As many of you know, my mom is the piano instructor at our school. She has so many students she had three recitals! I got to witness all of them, and I was thoroughly impressed with many of the students. However, I realized some students had major issues that needed addressed, so I will cover one issue at a time throughout my blog. This posting is all about concert attire.
DRESS TO IMPRESS
Whenever you are performing in front of anyone, with any type of concert, you should always "look the part." Treat every recital as if you're performing in the symphony. If you want people to take you seriously, then dress like it.
I was astounded when I saw a piano student come into their recital with basketball shorts and sneakers. If that was my student, I would ask them to go home and change before they're allowed on stage. I was shocked they would even consider dressing like that.
Recitals are typically very formal, and for my recitals, the guests are also required to show up in concert appropriate attire. An argument might be, "Well..this isn't the symphony, and besides, people at the symphony wear jeans anyways." THOSE PEOPLE ARE WRONG. They lack class and look completely inappropriate. And even though the recital isn't the symphony, the students worked hard and everyone should take it seriously...and therefore, dress like they do. Everything should always be done in the best way possible, starting with the outfits.
Boys: NO jeans. I don't care if it's blue jeans and a shirt and tie...stay away from them. Not any other color jeans, either. That might look nice if you're going on a date to dinner...but it's still not appropriate concert attire.
SHOES matter. I noticed at my mom's recital, a lot of the boys were fine until it got to their shoes. It's important to complete your outfit with nice loafers or any other types of dress shoes. Absolutely no sneakers. That ruins your entire outfit.
Some great examples of how boys should dress:
Girls: Fashion Face-off!
Girls: Don't dress too "sexy." This is not the time or place. Let's look at these two Professional performers, violinist Sarah Chang and pianist Yuja Wang:
I love Sarah Chang. Not only is she obviously extraordinarily talented (and that's an understatement...there are simply no words in the dictionary that do her justice, except maybe violinist prodigy!) She is a very classy lady but still has her own great sense of style and personality that makes her even more special and unique. Instead of the typical, all black, concert attire, she never fails to find a beautiful dress that is extremely flashy and sexy in it's own way, but still concert appropriate. She dresses fun, and certainly not "dorky," and still looks completely respectable. She's the perfect role model!
Vs.
Yuga Wang
I was shocked when I found these images of Yuga Wang. After this particular concert, all critics were talking about was her outfit, not her playing. It almost looks stripperish! Like she came right from her secret second job as a stripper to perform at the symphony and forgot to change in between...and now her secret is revealed. And she is considered a "Professional"!??!? Why on earth did her manager not stop her?? Or why didn't anyone stop her, for that matter!? What was she thinking??? Maybe she was trying to start a trend that clearly failed to launch.
A lot of times, it's a stereotype that musicians are a little on the dorky side. I hope after seeing these images you realize that's sooo not true. Plus, do I look like a dork!? (Don't answer that...)
But just keep in mind when you are picking out your outfit for ANY type of performance...time and place, time and place, time and place...
Now the above mentioned was for recitals. Girls, here are a couple more examples of recital attire that I think are great:
<--I love this group's choice of concert attire. They look very cute but still have their own fashion flare!! If you're performing in a group, even a duet, try to coordinate your outfits for a complete, clean look.
Above, I was specifically referring to formal recital attire. This doesn't necessarily always mean to dress in your finest evening gown. Look at this group:
They look adorable, and clearly they planned to coordinate their outfits. My guess is they were performing somewhere a little more low key, such as a festival or a park.
Another fashion tip: Try to coordinate your outfit with the piece you're playing. For example, if you're playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," how cute would it be to choose something in your closet that looks like this:
I GUARANTEE if you did that, everyone would remember you the following year!
I loved how one student at my mom's recital wore a hat and his outfit went so perfectly with the piece. I'll try to post a picture of him on here soon. Say you're playing a Frank Sinatra piece...wear something like this:
Always dress the part!
~Regina
DRESS TO IMPRESS
Whenever you are performing in front of anyone, with any type of concert, you should always "look the part." Treat every recital as if you're performing in the symphony. If you want people to take you seriously, then dress like it.
I was astounded when I saw a piano student come into their recital with basketball shorts and sneakers. If that was my student, I would ask them to go home and change before they're allowed on stage. I was shocked they would even consider dressing like that.
Recitals are typically very formal, and for my recitals, the guests are also required to show up in concert appropriate attire. An argument might be, "Well..this isn't the symphony, and besides, people at the symphony wear jeans anyways." THOSE PEOPLE ARE WRONG. They lack class and look completely inappropriate. And even though the recital isn't the symphony, the students worked hard and everyone should take it seriously...and therefore, dress like they do. Everything should always be done in the best way possible, starting with the outfits.
Boys: NO jeans. I don't care if it's blue jeans and a shirt and tie...stay away from them. Not any other color jeans, either. That might look nice if you're going on a date to dinner...but it's still not appropriate concert attire.
SHOES matter. I noticed at my mom's recital, a lot of the boys were fine until it got to their shoes. It's important to complete your outfit with nice loafers or any other types of dress shoes. Absolutely no sneakers. That ruins your entire outfit.
Some great examples of how boys should dress:
Girls: Fashion Face-off!
Girls: Don't dress too "sexy." This is not the time or place. Let's look at these two Professional performers, violinist Sarah Chang and pianist Yuja Wang:
I love Sarah Chang. Not only is she obviously extraordinarily talented (and that's an understatement...there are simply no words in the dictionary that do her justice, except maybe violinist prodigy!) She is a very classy lady but still has her own great sense of style and personality that makes her even more special and unique. Instead of the typical, all black, concert attire, she never fails to find a beautiful dress that is extremely flashy and sexy in it's own way, but still concert appropriate. She dresses fun, and certainly not "dorky," and still looks completely respectable. She's the perfect role model!
Vs.
Yuga Wang
I was shocked when I found these images of Yuga Wang. After this particular concert, all critics were talking about was her outfit, not her playing. It almost looks stripperish! Like she came right from her secret second job as a stripper to perform at the symphony and forgot to change in between...and now her secret is revealed. And she is considered a "Professional"!??!? Why on earth did her manager not stop her?? Or why didn't anyone stop her, for that matter!? What was she thinking??? Maybe she was trying to start a trend that clearly failed to launch.
A lot of times, it's a stereotype that musicians are a little on the dorky side. I hope after seeing these images you realize that's sooo not true. Plus, do I look like a dork!? (Don't answer that...)
But just keep in mind when you are picking out your outfit for ANY type of performance...time and place, time and place, time and place...
Now the above mentioned was for recitals. Girls, here are a couple more examples of recital attire that I think are great:
<--I love this group's choice of concert attire. They look very cute but still have their own fashion flare!! If you're performing in a group, even a duet, try to coordinate your outfits for a complete, clean look. Above, I was specifically referring to formal recital attire. This doesn't necessarily always mean to dress in your finest evening gown. Look at this group:
They look adorable, and clearly they planned to coordinate their outfits. My guess is they were performing somewhere a little more low key, such as a festival or a park.
Another fashion tip: Try to coordinate your outfit with the piece you're playing. For example, if you're playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," how cute would it be to choose something in your closet that looks like this:
I GUARANTEE if you did that, everyone would remember you the following year!
I loved how one student at my mom's recital wore a hat and his outfit went so perfectly with the piece. I'll try to post a picture of him on here soon. Say you're playing a Frank Sinatra piece...wear something like this:
Always dress the part!
~Regina
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