In the summer time when the weather is high … (Jerry Mungo 1970)
What (not) to wear when dancing.

Helmut Reitz, Lake City Dancers Haltern am See

And here it is again, the beautiful summer time, and with it the age-old question of what to wear but also of what better not to wear.

I am thinking about the possibilities the dress code allows for 'proper' and 'casual' square dance attire (cf. Bulletin August 2006 and its reprint Dec. 2010).

Summary: short sleeved shirts or Poloshirts for men. The dress suggestions for the ladies remain rather vague. But there is a clear indication: "Regardless of the code, … the attire should always be in good taste."

I would like to add to this demand: When choosing the outfit it ought to be considered that you get very close to the other dancers.

Therefore, boys (and girls?): If you know that your forearms will become wet very fast when dancing, then it is self-evident that short-sleeved shirts (blouses) are not an option, are they?

The same applies to hairy arms, boys. But if you are sure that your forearms will remain dry – green light for Poloshirts (blouses) and the like. And: An additional shirt (blouse) for changing purposes is not a bad idea …

And now to you, ladies: "the attire should always be in good taste." Without moralizing: To my mind, spaghetti strap tops or plunging necklines should not be found on the square dance dance floor. And if you know that actually you should urgently lose weight: There are enough possibilities to conceal it – a T-shirt is certainly not among them.

Last but not least: It should be a matter of course that careful personal hygiene is a top priority in summer. As already mentioned: You get truly close to each other.

If you should have considered all this selfevident while reading – the better. Unfortunately do have my own experiences. Apart from that: Let us enjoy dancing in mutual respect.

"In the summer time … you can touch the sky." (Jerry Mungo) – also when dancing.

This article originally was scheduled for the August Bulletin, but had to be postponed because of shortage of space. So when it is now printed in September I hope this is a good omen for nice weather (in Germany - and no more rain) at least in September 2011. The Editor