Tailsuit help

chado

chado

New Member
Hello,

I was reading the thread about tail suits vs tuxedo's but I didn't want to revive/hi-jack with a different topic.

Recently I decided to purchase a tail suit for wearing to formal events, I like to be a little bold with my classic style so I figured why not. The problem is that I don't know if I should get a 'dance' cut tail suit, or a formal wear style tail suit. I plan to dance in it...but it's not for dance competitions. Mostly it will be worn to balls and gala's that are dinner/dance.

Could anyone offer me any advice in this area? I've never owned a tail suit, only standard tuxedo's and so I'm not sure how bad dancing will be in a 'formal' one.

Thanks in advance for your advice!
Chad
 
Welcome to DF chado! I'm sure some of our wonderful DF tail suit wearers will be along to help with your question...unfortunately I won't be of much help unless you wish to wear a latin dress *grin*....again welcome!
 
As sexy as I'm sure I'd look in a latin dress...I'll pass :D

Thanks...I've been lurking for quite a while (6 months?), lots of knowledge to be gained by lurking!

Thanks again,
Chad
 
It really depends on how you dance. Try going to a larger formal wear shop and trying some jackets on. If you find the right store, you may be out of there for under $100. For dance tails however, you are talking about $400 for an abslute bargain used suit, probably $600 or so for something from eastern Europe, climbing through $1k on up for the more famous makes...
 
IMO, and remember I am a female cat, I would go for a dance tail suit. If you intend to compete in it at all, then you need to look the part and be immaculate. The dance tailsuit would also suffice for other occasions. It may cost more but look at it as an investment. And if it is looked after correctly, you could resell it at a later date.
 
What do you mean by how I dance? Do you mean if I have a more relaxed frame in a social environment, it might not make the formal suit look as bad as if I have a big proper frame for example?

Those prices aren't bad at all...I value the image I put out so I tend to spend a fair bit on my business suits, I figured I'd maintain consistency and go with a high quality tail suit. I went to a 'formal wear' store where they rent tuxedo's and tails for weddings and such, and was less than impressed with the staff's knowledge of such things...If I go the formal store route I'll just call the sales rep I normally deal with at the mens store that I shop at and have him get some things together, but since that won't exactly be a cheap option I figured I'd see if a 'dance cut' would be more or less appropriate for my purposes.

Thanks for your help,
Chad
 
That's right. If you want to raise your arms (pretty much at all) you'll want a jacket cut for dancing. If the only kind of dancing you intend to do is crush dancing, a street jacket will be fine.
 
FWIW, a lot of people who are (or at least, consider themselves ;) ) Experts in classic formalwear actual point even non-dancers towards dance sources for their tailsuits as they are better to dance in of course, even if it's jsut a few dances at a wedding, and because a lot of time they are more traditional and authentic than tailsuits from more typical retailers like men's wearhouse or afterhours.

Ironically, the dress shirt with a seperate collar, which is another traditional piece that is almost impossible to find from most "formal" retailers in the states is of course readily available from dance sources.

I keep laughign as I read people suggesting ballroom sources for all these pieces of formalwear (busy shopping for a tuxedo for formal dinner at our national comps). All the nondancers seem shocked and surprised that they could get formalwear from a ballroom supplier, while of course it jsut seems natural to me.
 
Any chance any of you know of any dance tailors in Canada? Preferably southern Ontario...I'll drive pretty much anywhere within a couple hours but not much farther than that...

I know it's a long shot but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask :D
 
Run of the mill and tailsuits or removable collar formal shirts don't go together though.

shirt with built in soft wing collar will jsut never look the same as a shirt with a proper removable stiff collar.
 
etp777 said:
Run of the mill and tailsuits or removable collar formal shirts don't go together though.
Click to expand...

Run of the mill tailsuits actually do exist, if you can find a store that deals in the discount / odds and ends / leftovers / etc side of the wedding market. Of course they aren't cut for competition style dancing, and no you can't modify them as you'd need to add fabric under the arms.

I paid $30 for the thing I used as a pattern for my initial sewing experiments. Of course it was maroon, and technically a morning coat not a tailcoat. But could have had something in black for under $100.

In terms of the shirts, I've sometimes contemplated doing a Hannah Montague on a cheap one with the serger leaving just a band, but the cheap fabric won't really give that almost plastic starched look (heh, starch can be plastic as often demonstrated in a kiddie science experiment)
 
Yeah, even afterhours (think that's where I was looking earlier), has tailsuits and cutaways, but most of them are nothing I would wear, dancing or not.

Course, I'm also someone who greatly dislikes a notch lapel on a tuxedo (dinner jacket, if you prefer), which of course precludes most tuxedos sold/rented in the states.
 
etp777 said:
Course, I'm also someone who greatly dislikes a notch lapel on a tuxedo (dinner jacket, if you prefer), which of course precludes most tuxedos sold/rented in the states.
Click to expand...

Not to mention many creations of some of the leading dance tailors... I agree with you, but notches are all over the place.
 
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