definitely wear heels, i don't really find lower heels any more comfortable than higher ones. heels are heels to me, but try to wear some that are on the comfier side. also, make sure you can at least walk in them & definitely dance in them! and "pumps" or whatever the kind are that have backs & hold your foot in place are the best, like Lisa referred to.
as for clothes, depends on the venue, but i would say avoid jeans. you might see the "pros" wearing really great dresses, the full kind that fly up when you spin. but those are not required, you can wear pretty much anything you are comfortable in. make sure if you wear pants they are not too tight cuz you will need your legs & hips to move a lot.
oh & have fun!! i love salsa, i miss it since i've been sick, but i plan on going back ASAP!!
I don't know if you like gaucho pants, but I can't get the idea of a gaucho pant-outfit out of my head. Swishy like a full dress, or skirt, but not so formal that you would feel uncomfortable.
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"...If I know my supermodels (and according to the half-dozen or so draped across my bed in a jenga of crack-glazed longing, I certainly do)"
I am an avid salsa dancer, and here are my favorite things to wear, and my recs for shoes:
gaucho pants. These things are awesome. I don't have to worry about a skirt flying up and showing my butt, but I still get the swish feeling.
jeans. A lot of people in the scene wear tight jeans, with a sexy shirt, and maybe something around the waist for a little swish. Last night I wore jeans with a black tank top, and a little crop top that has full, flowy sleeves.
a short skirt that doesn't fly up. Not sure how to describe it, but it shouldn't be flowy.
SHOES!! Very important. They should be very secure to your feet. If they move around on your feet I guarantee you will have blisters. And this goes for the bottom of the feet too. I cannot stress enough how important it is that they be tight to your feet.
Heels should be no higher than 3". If you're a beginner, I'd say go lower. Not flat, because you don't move right when you wear flats, but stay below 3".
No pointy toed shoes! I can't tell you how hard I laugh when I see girls try to dance in those and trip all over them.
Bring band-aids.
I hope that all this helps! Have sooooooooo much fun salsa dancing. I love it. I'm so addicted. I go at least 2 times a week, and I have a dance partner that I practice with at least once a week.
These are probably the ideal shoes for salsa dancing:
They are dancing shoes.
I agree about gauchos. If you wear a fuller skirt, I would wear some kind of boyshort underneath in case it flies up. But for me, part of the fun of dancing is having a skirt swish around me.