Clothes for the Man
- Thread starter bordertangoman
- Start date
This is a really good discussion!
Here (Melbourne Australia) the men are very casual to milongas, ie trousers and either long sleeved shirt or t-shirt.
I always wear a suite (without a tie) and shirt. My reasons are as follows:
- I would like the ladies to be sexy and glamorous so I should expect no less of myself
- Formalizing the dress makes the occasion more special... there is a reason why professional dancers wear suites
- The jacket part is important because I think it must be most unpleasant for the followers to have to put their arm on sweat
My 2 cents worth...
Eran
Here (Melbourne Australia) the men are very casual to milongas, ie trousers and either long sleeved shirt or t-shirt.
I always wear a suite (without a tie) and shirt. My reasons are as follows:
- I would like the ladies to be sexy and glamorous so I should expect no less of myself
- Formalizing the dress makes the occasion more special... there is a reason why professional dancers wear suites
- The jacket part is important because I think it must be most unpleasant for the followers to have to put their arm on sweat
My 2 cents worth...
Eran
tangobro
Active Member
depends on the milonga - outdoors I'm casual, usually dress jeans with either a T-shirt or Under Armour compression T, or a Polo shirt. If it's outdoors at the pier I'll pull a sweater over - usually cashmere, silk, or a silk cashmere blend. Because they're lightweight & not uncomfortable to be close to dancing CE.
For indoor milongas I struggle with the internalized voice of my teachers who grew up & danced in the Villa Urquiza milongas & insist that dressing for the milonga was part of what Tango is about, and the here & now reality that, unless someone came directly from the office, jackets and ties are seldom seen on the social dance scene.
At indoor milongas dress shirt (cotton, or linen) & dress pants or suit, possibly with vest, tie and cufflinks. At the monthly milongas I'll be apt to wear more formal, at the weekly milongas less formal - no jacket, no tie. If I wear a jacket I avoid heavy wool, I'll wear silk or something light that the ladies won't mind being in close embrace with.
Why
1) My comfort
2) comfortable for partner in CE
No polyester
When a guy is the only guy at a milonga in a suit, I guarantee you that the followers are not sitting around thinking ."Wow.. I can't believe he is so tacky as to dress up.. he looks AWFUL!"
Women are far more critical of other women being overdressed for an occasion than they are of men. (Women are more likely to be critical of men when they are too casual for the occasion). A man can even show up for an outdoor BBQ and use the "I came directly from work/ a funeral/ whatever" excuse. Its hard for a woman to get away with being overly made up and wearing a slinky cocktail dress with high heels when it is not warranted. A guy who goes to breakfast in a suit looks like he is going somewhere afterwards.. A woman who goes to breakfast in a cocktail dress looks like she never went home from the night before. Jackets on men are almost all-purpose attire. Sexy dresses on women are not. (at least that's how it is in much of the Eastern US)
So if you want to dress nice, go for it! Standing out because you are the one guy who put in the effort is not a bad thing (Its like a job interview... better to be overdressed than underdressed!) Remember... even when a woman is dressed casually, she probably spent a fair amount of time putting together a stylish "casual" outfit and doing makeup that looks like she's not wearing any. It takes a lot of effort to achieve effortless-looking beauty.
Personally, I have not found a suit jacket to be a problem in CE. Maybe some men don't have properly fitting suits? It must be buttoned however.. an unbuttoned jacket does tend to drift around and both the jacket front and the follower will have trouble staying where they should be.
I'm afraid I think that using a few pounds of shoulderpads and interlining to beef up your posture is just plain cheating!
Not at all, it must be a pretty easy look for a guy to achieve. After all, shirts are sold in every men's outfitter in the land, in a fairly standard cut so decision-making is cut to a minimum. Ditto jeans. All it takes is choosing some that fit nice and keeping them washed and pressed.DB said:Blimey, Ms FussyPants I'll have to call you next time I see you
Having said that, many's the time I've wanted to drag some poor bloke off the dance floor and give him stern advice on dress sense and personal hygiene, so clearly it's not that easy. Maybe I'm just bossy.
Yeah, it happens when midget me dances with a bean pole. It just doesn't work.Zoopsia said:
I'm not crazy about the tango cliches - fedora hat, baggy trousers, red & black, flashy shoes, tie, linen jackets. I guess if people feel that's their natural style then you have to go for it, but I really like seeing younger dancers that make a very casual look work for them.
That bit about looking casual taking a lot of thought and effort - very true.
As strange as it sounds, yes. A lot of women really do prefer dancing with me when I'm not soaking wet in a cotton shirt. Although a few women have said they don't mind the sweat as long as I'm clean (i.e. no odor).You fellows who wear wicking clothing...your partners must really love you.
mshedgehog
New Member
I like jackets. They make many men much easier to dance with (I happen to dance with a lot of slightly-built men) and they often make the embrace much more comfortable and easy for me.
Some men change their posture radically for the better when they put on a jacket, just because of the way it makes them feel. But the whole point of the design of a suit jacket anyway is that it gives a certain smooth and squarish shape to shoulders and torso.
Also I quite like the formality and grown-upness. But I am equally happy with a normal nice shirt of whatever kind in a nice colour - polo shirts are good. Jackets take a bit of looking after and have to be dry cleaned regularly, and they also must fit reasonably well or they may rattle about a bit. I don't like T-shirts; I don't want to be dancing with a man who's dressed as a child. But that's all about context so would vary from place to place.
Those dry shirts are excellent - no wetness whatsoever, and many of them just look like an ordinary polo shirt or something. Some look sportier than others, some look more formal.
Cotton shirts I am not keen on as they get horribly wet really fast.
Ties for tall men are good as they make them button up the shirt collar which gets in the way otherwise! Also they look very good. But they're probably not for every day, only a few men wear them frequently. I don't mind as long as the collar doesn't get in my face.
Some men change their posture radically for the better when they put on a jacket, just because of the way it makes them feel. But the whole point of the design of a suit jacket anyway is that it gives a certain smooth and squarish shape to shoulders and torso.
Also I quite like the formality and grown-upness. But I am equally happy with a normal nice shirt of whatever kind in a nice colour - polo shirts are good. Jackets take a bit of looking after and have to be dry cleaned regularly, and they also must fit reasonably well or they may rattle about a bit. I don't like T-shirts; I don't want to be dancing with a man who's dressed as a child. But that's all about context so would vary from place to place.
Those dry shirts are excellent - no wetness whatsoever, and many of them just look like an ordinary polo shirt or something. Some look sportier than others, some look more formal.
Cotton shirts I am not keen on as they get horribly wet really fast.
Ties for tall men are good as they make them button up the shirt collar which gets in the way otherwise! Also they look very good. But they're probably not for every day, only a few men wear them frequently. I don't mind as long as the collar doesn't get in my face.
bordertangoman
Well-Known Member
going to hijack my own thread here; with a small grouch..
womens hair.. the number of times I wish I hada pocket of hair grips or even a large paperclip..getting hair in the eyes and sometimes the mouth aint pleasant; asymmetric hairstyles are required for tango get your hair on the left-hand side of your head please and if its curly or frizzy pin it down.
BOT
womens hair.. the number of times I wish I hada pocket of hair grips or even a large paperclip..getting hair in the eyes and sometimes the mouth aint pleasant; asymmetric hairstyles are required for tango get your hair on the left-hand side of your head please and if its curly or frizzy pin it down.
BOT
bordertangoman
Well-Known Member
The truth about 'wicking'
"There is a lot of pseudo-science surrounding the subject of "wicking". Let's be clear about this. A "wick" is a strip of fabric made of organic fibres such as cotton, linen or hemp, used in oil lamps. Oil is sucked up by the porous fibres from the pool of oil. When the synthetic manufacturers needed to describe the process by which their synthetic clothing dried, they obviously felt that the term "drip" (for this is what it really does) was not suitable for their advertising campaigns, and so they came up with the idea of turning the noun "wick" into a new verb - "to wick".
The problem is that most oil-based synthetics cannot "wick" in any sense of the word as they are incapable of absorbing moisture, any more in fact that a plastic washing up bowl. They are non-porous. Moisture only moves through synthetic clothing by virtue of the knit construction. This ensures that the lines of knitting slope outwards, and gravity does the rest - dripping!
Merino, like all wools, actually absorbs moisture, and then sheds it gradually to its outer surface. This is "wicking". No synthetic can do it - only attempt an approximation of it.
There are cellulose-based fabrics coming on to the market now, bamboo being one, however these can absorb far too much moisture and then hang on to it, creating a cold wet garment that can add to the dangers of hyperthermia for the wearer. For use for hot (dry) weather garments, these fabrics may be fine, but they are not suitable for all-round, all-weather, garments.
There is a commonly held belief that a wicking base layer will stop your clothing becoming damp and sweaty. This is not necessarily true. It depends on what you are wearing on top of your baselayer.
When you work hard your body produces perspiration to help you keep cool. If you are stark naked, this sweat normally evaporates from the surface of your skin. If you are wearing a single layer of absorbent clothing, the sweat will be absorbed by this layer, and eventually evaporate into the atmosphere if it is warm enough. When you stop working hard, or just slow down a bit, and start to cool down, the absorbent layer you are wearing will become cold and damp next to your skin.
A "wicking" garment is supposed to pass the perspiration through from your skin to the next clothing layer. However it can only pass it from its own inner surface to its own outer surface. Each succeeding layer must do it's own job of passing on the perspiration to the next layer until it eventually gets to the outer surface and is passed into the atmosphere. If one of these intermediate layers is absorbent it will absorb the perspiration as well as passing it on - but only "if". As we said before, synthetic fibres do not absorb moisture. They "drip". Their interlock construction allows moisture to trickle down through the gaps.
You can therefore have the situation of wearing high performance wicking underwear giving you a dry comfortable skin but your cotton or synthetic midlayer is very damp under your breathable jacket, making you feel cold - and possibly giving you wet feet!
For maximum performance wicking underwear requires a middle layer which will wick at a similar rate and an outer layer capable of passing the perspiration rapidly to the atmosphere. Because of merino's ability to both absorb and shed moisture, and because of its ability to keep you warm even when wet, it makes an ideal base layer and mid layer under any outer layer."
FROM:
http://www.chocolatefishmerino.co.uk/technical/wicking.html
"There is a lot of pseudo-science surrounding the subject of "wicking". Let's be clear about this. A "wick" is a strip of fabric made of organic fibres such as cotton, linen or hemp, used in oil lamps. Oil is sucked up by the porous fibres from the pool of oil. When the synthetic manufacturers needed to describe the process by which their synthetic clothing dried, they obviously felt that the term "drip" (for this is what it really does) was not suitable for their advertising campaigns, and so they came up with the idea of turning the noun "wick" into a new verb - "to wick".
The problem is that most oil-based synthetics cannot "wick" in any sense of the word as they are incapable of absorbing moisture, any more in fact that a plastic washing up bowl. They are non-porous. Moisture only moves through synthetic clothing by virtue of the knit construction. This ensures that the lines of knitting slope outwards, and gravity does the rest - dripping!
Merino, like all wools, actually absorbs moisture, and then sheds it gradually to its outer surface. This is "wicking". No synthetic can do it - only attempt an approximation of it.
There are cellulose-based fabrics coming on to the market now, bamboo being one, however these can absorb far too much moisture and then hang on to it, creating a cold wet garment that can add to the dangers of hyperthermia for the wearer. For use for hot (dry) weather garments, these fabrics may be fine, but they are not suitable for all-round, all-weather, garments.
There is a commonly held belief that a wicking base layer will stop your clothing becoming damp and sweaty. This is not necessarily true. It depends on what you are wearing on top of your baselayer.
When you work hard your body produces perspiration to help you keep cool. If you are stark naked, this sweat normally evaporates from the surface of your skin. If you are wearing a single layer of absorbent clothing, the sweat will be absorbed by this layer, and eventually evaporate into the atmosphere if it is warm enough. When you stop working hard, or just slow down a bit, and start to cool down, the absorbent layer you are wearing will become cold and damp next to your skin.
A "wicking" garment is supposed to pass the perspiration through from your skin to the next clothing layer. However it can only pass it from its own inner surface to its own outer surface. Each succeeding layer must do it's own job of passing on the perspiration to the next layer until it eventually gets to the outer surface and is passed into the atmosphere. If one of these intermediate layers is absorbent it will absorb the perspiration as well as passing it on - but only "if". As we said before, synthetic fibres do not absorb moisture. They "drip". Their interlock construction allows moisture to trickle down through the gaps.
You can therefore have the situation of wearing high performance wicking underwear giving you a dry comfortable skin but your cotton or synthetic midlayer is very damp under your breathable jacket, making you feel cold - and possibly giving you wet feet!
For maximum performance wicking underwear requires a middle layer which will wick at a similar rate and an outer layer capable of passing the perspiration rapidly to the atmosphere. Because of merino's ability to both absorb and shed moisture, and because of its ability to keep you warm even when wet, it makes an ideal base layer and mid layer under any outer layer."
FROM:
http://www.chocolatefishmerino.co.uk/technical/wicking.html
bordertangoman
Well-Known Member
No matter what clothes you decide to wear to a milonga, unless you dance exclusively in OE, guys, please shave before you come!
And carry a hanky or something to wipe your face if you sweat.. I can deal with your damp body if I have to, but I'd rather not slide off your cheek.
LittleLight
New Member
Various bloggers have been writing about what an outfit actually signals.
To me suit and jacket means someone is more likely to a be milonguero/close embrace dancer whereas the guys who wear combat/baggy trousers and a t-shirt (popular with the youngers guys here) signal "nuevo". As I like a more traditional style I tend to seek out the "suits".
Aesthetically I also like the still somewhat trendy compromise of slightly baggy pinstriped trousers and a black t-shirt (waistcoat optional).
To me suit and jacket means someone is more likely to a be milonguero/close embrace dancer whereas the guys who wear combat/baggy trousers and a t-shirt (popular with the youngers guys here) signal "nuevo". As I like a more traditional style I tend to seek out the "suits".
Aesthetically I also like the still somewhat trendy compromise of slightly baggy pinstriped trousers and a black t-shirt (waistcoat optional).
I wish a hanky was all it took. In addition to a few hankys, I generally will have a hand towel with me to help keep myself dry.And carry a hanky or something to wipe your face if you sweat.. I can deal with your damp body if I have to, but I'd rather not slide off your cheek.