Dave Bailey
Active Member
Yes, pretty much.
At Negracha's last night (2-room venue, neo-tango downstairs, trad tango upstairs), I took my jacket off going downstairs, and put it back on going upstairs.
Seemed to work.
Clothes for the Man
- Thread starter bordertangoman
- Start date
At Negracha's last night (2-room venue, neo-tango downstairs, trad tango upstairs), I took my jacket off going downstairs, and put it back on going upstairs.
Seemed to work.
Lui
Active Member
I’ve been trained rather old school: At the Milonga the three piece suit is like workwear to me. Adapted to fit my specific needs, those suits are perfectly comfortable.
Getting a new suit made, I usually ask to have the diameter oft the sleeves at the shoulder joints reduced and and the sleeves joined at a wider angle to the torso. This allows to raise the arms without raising the shoulder pads – very similar to the construction of the conductor’s tailcoat shoulders. A little bit more width around the tights and deeper creases in front guarantee the leg's freedom of movements. A three piece suit develops it’s own micro climate. The dampness never reaches the surface and given according diet and hygiene (and occasional dry cleaning) odor is no problem.
Lucky, some companies offer a computer aided building block system for suits. This is a very affordable alternative to the traditional tailor. Their products are way better than the ready-made suits, of course not as good as the traditional ones. Today most men look - and feel - rather odd in their suits, because they don’t fit. No wonder, the size system of ready made suits is based on the average of data gathered some decades ago. ... and who of you is just average?
Getting a new suit made, I usually ask to have the diameter oft the sleeves at the shoulder joints reduced and and the sleeves joined at a wider angle to the torso. This allows to raise the arms without raising the shoulder pads – very similar to the construction of the conductor’s tailcoat shoulders. A little bit more width around the tights and deeper creases in front guarantee the leg's freedom of movements. A three piece suit develops it’s own micro climate. The dampness never reaches the surface and given according diet and hygiene (and occasional dry cleaning) odor is no problem.
Lucky, some companies offer a computer aided building block system for suits. This is a very affordable alternative to the traditional tailor. Their products are way better than the ready-made suits, of course not as good as the traditional ones. Today most men look - and feel - rather odd in their suits, because they don’t fit. No wonder, the size system of ready made suits is based on the average of data gathered some decades ago. ... and who of you is just average?
You're not convincing me here! If the dampness never reaches the surface, where exactly does it go to?
Contrast this with the habits of lady followers who most likely will wear freshly laundered clothes to each milonga. It would be unthinkable to wear a garment that had been sweated on but not washed or dry-cleaned before wearing again.
Lui
Active Member
It should have been: odor is no problem during that evening.
Although I believe a suit is less prone to sweat than the lady's gown.
The larger the surface the thinner will the moisture spread out and the higher is the rate of overall evaporation. Since moisture will travel only at a given rate trough that fabric, the moisture concentration decreases with the thickness or numbers of layers. Things change a lot when the fabric is saturated. When jumping into a pool a wool suit is no barrier at all. Sometimes dancing a stage show with all that lights has the same effect as jumping into a pool to me. That’s why we have stage only costumes and a good relation to our local dry cleaner.
Let’s assume a “normal” Milonga and have a look at the males suit:
A fitting suit provides a proper ventilation, but no pressure during the movement. The sweat will have to travel through a shirt, maybe a t-shirt underneath, a vest (two layers ) and a jacket (another two layers). Most suit are made of some wool blend, with added fibers for certain properties. Wool is nothing different as the sheep’s hair. It contains lanolin (wool fat), which makes it repellent against a certain degree of pollution. I would not wear the same shirt I used for an early afternoon workshop for the Milonga in the same evening. However, the next morning you would not notice a difference in the Jacket – given it was properly aired. The contamination will lessen the farther the garment is away from the body.
The lady’s dress is often in direct contact with the skin, close fitting and seldom made of wool. Usually you will find cotton, silk or an artificial fiber – all fibers very different to wool
Of course a suit is no miraculous artifact. Eventually the jacket (or even the pochette) need to be washed and – yes – sometime that moment is better right after the first use. It depends a little bit on how much you exhaust yourself.
Although I believe a suit is less prone to sweat than the lady's gown.
The larger the surface the thinner will the moisture spread out and the higher is the rate of overall evaporation. Since moisture will travel only at a given rate trough that fabric, the moisture concentration decreases with the thickness or numbers of layers. Things change a lot when the fabric is saturated. When jumping into a pool a wool suit is no barrier at all. Sometimes dancing a stage show with all that lights has the same effect as jumping into a pool to me. That’s why we have stage only costumes and a good relation to our local dry cleaner.
Let’s assume a “normal” Milonga and have a look at the males suit:
A fitting suit provides a proper ventilation, but no pressure during the movement. The sweat will have to travel through a shirt, maybe a t-shirt underneath, a vest (two layers ) and a jacket (another two layers). Most suit are made of some wool blend, with added fibers for certain properties. Wool is nothing different as the sheep’s hair. It contains lanolin (wool fat), which makes it repellent against a certain degree of pollution. I would not wear the same shirt I used for an early afternoon workshop for the Milonga in the same evening. However, the next morning you would not notice a difference in the Jacket – given it was properly aired. The contamination will lessen the farther the garment is away from the body.
The lady’s dress is often in direct contact with the skin, close fitting and seldom made of wool. Usually you will find cotton, silk or an artificial fiber – all fibers very different to wool
Of course a suit is no miraculous artifact. Eventually the jacket (or even the pochette) need to be washed and – yes – sometime that moment is better right after the first use. It depends a little bit on how much you exhaust yourself.
Lui
Active Member
As far as I know, the Victorian etiquette to keep your jacket on when in a lady’s company, originated from the fact that the jacket keeps a lot of body odors “bottled”. Those romantic balls of a bygone era must haven been quite "different" than today's events. I can' image all ladies could afford a new silk gown each ball every time.
larrynla
Member
The quote about wicking by bordertangoman is right on, except for one thing. It ignores the fact that modern synthetics can mimic natural fibers to such a degree that only an expert can tell the difference. This includes wicking ability. They can also be more fire-resistant than organic clothing, not subject to rot, and so on.
The best cloth still comes from Italy, which has been a worldwide research and development center since the 17th century, though the expertise has been migrating for a long time now.
Fabrics for the better suits are typically composites of natural and synthetic fibers. Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani is one of the better known Italian clothing designers (two labels, one company). Suits by them are worth the money, and not just for fabric. They will often fit well off-the-rack, are light, durable, and downright beautiful.
If I sweat noticeably I rest. I refuse to drip on the ladies kind enough to dance with me.
Larry Carroll - L. de Los Angeles
The best cloth still comes from Italy, which has been a worldwide research and development center since the 17th century, though the expertise has been migrating for a long time now.
Fabrics for the better suits are typically composites of natural and synthetic fibers. Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani is one of the better known Italian clothing designers (two labels, one company). Suits by them are worth the money, and not just for fabric. They will often fit well off-the-rack, are light, durable, and downright beautiful.
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My practice is to wear a three-piece suit but carry two changes of shirt, one short sleeved and one long. I'll dance a few dances until I begin to sweat a bit. Then I'll progressively remove layers to stay comfortably cool and sweat free.
If I sweat noticeably I rest. I refuse to drip on the ladies kind enough to dance with me.
Larry Carroll - L. de Los Angeles
Ampster
Active Member
A note about clothing... While it is true that dressing well in a milonga helps a lot, one thing to be cognizant of is how one carries one's self. That includes posture, confidence (while NOT being Arrogant), gentlemanly bearing, etc. Dressing appropriately compliments the leader and helps project the image of dance-ability.
A good dancer who is averagely dressed, will dance more (and better) than a any well-dressed boor.
A good dancer who is averagely dressed, will dance more (and better) than a any well-dressed boor.
bordertangoman
Well-Known Member
is there any proof for this?; there are plenty of fabrics used in the buidling industry that 'breathe' but they are rigorously tested and get a BBA certificate but nothing similar exisits for clothing.
Lui
Active Member
Well, I assume there is. You would have to ask at a fabric/yarn company or at a university training textile engineers. (I hope that’s the right word in English) As far as I know, there’s a fiber with a spongy core, I forgot it’s name, but it might wick. When spinning the yarn, different fibers can be mixed. One kind of fiber can be used to surround a center strand of different material. Some combinations might wick.
I’m not sure about the exact definition of “wicking”.Viscose, an artificial fabric, can “suck” up about a third of it’s weight – does this count as wicking? If not what are the exact criteria for "wicking"?
I’m not sure about the exact definition of “wicking”.Viscose, an artificial fabric, can “suck” up about a third of it’s weight – does this count as wicking? If not what are the exact criteria for "wicking"?
milongadicto
New Member
Sorry to bring up an old, inactive thread, but I have a concern regarding clothes. I'm relatively tall (~6' or 1.84-5m), and I dance close embrace unless the height difference is to the extent that the follower's face is on my belly (yes, it's happened). Because tangueras have got to look pretty, even in the darkness of the milonga, 99% of the time they have make up on, which is fine, until it gets smothered all over my shirt! It happened last night, but it was lipstick on a white shirt no less, so it was immediately noticeable, and I took care of it. But when it's subtler kinds of make up (I don't even know the names), it often stays there even after laundry, like a mild pink colored stain. What do I do about it!?!?!?
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
Buy yourself some black shirts. It's the thing for AT. Isn't it?
Sorry, but I'm not very good at domestic stuff like stain removal.
Sorry, but I'm not very good at domestic stuff like stain removal.
I never wear base to a milonga anymore (base is the stuff that goes on the skin of the face, as opposed to eye or lip color) And no matter what style I'm dancing or what our height situation, my lips don't make contact with the man's clothes. Granted, I'm not short, so my cheeks rarely contact the man's clothes either, but they do contact his face and his (sometimes) sweaty face contacts my skin. Better to just not have anything on my skin since I'm going to want to be able to wipe it.
IMO, women can look quite lovely without base, especially in the dim light so prevalent at most milongas. I don't want to think about what posture/position/embrace would lead a woman to smear her lipstick on the guy's suit. Wouldn't that sort of contact also prevent her from breathing? Although I guess I can see it getting on a shirt collar if her forehead is on his cheek.
My suggestion is that if your going to dance in that embrace, don't wear white shirts.
And ladies, if your lips frequently make contact with leader's clothes because of your height, don't wear lipstick. You'll just be re-applying it all night anyway unless it's one of those smear proof kinds.
Ampster
Active Member
Wash and soak the shirt in a VERY diluted solution of Oxyclean and water. Rerun the wash cycle with regular soap and water
jantango
Well-Known Member
If we imagine how things were in Buenos Aires during the 1940s, the men didn't have anti-perspirant sprays to keep themselves dry and free of odor. They were so concerned about perspiring that one tanda an hour was all they danced. The required dress was a suit, pressed shirt and tie. The retired to the men's room to wipe their brows and didn't bring along extra shirts.
Milongueros who wore suits at 18 are still going to dance in a suit today. They dance as elegantly as they dress. Every week they are wearing a different suit. They are easily recognizable in the milongas wearing their "uniforms" instead of the contemporary look with shirt tails hanging out or a t-shirt. The hot weather won't stop many milongueros from wearing a suit. It's the only way they will dance.
There was a time when women wore a different dress every Saturday night for dancing. Lydia Nasra made all of her dresses herself. Her mother told her to have the design ready at 2:00 in the afternoon, then she sewed all day to have it ready for 10:00 that night for the dance.
I must have a different idea of "close embrace" because not one couple in the photo has upper body contact as I dance with the milongueros in BsAs.
