Hi everybody,
Sorry for all of the questions but this is only my second week of dancing. I'm going to my first Dance Party at the Starlite Lounge now. What do I wear to one of these things?
Thanks,

There doesn't seem to be a dress code at the Starlite unless they're having a special event. What James said would be fine. You will see some people that are pretty dressy, some that are kind of trashy, some that are wearing jeans, and there's one lady that wears latin competition-type costumes. Have fun! I'll have to let you know the next time I go down there so we can meet!

Well, I guess the first thing to do would be to check and see if there is a recommended dress code at all. Most dances our area college crowd attend don't have one so we go for "casual, but nice", but once in a while there will be a special even that asks people to dress up a bit more. I'd say exactly what you wear isn't too important as long as you like it, look good in it, and you're able to dance well in it (can move well in it). For example, in standard/smooth dances like foxtrot, waltz, and tango, one of your partner's legs will step/move in between both of yours, so you don't want to wear something that's going to restrict that movement. Of course you don't want to restrict your own leg movement either. A short, tight skirt probably won't work well, but neither would a long, floor length skirt that doesn't allow your legs a full range of motion. Something in the middle (length and/or closeness of fit) would probably be fine though. Men typically just wear a dress pants/shirt or a nice pants/shirt pair while women wear a variety of outfits -- dresses, skirt/blouse, pants/shirt, a sort of one piece pant suit, etc. As I said, I think that if you go for an outfit you like, that you look good in and can move well in so your dancing won't be restricted, you should be fine. Perhaps some of the women who read the board can give you additional suggestions -- dressing for men is often pretty simple, but women seem to have way more options making things more complex for them. I hope this helps though.

--
James Marshall
marshall@astro.umd.edu
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall

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!

Hoo Hooooo Hoo Hoooooooo