Old School Jazz Dance - Style and Clothing

Style and Clothing

Jazz Dancers became quite creative in their style of dress, almost uniform like in attention to detail. Depending on where one was in the country at the time, one would have seen most of the dancers adhere to the basics which included: -

• Shoes - Usually colourful patent leather (Blacks, reds, and blues were popular). They were usually styled low on the instep and worn with white sports socks to gain maximum contrast and therefore highlight the speed and intricacy of the footwork. Spats were also popular amongst the dancers but any shoe with a hard sole was accepted. Never training shoes.

• Jeans - Jazz Dance culture coincided with the popularity of stretch jeans and many dancers wore them. They wore them tight and they liked to unpick the seams either side of each leg at the bottom, rising up 3 or 4 inches to give the impression of a very petit 'flare'. This also highlighted the patent leather shoes and socks combination quite well. Another popular trend was to sew a pin stripe seam down the front and back of each of the jean's legs where the natural seam would be formed if ironed like trousers. Bleach splashing of denim jeans also became popular as well as coloured jeans - reds, whites, electric blues were all quite standard Jazz Dance attire.

• Upper Body - This was quite individual and ranged from a simple t-shirt sometimes with motif, to 'crew shirts' with printed insignia and personalised names and images. Some dancers opted for the short military jacket with epaulettes and decorative buttons and braiding. Sweatshirts with cut off sleeves and rough fraying, U.K. punk band t-shirts and even 'Batwing sleeves' were all seen on the dance floors of Britain in the Jazz Dance era.

• Hats - Most 'steppers' (an affectionate name used within the community to refer to a Jazz dancer) wore their hair cut very short and topped of their individual looks with a hat. Some wore Panama hats, Trilbys. Most opted for the French beret, often rolled up and pulled tight to the skull. Again the head gear was deliberately colourful to complete the dancers outfit.

• Hair - Around the time of Jazz Dancing greatest popularity, A television dance act called Hot Gossip (went on to be known as Ruby Flipper) had several black members who had died their close cropped hair bleach blonde. This style somehow filtered it's way in to the underground Jazz Dance scene and many dancers copied the look. This opened the door to other experimental colour treatments for hair with 'Zebra' print and 'Leopard' print treatments becoming popular and a general 'punk rock' style was seen around many northern venues. Other memorable traits included 'Tramlines' - where lines were cut into the close cropped hair to give the appearance of a parting. Sometimes the parting went all the way around the head quite similar to the lines on a standard green tennis ball. Another style that was popular was using the hair clippers to create a sharp pointed 'receding hairline' either side of the head.

• Accessories - Dancers were known to carry a 'Beer Towel' (often found on bars in pubs, supplied by Breweries to mop up spillage) with them, sometimes hanging out of one of their back pockets. The main purpose of this was to use to wipe away sweat after an energetic dance session but was acceptable to carry one on any occasion. Cravats and ornate walking sticks were also popular as well as a small bandana (about half the size of a normal bandana and made from a lighter material) twisted around and tied loosely around the neck. This also was a good way to control the running perspiration after dancing. Towels draped around the neck were also commonplace.