The Great Dress Debate

There’s been a LOT of discussion lately about dresses.

Two words have been tossed around way more than they should.

“Traditional” and “Modern.”

Team Traditional seems to believe that sparkly dresses, huge wigs, and fake tans are of the devil. Team Modern thinks that Team Traditional should move on and get a life… and a newer dress!

I think the main issue lies here: most of TT thinks that all of the bling somehow takes the focus off of the dancing. They argue, “What should come first: fashion, or talent, hard work, and determination?”

Obviously, dancing should come first. But what's wrong with looking your best? I'm sorry, but I just really hate older, more traditional dresses--and I actually like getting all made up and putting on a fancy, sparkly dress. And think about this: back when the dresses that TT thinks are traditional first came into style, I'm sure there were people who didn't like them because they thought they WEREN'T traditional. (Hehe, does that make sense? ;) Everything changes and evolves with time, ESPECIALLY fashion. My advice is to just accept it. Everyone has different tastes, and if you don't like newer, more "blingy" dresses, that's fine. No one is forcing you to wear one. And anyway... they're just dresses! I agree with TT, the focus should be on the dancing! But if a girl wants to get all made up and put on a huge wig and 1000$ dress, I say let her! I for one feel (and this may sound a little superficial) way more confident now that I have a nice, modern solo dress than I did when I had to wear an old, high-waisted, school dress that made me feel like I was wearing a tent for a skirt.

Just my thoughts :)

JUST TO CLARIFY.... when I mean modern, I mean dresses like these:
(The middle one is one of the VERY FEW exceptions to my anti-neon rule.)

.... NOT like this!:

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Aisling on January 5, 2012 at 9:31pm

i don't think it will ever go all the way back to the totally "traditional' style at this point, but the bling could be toned down a wee bit ;)

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Permalink Reply by Emily Wilkerson on January 7, 2012 at 3:30am

Haha I'm not so much against the bling as neon colors.... I mean, obviously, I like more modern dresses, but (and no offense to people with bright dresses!) they totally hurt my eyes. :/ In my opinion neons are more distracting and less pretty than lots of sparkles.

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Permalink Reply by Stacey Jayne on January 9, 2012 at 7:54pm

I have no problem with the "Modern dresses" themselves, it's some of the designs/colour combinations.

I quite like these dresses

it's just the ones like these I can't stand...

I think you catch my drift???
So I guess it's not the modern styles I don't like, it's the designs on them!!!

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Permalink Reply by Emily Wilkerson on January 10, 2012 at 3:50am

Exatcly!! Is the pink and white one from Miss Brown's Fancy? She's BY FAR my favorite dressmaker because almost all of her dresses have good colors, low waists, and ruffles--I LOVE ruffles--AND they're modern without being tacky.

The other ones, to me, shouldn't even count as modern. The color combos, designs, and the fact that they are all WAY too high waisted make them so ugly and out of date that while you can't call them traditional in the least, they would be shunned by any person interested in today's fashion. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't think that when I say modern, blingy dresses that I mean THESE nightmares! ;) (Did you by chance get the last three from the Ugly Solos blog??)

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Permalink Reply by Stacey Jayne on January 10, 2012 at 2:38pm

Haha I did get them from the Ugly Solos blog :)

And yes I know those aren't "Modern"(in the sense we are talking about) but they are what I think about when I see photos of someone wearing an over the top dress. Simple is nicer!

I do think that wigs and dresses are too much, but more so for young/new dancers. I have no problem with Champion dancers wearing them, I really think that only Champions should be allowed to wear solos as a reward for all their hard work!

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Permalink Reply by Aisling on January 10, 2012 at 4:09pm

there is an ugly solos blog? omg hahahahaha where?

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Permalink Reply by Stacey Jayne on January 10, 2012 at 4:14pm

http://uglysolos.blogspot.com/

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Permalink Reply by Aisling on January 10, 2012 at 4:16pm

wow. just... wow. the ice skater dress scares me! hahahaha

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Permalink Reply by Emily Wilkerson on January 10, 2012 at 9:12pm

Haha agreed!
I don't think that kids under 8 or 9 should have to wear wigs unless they want to.
See, I don't know about that... some schools have absolutely horrible dresses and I think that girls who only got to Novice or Prizewinner have earned something other than a school dress! My school's dress certainly isn't the worst, but if I had to wear it for another couple of years I would be way bummed. :(

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Permalink Reply by Haley Holmquist on March 24, 2012 at 3:37pm

I think the right combination is key. For a while, solo dresses lost the beautiful knot work, but it is now making a comeback. Hopeully the bling can be turned down a notch! I love all of the different dresses, it makes it interesting to watch. Also, solo dresses are a reward as you advance, especially once you make open. I think that a dance needs to evolve, and with that the costumes. Otherwise it remains static and uninteresting.