The Tango Closet
Come on, I know you have a tango closet too.
Perhaps for me it's a holdover from Halloween, but I think part of the fun of tango is the dressing-up part. When I took belly dance classes, I had all kinds of harem pants, silk tops, coin belts and finger cymbals and scarves and veils. And the henna kit for the do-it-yourself henna tattoos on the hands.
When I joined the Stanford Fencing Club (a short-lived pursuit due to tango conflicts), I immediately ran out and got my own foil, padded jacket, glove and mask (there is nothing grosser than borrowing someone else's fencing gear and still-damp-with-sweat face mask).
And when I started dancing tango, I began to amass a collection of clothes that ultimately grew into its own tango closet. A closet with a life of its own. When I would go shopping, I'd compartmentalize what I saw into either, "Gee that would be fun for work," or "Boy that would be great for tango!" If I had to choose, the tango outfit got purchased first. You want to be prepared for every mood on dance night, right?
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Le Chemin du Tango has an interesting observation on how we dress for tango. I'm much more casually dressed for a milonga than I used to be, except for the shoes, of course. I dressed up a lot more in Buenos Aires because I felt I could get away with it. Lots of my tango clothes now just hang out and wait.
And oh boy, here at the office, the UPS guy just delivered my new swing dance shoes and skirt that I ordered online. I'm dying to go into the bathroom and try everything on but the pleasure must be delayed until I get home...
6 comments:
One is definitely a tango addict when you think to yourself when shopping, ¨Can I tango in this?¨ and if the answer is no, offending item is returned to the shelf.
Hola TB!
This is of course a favorite topic. Here's one post of mine about What Not to Wear to a Milonga:
http://tangocherie.blogspot.com/2007/03/
no-te-lo-pongas-or-what-not-to-wear-to.html
Love your blog, BTW!
Let me know when you are in Buenos Aires!
Un abrazo tanguero!
Oh yeah, yeah... absolutely!!! My dear friend Ms. DF and I usually joke around about the fact that pretty much all our shopping now has the very important restriction that it mus be "Tang Compatible". My Tango Closet is growing, indeed...
:)
(That is, without counting my XX CIF's...hehehe)
XX pairs of Comme Il Fauts! Wow, that is like a dream come true...
I have to take a poll, do all of you only wear black? Do you wear pants? Fishnets?
I'm so curious to learn what is in your tango closets.
hi tangobaby,
this post made me laugh because it's so true! i used to separate my closet into casual/dressy. now i have started reorganizing it tango/non-tango. and ofcourse, my shoe closet is undergoing a similar overhaul as well, hehe.
i wear a lot of black, because it's easy, and inconspicuous. good dancing would shine, and bad mistakes won't be as noticeable...
lately, in this summer heat, i've been wearing splashes of pink or lime, or lemon-yellow. my dress is still primarily black, but i put a pale yellow necklace with a dark blue top, or thin pink strappy cami with dark brown pants... or a lime-green belt with a black dress. actually, the bright colors at the "makeup forever" counter inspired me. :)
absolutely love your writing -- more, more please!
It is so very true!!! I now hem my pants for tango! Which means that they are not only hemmed for stilettos, but hemmed to look good while leaning forward with the weight of my body on the balls of my feet.... what can I say?? I can;t help myself! And now I am making clothes exclusively for dancing.... Soon, I won't have any "normal" clothes.... I even dance in my PJs in the kitchen with Sorin! ;-)
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