Nonie and all the other lovely ladies here have spoken, I"ll go for tails. They do fit the movement of the body better though, as mentioned by Chris, I believe. Actually, as a proam smooth dancer, I don't wear either, go for a fitted vest and black shirt.
etp - always love the look of the black shirt and fitted vest....yum! ;-) Now, as I'm not a guy, I probably shouldn't comment on this subject, but if I'm watching or participated in standard, the tails are a necessary part of the picture for me. There is something to be said for tradition. I'd surely hate to see that one disappear. *sigh*
Same here! Actually I do prefer the look of tails. That being said my personal style tends more towards the 'classical'. For example, I like three piece suits, double windsor knots, and I want to get married in tails.
The only reason not to use tails is if your lady is so much better than you are that you don't want the judges looking at you.
Hmmmm.....well, I've seen my pro wear a red tie with the black shirt and vest. A rich dark blue would look nice as well.... or a deep purple, perhaps? I've also seen it done with a richly textured/patterned black silk tie. However, I think my pro only wears a tie / vest combination for bronze or below pro/am smooth competitions and showcases. .....oh yeah...and loved your white tux. ;-)
I think a red tie goes well with a black shirt. Do any other people have any other idea? Btw, thanks for your comment on the white tux. I wonder how much etp is will to pay for it now.
I personally wear a silver tie... I would wear red if my partner was in red and I could find a red to match, and possibly a white tie if my partner were wearing white. Have to thank Chiron for making me learn to tie a double windsor as well... not sure if the ties that I own are long enough for that knot, but I'll have to look at it wearing a vest.
A business suit or tuxedo type of cut is actually longer than a tailcoat in terms of the enclosed part, and so it can never fit a moving, shaping body as well as a good tail suit does.
I go with one of two ties. One is black with silver metallic threads shot through it, other is white with black and silver stripes. I tend to go with a single windsor. Prefer a four in hand, nice, devil may care type look, but short as I am, most ties are too long to just do a four in hand.
Another vote for tail, I agree with Nonie said, tail flows nicely behind gentleman's back, enhance movement, a very matched look with lady's flowy dress, definitely tail for comp! for show Jacket is cool
Like I said I cut of my tails some time ago and am a happy jacket wearer. I understand the movement argument, but think it doesn't matter, if a lady wears a good dress (with floats eg). Then, if the jacket is well made, it will fit the body good, even when twisting or stretching sides. Though it will never fit as well as a well made tails jacket off course. The deciding argument for me was that it is the only possibility to be stand out of the crowd for me as man. Besides that i think the suit looks a lot better and it is modern as opposed to ... ancient history . Just to be clear on this, i'm not talking about a smoking type of jacket. That will be cut way to low in the front to ever stick to the body in movement. I've seen those on the floor a couple of times and they gap at the front in big twists. The jacketsuit is a double breasted jacket.
I'd love to hear what adjudicators have to say about this for Standard. It's my impression that they place lower because it looks "off" to them.
Your question begs mine - what do actual adjudicators think? Maybe this is one for Larinda's "ask a judge" topic.
wearing a regular jacket (not tails) for standard at competition? I'm talking about a jacket made for dance. For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmrGNp40Qzg&feature=related I know this is at a showcase, so it might be different...? But is it reasonable to wear a "dance jacket" that would work for smooth and standard for competition? I'm talking about gold level for example.
I know that I have seen some guys in gold and open at collegiate competitions wearing the same non-tail suit for both smooth and standard. Probably those who focus on smooth are more likely to do this. I don't know how judges in non-collegiate comps would view it, but there is certainly no rule against it.
The rules here (NZ) state that a Tail suit is compulsory for any level higher than Level 1. (Level 1 being the 'beginner/entry' level, dancing syllabus only) for adults & seniors. Juniors (12-15 years) are not allowed Tail suits, and are only permitted to wear the type of dance suit jacket that is similar I think to what you folks wear for American Smooth. Or a shirt, vest & Tie.
