I think both men and women dress mainly to send messages to the people they benefit most from sending messages to, and in both cases that’s mainly, a lot of the time, the same sex more than the opposite sex. It’s not necessarily to ‘impress,’ though, as such.

When it comes to the cigarettes, you surely missed something. I very much appreciate the effects of the smoking ban in the milongas, but out with the bathwater went some parts of the tango culture, or maybe just culture. In a way it was a loss, but I am not one to shed tears over it. Watching these movements refined over a lifetime is like watching a dance performance in miniature.

I’d noticed the way that the suit clothes the body in flat planes. Suit trousers with sharp creases suggest flatness (which might even emphasise the roundness of the legs) but I’d never thought of this in time. Of course, the suit goes back to the beginnings of the modernist era, early 20th century Paris, the time of cubist modernism, as well as modernism in dance and music, and also the era of tango. & I’d also noticed that clothing has become rounder since the mid-20th century: jeans, originally the trousers of poor labourers in Europe and the US and now the leisure clothes of even the well-off, look slightly bizarre if ironed flat. & most modern fabrics don’t iron so easily, and tend to follow the roundness of the body. Gustavo is modern (in the ‘contemporary’ sense) in his choice of clothes, round and less formal.

We grew up in an informal era; tango grew up in an era when formality was expected at social events, which meant suits and ties, even before air conditioning. I’m not sure if watching tango danced in a jacket is very different from watching tango danced in a shirt, but a good jacket is definitely a great piece of clothing. I’m glad I’ve never seen ‘El Flaco’ Dany lighting a cigarette, but I was very impressed seeing him stand up and put on his jacket to dance. (I had it on video, but I cut it out when I uploaded the dance: I won’t be so careless again.) Way to go, and better any day than tunicas and baggy pants!

As Limerick’s quote shows, it is a lot more to us, at least. Makes me wonder. They say that women do not dress up to impress men, rather to impress other women. I have a growing suspicion it could be the same with men…

@Russell: Thanks for commenting! Not sure it is relevant, but Simba would never wear jeans. Period.

Nobody cares if you keep the jacket on while at your table, but you are supposed to wear it when dancing… Tough world, the world of the milongas… Some hard core dancers would say that if it gets too warm with the jacket on, you are waisting energy

Joking aside, I think you are right with your remark that what you wear (and how you feel about it) can affect the way you dance.

@Limerick: Brilliant, brilliant quote. A good suit can keep a man standing whatever condition he’s in, and this applies to late nights in the milongas as well.

Perhaps the best quote for describing what a suit does for a man comes from The Tailor of Panama:
“And I didn’t finish his suit, it would’ve given him back his dignity, he wouldn’t have shot himself in it. “

To milongas and balls I would normally wear a suit, although I’m afraid the jacket tends to be discarded fairly early on. Temperature has to be a factor in what you wear, as does the cut of the jacket if it is to hang properly and comfortably in the embrace. I do quite frequently wear a waistcoat without a jacket… acceptable compromise?

And without wishing to cause offence, I would comment that perspiration is not solely a male problem.