As a male adult there is no specific dress code as far as color. What colors look good together as far as leotards, tights and shoes. Seems I get tired of black and white all the time. Any colors to stay away from? I take 3-4 classes a week, rarely see anyother males in my classes. I would value any input. Thanks!

Yes, black and white are most common. But actually, you can wear just about any color scheme you like. I had one teacher who liked to wear a green unitard; he looked like a frog.

Just try to be a bit fashion-aware here. Avoid hot pink tights with puke green leotard. Avoid stripes-and-polkadots. You know, the standard stuff...

It's often nice to not break the line of the foot with contrasting foot/tight color. So dye your shoes the same color as your tights or socks. Or if you're wearing footless tights with no socks, go for flesh-colored shoes. Often, the "pink" or "tan" shoes do fine for this, depending on your skin color. You can also buy white shoes and put makeup base on them for a nice effect. Beware of dying shoes (with Rit dye), it makes them shrink a bit.

It's probably also best, as a man, to not try to emulate the look of the ladies. Don't wear a leotard over tights (under is OK). Probably also best to avoid pink tights, although I have seen guys who wear them to dance class.

If you're wearing a leotard under tights, avoid wearing a dark-colored leotard under light-colored tights --- unless you like the look of people being able to see your leotard conspicuously through your tights. Navy blue leotard is OK under black tights. But if you're wearing grey tights, a grey or white leotard is a better choice.

There are things that can be done to ameliorate this problem. You could dye a leotard in a two-toned fashion so that it is light-colored below your waistline; that could work. You could also dye tights in a two-toned way, so the top of the tights are darker than the rest.

You can buy stuff in white and dye it just about any way you like (if you get up the creative motivation). I've been saying for 4 years I was going to do that, and never have. Our costumes are often made that way, and many of them would be just fine in class.

<small>[ 07 May 2004, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: citibob ]</small>

I don't know if they are commercially available anymore, but I used to sometimes wear blue to dark blue (like a navy blue) tights in class. Citibob already mention gray, which is a good alternative to black.

Some guys even wear white tights, but I would not put this color at the top of my list, unless you're very comfortable with it.

I've also seen men wear spanex/lyrca trunks (particularly in the Summer when studios can be quite hot and steamy) and socks and ballet slippers, and sometimes without the socks. And then maybe a V-neck T-shirt on top or a leotard.

Personally, I like to wear loose-fitting workout leggings (usually sweats made out of cotton and thin) and a long T- or Polo shirt. Thin, wool socks and ballet slippers. I find that unless it's really warm, the bottoms of my feel suck the cold of the floor right up if I'm wear a cotton product. Not true on wooden floors but on all others.

Best wishes for happy and nattily-dressed dancing!

If you're going socks, think socks are a must. Avoid heavy cotton socks. I use men's nylon dress socks.

The studio where I study requires black on black for guys, though tights for guys are not required. I'm the only adult male, but the boys and I typically wear black jazz pants and a(n) t- or a-shirt. Being a heavier guy, I wear a black leotard under my t-shirt for control and support.

Shane