preferred method.

Thankfully, most venues I go to are air conditioned, which makes a HUGE difference!

I find that a pair of black pants and a loose fitting shirt works good for me. I prefer material that breathes pretty well. I have a black Chrisanne men's shirt that I love. It's made of stretchy material and breathes well. I like my pants to hang as low as possible without touching the floor. One thing I hate is sitting down and my pants crawling up to my knees.

Honestly, over time my entire day-to-day wardrobe has transmutated into an extended variety of salsa club attire! Seriously, I wear black slacks, a nice, fairly loose, button down, black (albeit with different patterns/textures) short sleeve shirt, and jazz sneakers just about always – I teach in it (& not dance, my students at UCSD), I practice in it, I go to clubs in it! It’s the SDsalsaguy uniform!

That's because you are GUYS!!! Dressing for women is a bit more complicated. For me, breathable fabric is important, but I also want to look good. For me, that usually means a dress (any color will do) that moves when I dance, so it creates nice lines. It also has to be secure enough that I don't have to worry about underwear or about any body parts getting excessively exposed. (Newbies: See thread on pantyhose!)


Black IS a nice color for clothes, but, as a woman, if you want to be seen on the floor (especially social dance) wear some other color. Everybody else will be wearing black. So wear pink, or emerald, or royal blue, or fuchsia. Anything but black. And make sure your outfit is comfy, right down to the hose and shoes.

Ladies, What Do YOU Wear?

What do you other ladies out there wear for a night (or day) of social dancing?

Hmm, depends on where I'm going but I prefer pants. I like to wear either jeans (country) or dark slacks (salsa etc) with a pretty fancy shirt. I love those gauzy peasant type shirts that are sheer (you wear a tank under) and boots to dance in. I only wear heels (strappy sandal heels) while at work, I like to go casual when I go out for fun. I'm all about COMFORT! Style comes in second...(sorry, I broke the women's code to dressing..)

I'm starting to worry about you. First, only two pairs of dance shoes, and now THIS. Comfort comes first. What is this about? You've now broken TWO women's dance codes. :lol: :lol:

I'm with SD on this one, my day-to-day wardrobe has sort of mutated into my club gear. Slacks (primarily black, but some other colors too), shirts that breathe, and of course comfortable dance shoes. I do get really dressed up once a month at our Pinnacle Club party. There I usually wear a comfortable suit.

So ladies tell me about your clothes testing in the store dressing rooms My salsera friends tell me funny stories about dancing in the dressing room mirrors when trying out a new outfit!

Well of course there is dancing in dressing rooms. How else am I to see if a skirt moves just so while turning or if some other article of clothing stays where it should? :wink:

Hmmm, stores need to put personal music systems in every dressing room to facilitate this important testing :wink: Whatcha think? :lol:

:lol: Music in dressing rooms, great idea!

I'm with MissAlyssa when it comes to dress for clubbing as well. I find pants to be much more comfortable as well, especially when guys dip me and I never need to worry about flashing anyone

Sad, sad,sad. The dressing rooms I go to usually have MUSAK. Blech! No good dancing stuff there.

But you know who does play good dancing music pretty often? Starbucks. Some good fifties-era foxtrot-type stuff. Also, Barnes and Noble. Yesterday I was at B&N, and they played a good half hour worth of excellent WCS. I was jammin' in the aisles. :lol:

dancer at heart said:

I find pants to be much more comfortable as well, especially when guys dip me and I never need to worry about flashing anyone

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And since when is flashing someone a bad thing? :lol: Just kidding. That's why I wear dance trunks.

pygmalion said:

So wear pink, or emerald, or royal blue, or fuchsia. Anything but black. And make sure your outfit is comfy, right down to the hose and shoes.

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Anything but skin-tight leopard print mini-dresses please!!!!!

I like clothes that are modest and comfortable. I don't like straps hanging out where they shoudn't, etc. Lately, though, I 've found that keeping the "belly bump" under wraps is hard to do. It seems that maternity wear wasn't designed for dancing and dancewear certainly isn't designed for us preggies.

I mean maternity shirts are supposed to cover your belly, but when you go into closed position, they end up "riding up" and exposing the belly bump. I know it works for some hollywood celebs, but I don't like seeing the big belly in the mirror, so I'm pretty sure no one *else* wants to see it either.

On a side note, does nayone have any info on maternity dance/comp wear or am I going to have to deisgn/market my own????? Dancers Must Dance (as I've heard it put) and that includes those of us who are breeding, too. Just because I've got a baby on the way doesn't mean my feet suddenly fell off even though I can't really see them, lol.

DancingMommy said:

On a side note, does nayone have any info on maternity dance/comp wear or am I going to have to deisgn/market my own????? Dancers Must Dance (as I've heard it put) and that includes those of us who are breeding, too. Just because I've got a baby on the way doesn't mean my feet suddenly fell off even though I can't really see them, lol.

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My wife orders her dance slacks from a place in San Franscisco . . . the pants are dance pants . . . and you order the waist the cut, the length, etc. . . . but they do come unhemmed with enough to make cuffs or cut them off. You have to hav ethem finished at the bottom if you want.

She says they are the most comfortable dance pants she has ever worn, and since she is just shy of 5'8'' - the length thing is great! The also wears them to work. Oh, the cost? $29.95 for custom made slacks. They have men's as well. If anyone wnats their e-address, let me know. I'll get it from her and forward it along . . .

For that price, you could get some for thew time you are pregnant, and then have them tailored later or simply order a few more pairs.

DancingMommy said:

it works for some hollywood celebs, but I don't like seeing the big belly in the mirror, so I'm pretty sure no one *else* wants to see it either.

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I wouldn't be totally certain about that - I had one friend who was still dancing literally hours before giving birth - she would wear low riders and crop tops and just let the belly stick out in between - and she looked fabulous!
But if you're not comfortable with that - would dresses work better than blouses as far as keeping your bump covered?

Cheers
Sarah