I am a leader in the New England ( Boston ) area and am looking for a used ( but decent condition ) either tailsuit or smooth suit, for something close to $500-600. I'm a fairly tall ( 6 ft ), thin ( ~140 lb ) guy, but have never measured myself ( or had measurements done ). I've looked online to no avail, does anyone have any suggestions?
Looking for Tails/Smooth Jacket
- Thread starter hbetx9
- Start date
Depending on where you go and what exactly you want, you could buy a new smooth outfit for $600. If you want a complete suit, including the shirt, a tie made to match a gown, etc., or a more difficult suit then you'd have to pay more. Tailsuits will run you more. Dinner jacket/suits will be in the middle. Vest suits will be on the lower end.
I would recommend checking directly with some of the male smooth competitors on the pro circuit. One of my coaches said, "Every gown you see on the [professional] competition floor is for sale." The gowns might not be sold for a few months, but it won't generally take too long. Men sell things less frequently, but there's always a chance. Check to see who's your size first so you don't waste your time. For example, don't bother asking Tomas, JT's partner; he's not tall enough for you to fit his stuff well. Perhaps Randy Diaz? He's fairly thin and tall. Good hunting.
You sure?
Christopher
White Chacha
Active Member
Handy reference: a US dollar bill is 6" long.
Naturally I ment 6 ft ( 6" is a typo ) sorry, but I guess I really didn't measure myself ( it would be pretty hard to find a standard partner ). Thank you for the post of asking current pros. If there is anyone on DF that's looking to sell or knows of anyone in the area who is, please reply! I'm restrictive to the area as I would like to go and in person try on the suit ( or tails! ).
Porfirio Landeros
New Member
Since people come all different shapes and sizes and it is VERY important to have dancewear that fits right, don't necessarily close yourself off to just your area.
It is always best to try things on, so that's why many sellers will ship you their items to try on (at your cost) and you just return them if the fit isn't right. I'm in California, and both of my costumes that I have sold have been to East Coasters. My partner, Laetitia, is constantly shipping things back and forth to the east cost for dress sales.
It's true that you're going to be eating some costs with the shipping for the chance to try something on, but good sellers will only send you something if they know it's within a reasonable fit, so just about everyone we've ever sold to has kept the item and let us keep their check.
I'm not sure if you've already tried, but there's the classifieds section at ballroomdancers(dot)com... maybe there's a body twin out there on that site for you.
Good luck...
Another Elizabeth
Active Member
6' and 140 lbs is thin! Try asking Dan Radler.
This is good advice, I wouldn't mind eating some shipping cost if I can find the right fit. Thank you. I haven't tried ballroomdancers.com yet, this was my first attempt to see what other people have done. I know Dan a bit, I could ask him, thank you also.
How have most guys on DF gotten their first suit/tails without actually laying down the ~1400 for a decent fit by a taylor? Just luck/personal contacts?
Porfirio Landeros
New Member
My first tail suit was Onik, since it seemed to be a big name around these parts. I do not recommend them for smooth... someone else may be able to say nice things about them for standard, but the jacket was much to stiff and restricting. I did have them make me a vest to match the pants of the tails later on, and the quality of the set was top notch... so for vest suits I'd say they're okay.
My next outfit was a Randal vest suit... I really liked this one; it was an emergency purchase off-the-rack, since I had sold my previous outfit. The fabric was very stretchy and great for big body shapes/lines, but it was more "Latin" looking and I also lost more weight so I sold it. They have stuff to try on at the competitions they attend. Bigger thumbs up.
My latest is a LeNique. The price of the vest suit was actually VERY reasonable, and now that Jackets are more en vogue, I'd consider getting one from them since Nick has a smooth background and I see many smooth dancers wearing his line. The only drawback is they may be quite busy now with DWTS.
Someone I have not used but comes highly recommended and is on the pricier end is Aleksandr Sinitsa. When I get some more cash set aside, I will definitely want to have something made by them. They're located in L.A. but travel to many competitions.
Porfirio Landeros
New Member
Oh, and to answer your question, before I laid out the $1800 for my first set of tails, I would just wear off the rack men's formalwear. I would have a seamstress modify vests so that they were fitted in the back (without that dangling adjusting strap), and sew or pin elastic here and there to hold things down. Eventually, I actually took out a little loan to get the first suit, but the way I looked at it is that I would be able to resell it later and roll that return into other outfits, which is exactly what happened.
Used costumes or a Randall off the rack would probably be the least expensive start, other than trying to tweak normal men's formalwear.
Used costumes or a Randall off the rack would probably be the least expensive start, other than trying to tweak normal men's formalwear.
I've been wearing a dinner jacket with slacks and a shirt by LeNique. I've received many compliments on them, and they didn't cost a fortune.
Christopher
NielsenE
Active Member
My first tails were one of those cheap Russian places; no clue which one as it was ordered through people who knew them, but it was dirt cheap and surprisingly good (not great, but good). My smooth attire (custom shirt and vest) was made by LeNique and is absolutely wonderful.
I just ordered a smooth tuxedo from one of the big UK names and its less good, but I'm still hopeful we can make it work somehow.
I just ordered a smooth tuxedo from one of the big UK names and its less good, but I'm still hopeful we can make it work somehow.