What to wear...what to wear...

[BalletPrincess86]

Hey everyone! Well the days are getting closer to my first class and Im getting soooo anxious! I'm ready to get out there and give this a shot!

 

As I read over my requirements for the class... the important questions of "what do I wear" comes up. The options are "T shirt and dance pants, or leotard and tights". Okay...I can do both...But I kinda want to be more traditional and wear the leotard,skirt, and tights.

 

My question to you adult ballerinas out there is what sort of dress codes does your studio enforce and if its like mine, do you take the more traditional over the conventional? I just dont want to be the only one who shows up in pink tights next week.

 

Lots of love,

 

Lauren

[Laschwen]

Here is a thought:

Wear your tights under your leotard and dance pants on the way to class. when you get there, take a look around and see if you will feel comfortable taking off the pants and putting on the skirt.

Please don't wear pants that bag around your ankles, or worse, drag on the floor. The teacher needs to see your feet and ankles.....legs, etc.

Have a great time when you get there and ask a question or two if you get confused.

[BalletPrincess86]

What a wonderful idea!!! Now, question...would you think tight fitting pants or like a sweat pant or capri sleep pant style where it comes above my calf. I have some of my older dancewear lycra tight pants that come to my calf?

 

Haha I'm SUCH a newbie at this...but I so appricate the help from you all!!!

[Balletbabe32]

Make sure your capri length pants are tight on your knees, because it is important for your teacher to see what they are doing. I am constantly correcting girls for having their knees bent, when it turns out it's just the bagginess of their sweat pant capris. Our studio now has a strict dress code for students, thank goodness.

 

I am a firm believer that adults should dance in what's comfortable. You are there for recreation, you shouldn't be forced to feel uncomfortable in a leo and pink tights if you don't want to. But you still need to follow certain guidelines.

 

Why not wear a leotard and black tights over the leotard? That seems to be what most older students wear. I always wear that when I take class, and I usually add a skirt. Or your older lycra tight pants with a sports bra and fitted tank would do nicely as well.

[ripresa]

Why not wear a leotard and black tights over the leotard? That seems to be what most older students wear.

 

Haha.. that's what I wear. Ballet is one of the few places that make me feel old!!

 

On high confidence days I wear pink tights. But it's got to be pretty high, like yesterday, where I was the only person in my intermediate class wearing pink tights and a black leo (no skirt, I always felt that the skirt makes me look less flattering).

 

Ah vanity.

[rshevin]

I second the idea of wearing leotard over pink tights with black pants over. That's what I always wear the first day of a new class to see how everyone else is dressing. I've never figured out how the black tights over the leotard thing works. I just keep imagining them falling down! I like my pants to be fitting but not spandex tight. I'm constantly in search of pants that show my knees, but they seem to be vanishingly rare. The truth of the matter is there's likely to be no dress code enforcement for adults and on one will notice what you wear as they're too busy worrying about themselves. You should ultimately wear what makes you feel confident and comfortable. I would suggest hanging out in the house in your leotard and tights for a little while to get used to the feeling.

[olddude]

Shortly after I started taking class, I realized that I was going to look exceptionally goofy whether I tried to hide it or not - I was the only guy in class, twice the age of the average student, and had no dance experience of any kind. So I decided I would just adopt the standard uniform no matter how bad it looked. (White shirt, black tights, white shoes and socks, for guys.) This has worked well for me after the initial embarrassment; teachers and other students have treated me as someone serious about this endeavor. Ballet may be all about how you look to the audience, but vanity is the last thing you can afford to indulge in if you want to learn! I've had a wide variety of classes now, some where most are in "the uniform" and some where I am the only one. Doesn't bother me a bit, and nobody gives me any grief over it. Worst case is, you look like a dance geek - which is highly respectable in any dance class. It felt like a real milestone when my strictest teacher called me a bunhead!

[bluebillie]

As I get a little older, or "seasoned," I do feel the need to cover up at least some part of my hips and thighs, if only to keep warm. Many dancewear brands make great "warm-up" shorts in knitwear or cotton-spandex that fit comfortably over tights. You can still maintain the clean lines necessary for the teacher to check correct hip placement, but you don't feel quite so exposed.

 

I only caution against wearing anything in the "plastic" genre. I'm not sure where the teacher mods stand on this, but they are, in my opinion 1). unprofessional 2). loud! 3). give you a false feeling of being "warm" when in fact you really only have a sweaty, steam-room warmth on the outermost layer of your body.

 

Harmonie used to make some "baggier" style shorts; they still only came to the upper thigh, but the best way I can describe them is as mini-bloomers! They had a lovely stripe around the bottom of each leg and folded over at the waist.

 

Okay, I'll stop waxing poetic about my sweaty old ballet shorts, and simply wish you good luck and fabulous (yet functional) style in your class!

[ripresa]

I've never figured out how the black tights over the leotard thing works. I just keep imagining them falling down! I like my pants to be fitting but not spandex tight.

 

Hahahah.. The black tights are pretty form-fitting. I like the ones from One Step Ahead, which uses Supplex, and it is so soft.. like kitten soft. They stay up.. just like if you were to wear pink tights over your leotard.. they should stay up too

 

Definitely not spandex.

[amiaow]

I started my adult classes wearing bike shorts and a singlet, and after five weeks of doing that went out and got myself both pink and black tights (I am yet to wear the black ones!) and a few leos and I am really much much much much more comfortable. I did my first lesson in socks but did buy soft shoes that week.

 

I don't think it matters what you wear to the first lesson- we had a girl who did her first lesson with us last week in socks and track pants, and I'm sure if she sticks around she will head in the ballet-attire direction in time just because it's so much more comfy!

 

A lot of the ladies in my class (we are generally in our mid-20s and early 30s) wear a pair of little shorts over the tights and leo combo. I haven't quite figured this out yet, but whatever floats your boat!

 

I do recommend wearing something that you can move in

[MJ]

Go classic, black leo and pink tights and shoes. Shorts and capris make you look far worse than a pair of tights will. Solid pink will make your legs look longer and will show all the details to the teacher. You are telling the teacher "I am prepared and ready to dance"

 

My first class was pretty rough, Dance belt, white shoes, tights etc. I ached for days and days, had to roll out of bed my back hurt so much.

 

Welcome to a new world, now go out there and Dance!

[rshevin]

If anyone needs any enabling, Back Bay suddenly has LOADS of new inventory. I am drooling and trying to figure out what I need (tights) versus what I want (everything!). I'm dying for new shoes as mine are really old but they insist on staying put together so I just can't rationalize new ones. Pooh.

[Laschwen]

Hahaha.

If I waited until my shoes fell apart to replace them, well, I can't imagine.

 

Try giving yours a wash and see if that speeds along the falling apart process.

May-be they will shrink...oops.

 

The fact that I needed to cut a hole in the big to of one of mine for comfort, was all that rationalization I need to order a new pair of roomier ones. Never mind that the cut ones look better than most of my classmates shoes still and are now quite comfortable. I will probably still use them on days when I want more padding; which was the reason for needing to cut the hole in the first place.

[rshevin]

Laschwen, they have our sizes in SO many things now. You can order anything you want out of the Eurotard or Bodywrappers catalogs! AND they have these Principal ballet flats that for some reason are my dream shoe even though I've never seen them except the photo (someone please tell me these shoes are awful, please). There are skirts and leotards and all sorts of cool things. Why oh why do I only need a couple of pairs of tights?

 

As for my shoes, they are at least 5 years old and still look like this:

http://s90.photobucket.com/albums/k267/fly...nt=102_3022.jpg

 

They have been worn twice a week for all this time, the brand and size are long worn off, they have been washed more than once, and they are made so dang well I can't get new ones. Does that deserve a smile or a frown?

[mrsmanners]

According to Christian Dior, black is always best for women. Try a classic French all-black ensemble including black tights and black shoes. And, beneath the black skirt you can add a black lycra bicycle short- the function here is muscle support. From an athletic standpoint, lycra pants and tights actually aid muscle performance!