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Square Dance Club Square Dance Attire
by Bill van Melle, October 23, 1994
Traditionally, men wear long-sleeved shirts (I think the theory on long sleeves
is to avoid grossing people out on Left Allemande on a warm day). Women wear
frilly skirts with petticoats, though in recent years, "prairie skirts" have
come to be acceptable square dance attire.
However, the Quads is an incredibly casual club. Few people come in square dance
attire regularly; pants on women are fine, and unless you tend to sweat
profusely (be you male or female), short sleeves are okay. If you go to another
club, however, be aware that women will look very out of place in jeans, and men
should wear long sleeves no matter how dry they are. If you go to a hoedown,Piumini Moncler Prezzi,
virtually everybody comes in square dance attire. In fact, at some hoedowns and
festivals, it is required--meaning that there's a good chance they'll not let
you in if they don't like your clothing, or at least will hassle
you. Fortunately, at most beginner hoedowns they do not expect you to be in full
square dance attire, so you don't really have to worry about this for several
months now.
But where do you get those funny clothes anyway? Men can get western shirts a
number of places, including Sears. Some "western wear" stores have a square
dancing corner. But there are also stores, whose number is unfortunately
declining in our area,moncler uomo, that specialize in square dance clothes. They sell
dresses, petticoats, patterns to make your own dresses, western shirts, hats,
shoes, all sorts of things. Many offer a discount to newer dancers. Just say
this is the first time you've bought any square dance clothes and that you just
started a class recently.
SDS Western Wear (formerly Sherry's Dance Store), 2468 Almaden Expressway,
San Jose. Open Mon 11-7, Tue-Thu 10-5:30, Fri-Sat 10-5, Sun 12-4. 408-267-2333. Malco Modes factory outlet, 1596 Howard St, San Francisco. Open Mon-Fri
8:30-4:30, occasional Sat (call first), 415-621-0840. Heavily discounted
seconds and factory overruns. Many square dance festivals have a hall (or more) of vendors from a much
wider geographical area, a good opportunity to shop around.
Vaguely related tip: if you're in a strange city, the square dance stores are
often a good source of information about local dances. Try looking in the yellow
pages under Square Dance. If you know your plans in advance, you could also
consult the National Square Dance Directory, a copy of which we have at Quads.
If you're interested in making your own dresses, Pat Ho and Charleen
Bunjiovianna may be coaxed into sharing their experience with you.
More About Square Dance Attire
by Charleen Bunjiovianna, March 5, 1995
Square dance dresses are unreasonably expensive at retail (expect to spend $60-$150), so if you have any sewing experience at all, you may want to
make your own. The big names in the square dance pattern business are C&C,
Authentic and Kwik-Sew. Avoid Kentucky Ruffles and Shirley's patterns unless you
enjoy pain and anguish. You can get square dance patterns at the Dance Store, or
mail order them through a couple of companies that advertise in American
Squaredance.
"But I can't sew!" I hear you wail. OK, all is not lost. You can wait for one
of the infrequent sales at SDS Western Wear (formerly Sherry's Dance Store). You
can try the thrift shops (don't laugh, some perfectly nice WSD apparel turns up
there). Or you can take a chance and try the Malco Modes outlet up in the
City.
Malco Modes is the world's largest manufacturer of square dance apparel. They
also make country and western clothing, as well as bridal petticoats, though you
don't see that in the outlet very often. Garments consigned to the outlet almost
always have some kind of flaw, except for packaged men's shirts, which are often
in discontinued colors. Sometimes the flaws are tiny or invisible and can be
concealed with judicious use of appliques or lace, sometimes not. But the best
news is that the prices are about half of retail. And they pay the sales
tax. (Malco Modes, 1596 Howard Street, 415-621-0840. Call for hours and
directions.)
You've found a nice outfit to try on. Now what?
You're looking for a fit that is flattering as well as comfortable. Make sure
the waist is at your natural waistline; do a few sample Star Thru's and twirls
to make sure it stays there. The fit in the waist should be snug but not
suffocating. If it's too loose, you'll be tugging your dress down all
evening. If you can, take along the petticoat you'll be wearing with your new
dress, or find one of comparable length and fullness. You shouldn't be able to
see your petticoat hanging down past your dress; the dress length should match
it, or close to it. Does the dress have high tight puffed sleeves? If so, you
might find the elastic starting to cut off your circulation after an hour or so
on the dance floor. Consider something closer to elbow length.
Shoulder seams should fall naturally at the edge of your shoulder, not
flop over onto your arm.
Twirl once more with dress and petticoat. Does the skirt fall back into place,
or does it hang up on the petticoat? Now you know why many skirts and dresses
have ruffles along the hem.
Pettipants. Most women like to twirl while swinging or
promenading and guess
what happens then? Your skirts take flight. So we have pettipants, for
aw-shucks modesty.
They're available in nylon or batiste and in various lengths, from short
"sissy" pants to mid-thigh to ankle-length bloomers, if you're so inclined,
and in an array of colors. Most women like their pettipants to match the color
of their petticoat; pettipants aren't really meant to be noticed.
Shoes. Some people will try to tell you that you need square
dance shoes,
which start at about $40 a pair for ladies' shoes, $60 a pair for men's.
Don't believe it. Sure, there are some dance floors where you must bring
non-street shoes, but in this area most dancing is done on cement floors at the
various local schools, where no one's too concerned about damaging the finish.
Anyway, many women I know wear sneakers because they're comfortable and give
good support; as far as I'm concerned, any shoe is okay as long as it won't
come off in mid-tip and it gives you decent traction.
Some of the off-price stores, like Ross, currently have pretty
embellished white
sneakers in stock that would do nicely as "dressy" square dance shoes
for hoedowns...for a fourth or a third of what you'd pay at a square dance
shop.
About Petticoats
by Charleen Bunjiovianna, January 15, 1995
You don't have to worry about "square dance attire" yet, but before too
long you will be full Plus level dancers and might want to partake of some of
the events outside of Quads. Thankfully, the definition of acceptable square
dance attire for women has been evolving in recent years to include the loosely
defined "prairie skirt" (most any sort of long, flowing skirt), which gives
you a lot more choices. However, given how recent this development is, you'll
still find the majority of women at area hoedowns in the more traditional 1950's
party attire, and many of them profess to prefer it. So for those of you
interested (for whatever reason) in learning more about this fashion, Charleen
has written a series of articles, of which this is the first.
--Ed.
Probably the first time you saw one being worn you thought, "How the heck does
she get through doorways wearing that thing?" But besides being showy,giubbotti moncler, square
dance petticoats serve a practical purpose: they stabilize you when you
twirl.
Modern square dance petticoats, in ascending order of cost, are generally made
of net, tricot, organza, woven polyester, crystal organza, and tissue lame. You
can get them in just about any fullness you desire, from barely noticeable under
a skirt, to so voluminous you could put out table settings for four on one.
Tricot "softie" petticoats, a good choice for beginners, are comfortable,
inexpensive, and don't make you feel that you resemble the Liberty Bell on the
dance floor. Organza is less comfy, holds a more rigid silhouette, and
depending on how it's stored, may compress and flatten out over time.
Crystal organza, a sparkly translucent fabric that comes in many wonderful
colors, is the choice of most veteran dancers because it packs well, machine
washes (on the delicate cycle), dries quickly, retains its shape and wears like
iron. It is also not cheap: square dance shops typically sell 50 yard crystal
petticoats for about $80. Ouch.
You're going to hear petticoat fullness referred to in terms of yardage,
by the way. 50 yards doesn't mean that 50 yards of fabric were used in the
construction; petticoat yardage is determined by measuring the bottom
edge. You'll also see them referred to by length. Common lengths are 19,
20, 21, 22, and 23 inches. Length is measured exclusive of the waistband.
How long a petticoat you should wear is up to you; try several lengths to see
what looks good. But the smartest people I know choose one length and stick with
it, so they never have to worry about matching skirt and petticoat
lengths.
Last updated Wednesday 8 August 2007 |
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