What clothes should I wear when I dance?

I struggled with these questions for a long time. When I started this blog, I knew I had to post about this subject because this topic was extremely difficult for me to find information online and I spent a lot of time praying and seeking answers. This is a personal subject for me because my religious beliefs greatly influence the way I dress, and I know that it can be a controversial subject.

I figured I would write about this in a Q&A format. I hope I explained everything clearly.

What do you usually wear when you go dancing?

My go to outfit is black pants and a short sleeve top. 

Why is clothing such a difficult topic?

I have a few reasons (shyness, weight, etc), but for the purpose of this post I’ll focus on the religious reasons. Many religions have their idea of modesty. For instance, some Muslim women wear a hijab because of the Muslim view of modesty. Mormons have their own version of modesty: skirts and shorts can’t be too short, neck lines shouldn’t be too low, and you shouldn’t wear sleeveless tops/dresses. I want to be a good Mormon and don’t want to dress in a way that other church members would find “scandalous.” (Yes, I’m aware that sounds silly.) 

Some Mormons choose to wear a religious garment under their clothing and if you follow the guidelines for “Mormon modesty,” those garments will be covered by your clothing and keep the religious garment private. I happen to like sleeves and pants anyway because I like to cover up my chunkier parts. But I can imagine that it’s harder for women who want to show off their bodies. However, even when covered up, I see some women at church showing off their curves just fine and don’t even need to show skin to look sexy.

Why such strict rules for clothing?

If someone who is not Mormon, our “rules” may seem pretty strict. Whether or not someone follows the guidelines for clothing is up to the individual. Here is some info from the church about modesty: “Our clothing expresses who we are. It sends messages about us, and it influences the way we and others act. When we are well groomed and modestly dressed, we can invite the companionship of the Spirit and exercise a good influence on those around us.” (LDS.org)

Religious garments sound really weird.

I completely understand that people think religious garments are weird. I grew up in a Mormon household, so this was normal for me. But if this is the first thing you learn about Mormons, I don’t blame you for thinking we’re strange. The religious garments have symbolic meaning that is very special to Mormons and because they are easily made fun of, we tend to not talk about them often. And like I said before, Mormons wear clothing that covers up the garments, so you wouldn’t even notice it.

The church recently posted this video that gives a pretty good explanation of our religious clothing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkTz_NQqKA8

Do you wear religious clothing when you dance?

Some “rules” at church are very black and white, but this falls into a gray area. If you wear religious garments under your clothes, you should wear them all the time with the exception of activities like swimming, bathing, sex, and exercise. Some people might consider dancing a form of exercise, so it’s debatable that it’s ok to not wear the garments for dancing.

I have asked my Bishop (local church leader) and my friends about this and they all say the same thing: “it’s up to you.” I spent a lot of time praying about it to see what would be right for me. I decided that I could take off my garments for dancing if I want, but whenever I could, I would still dress modestly. Now, that’s the answer I came up with for myself. You could ask another Mormon the same thing and hear a different answer. But for me, it feels right.

What about performance clothes?

I thought about this for a long time before coming up with an answer for this. Even though BYU (a Mormon college) has a ballroom dancing team, it was surprisingly hard to find information about this online. In the end, I decided that I would be comfortable wearing costumes that showed a little more skin (after all, I’d be showing a lot more in a bathing suit, and I wear those in public).

I hope that helps. Happy dancing!

The Mormon Salsera