First off, give boots the boot! Dance shoes or indoor sneakers that let you pivot and slide easily are preferred. If you don’t have tango shoes (yet), any comfortable shoes with leather soles will do!
Of course, once you catch the tango bug, you’ll want some real tango shoes, and we can’t blame you. They are stunning, they’ll never nag you and will definitely improve your posture and style. To check out what to buy, have a look at our section on men shoes and ladies shoes.
As for clothes, anything that lets you move comfortably and that is not too baggy will do: if what you wear is too baggy, it will be difficult to check and correct your posture.
My first Argentine tango teacher looked at me in the eyes after my first class and said: “I need to be able to see your knees”, which immediately and cynically made me think: “You must be joking. What a nice job you’ve landed yourself!”. He didn’t have a knee fetish, in the end, he just needed to check I wasn’t bending my knees at the wrong time. And now, quite a few years down the line, I would give the same advice. Wear something comfy though, Tight clothes and shoes don’t make for happy shiny people.
