Show clothes(kle1986)

I have found your best bet is to develop a wardrobe of simple seperates that are really interchangable. I have a half dozen black slacks all with pockets.  All permenate press. Then a selection of white blouses.  they are all topped by blazers or vests , again with pockets. I have a blazer for each season and the vests to highlight my breed. Then I can dress them up and down with a few pieces of jewlery or good scarfs . Nothing that hands, jingles or swings into the dog's line of vision.  The shoes are by far the most important.  a couple of good pair of black no skid sole shoes. and one pair of really great boots that teams up with a couple of calf legnth skirts.  You can go  LL Bean , Old Navy or the Gap for a dressy but causal look that will accent the color of your dog while allowing you to look classically elegant. I have  deep red dogs, not quite Irish Setter red but I wear a lot of black to make sure they pop infront of my pant legs.  I wear jewel tones to accent, but am careful to never overwhelm the dog's coloring and size with bulky clothes or garish prints.

Best of Luck !!

Bonita of Bwana

 Thanks Bonita. I was hoping you would answer this!

not an issue I don't think in Setters...but bear in mind how your blouse and skirts look in ALL positions. Sitting ringside I can tell you I have seen more cleavage almost escape and butts almost exposed than I EVER care to! Consider if your shirt will need to be retucked whever you bend...that's annoying...if your skirt shifts, annoying...also don't forget to consider your shoes...important they be comfy...SUPER comfy...you will be on your feet so much. Think nurse shoes LMBO.

I just wore longer skirts, bait bag, and nice jacket or top personally. I have to bend....be on knees...with the hounds. Some old lady judges actually dislike women in pants...or sans nylons, anything not "old school" so beware of that.

You see every type of clothing at shows but the most popular seem to be suit-y type things where top and bottom match fabric and color with a nice shell or top under the jacket.

I am ridiculously uncomfortable in dressy clothes. I didn't used to be, but I've become this super casual person, LOL. I kind of forget about it, when I'm at a show, though. I do the one spin around, do I look stupid, then I go finish grooming my dog and go over to the ring, LOL.

What makes it more interesting is that I'm short. I have a toy dog. I have to either wear an above the knee skirt or pants, or an ankle length skirt. Calf length skirts distract from my dog's topline, badly, and flap in her face. I can't move in a long skirt, and they flap in her face, too. So... I'm stuck, on my knees, in a just above the knee skirt. 

Dressed practices help, LOL. I had to figure out how the heck I was supposed to move a dog in a skirt. Fortunately, I don't have to move fast.

jennie_c_d

Fortunately, I don't have to move fast.

I am reminded of my Akita friend who moved so fast her SLIP fell down mid gait and she just jumped over it and kept going LOL. The judge kindly held her dogs lead so she could go pick it up after the down n back HAHA!

 Ugh I hate skirts or dresses of any type. I was just hoping to go the pants and jacket route.

Dont worry Gina I will not be one of those ladies that show stuff. I want my stuff covered at all times!!! Right now I have to bend over Joker to get him stacked. Hopefully he'll hurry up and hit that growth spurt.

Jennie Im short too. I will not say how short but I can probably gaurantee shorter than you.

 LOL, Gina! I'm waiting for the inevitable wardrobe malfunction at a dog show... I haven't had anything happen, yet, but I've shown almost exclusively in rally, which means that I was wearing khakis, at best. Of course, I've gone in with a pawprint on me, but nobody cares in rally, LOL.

I'm doing a 4 day show, at the end of the month, and only Ena is being shown, only in conformation. Should be interesting enough.

rwbeagles

I am reminded of my Akita friend who moved so fast her SLIP fell down mid gait and she just jumped over it and kept going LOL. The judge kindly held her dogs lead so she could go pick it up after the down n back HAHA!

We had that happen with a top owner / breeder/ handler and she scooped it up like a trick pony rider , never breaking her stride, the beauty of it is it was caught on video for the club DVDs forever immortalized.... hee hee hee still makes me grin .

Your comment about shoes is critical, I will never forget an attractive new owner handler with a pom who wore mule heels with maribu feathers. She click clacked all around the ring ...the most annoying thing I have ever seen!! Soft soles, non skid nothing flashy to take away from the dog what is confusing about that??

Then the remark about old lady judges who have issues with wardrobe, chances are good if they are going to dock you consideration because you are well dressed in slacks then they are looking for faces etc not at the dog .   Of course any judge may  be put off by someone showing up in jeans and a t shirt but even then a really good judge looks at the dog. Helpers and owners have been pulled from ringside to show at the last minute for ages so not being dressed for the ring is not unknown, a polite apology and a good judge ignore you and watches the dogs.

Looking like a lady, with tasteful accessories and the intent to move gracefully to allow your dog to move is always the first thing any decent judge expects of a female handler.  I see more and more pro handlers dressing in slacks and pantsuits , especially at outside shows but at dressier evening shows too.   I think the trick is to work hardest at your skills and training you dog and then worry over your wardrobe   Bonita of Bwana 

The most popular women's shoe at dog shows is this. http://www.sasshoes.com/main/view_styles.php?catid=2&prodid=51

And for good reason. You will be showing sporting breeds. You are going to be flat out RUNNING in the ring. You will be showing outdoors on grass, indoors on dirt (fairgrounds) and also on concrete. The footing will not always be level. For me, if shoes don't lace up, they are going to come off my feet at some point. Many a woman has ruined her feet/knees/back by walking and standing for hours on the concrete at dog shows. These are wonderfully comfortable, and enough cushion without looking like horribly ugly nurses shoes or running shoes.

I have a pair in black, dark blue, and taupe. They are very well made and last a long time. And yes I do wear them with skirts.

As far as what to wear in the ring, go by what your competition is wearing. In some breeds and in some areas, people tend to dress up more. Almost every woman in my breed and area wears skirts. Peer pressure has worn me down! You want to look like a serious handler who is there to win.

If slacks are acceptable, you could get away with black slacks and all black Reeboks. They used to make a tennis shoe with a low profile look in all black.

 Thanks Samshine!! I actually have a shoe place 15 minutes away that carries though shoes.

kle1986

 I went and got a show outfit today. It's a jacket and dress pants. I was wondering thought will I have to dress "dressy" at every show? I am not a dress up type person but I will have to get over it since I am serious about showing. Just would be real nice if I dont have to be so dressed up at every single show I am in.

 

 You don't have to be super "dressy" but you should look professional. Taking note of what professional handlers are wearing is a good place to start. I tend to go with suits (usually pants but I have a few skirts for summer shows) because they are easy, neat, professional looking many have pockets and you can wear the same one multiple days and just change the shirt you wear under it. You can watch sales racks, check places like WalMart or Target and even second hand stores to find food prices. Choose colors which show off your dog - contrasting colors are ideal. For my black dogs, my favorite suit is white (and I am not someone who normally ever wears white LOL) because the dogs look awesome with it.

 After a weekend of gaiting my dog through the mud......

get some rain boots. Everybody that wore them looked happier than those of us leaving our decent shoes stuck in the ankle deep mud, trying to move our dogs. 

And maybe washable pants? Something NOT dry clean only, for weekends like this one.... Yeah, my lovely turqoise jacket has mud all over it, from carrying my poor, soaked dog, and so does my light gray suit. My shoes might be ruined. We'll see. I'm buying some dang rain boots, dang it! 

So, would it be really dorky to dress Christmas-y for a Dec. 12-13 show?  It's just a puppy NLC (non-licensed class) so it doesn't actually count but I want to treat it like the real deal and thought it would be fun to dress Christmas.  I was thinking of wearing my dressy pants (a darker khaki color but nice material), my "Christmas" sweater which is cashmere green stripes, and a thin red scarf.  I was told not to wear black and wear colors that bring out the colors in my dog's coat.  He is black and red so I figured the green and the red scarf would match his red coat.  The sweater looks like this but doesn't have the dark green along the neck or the bottom.

I told someone else on another post that I had THAT experience,  the rain was so  relentless it sucked my shoe off of my foot!!  Because it was a movement judge I just kept going , tossing my other shoe to a good friend when I got all the way around!!  The mud was beyond awful !! Handlers were carrying their uber fluffy BIG dogs over their shoulders to the ring !!Gads what a nightmare and an adventure that was!  It was at the Polo Gorunds in Sarasota, Florida OTTERS were scampering acrossed the road, they finally went out to buy bales of hay and straw to place down for us to "walk" on!!   The RVs stuck in the mud were insane .... it was such an adventure!! Instead of buying rain boots I invested in Duck Shoes... they are clumpy and frumpy and Perfect for inclement weather.  Sort of an Agatha Christie Garden shoe!!  I keep them in the RV for shows only...hey I am not going to be the only nerd walking around in them hee hee , but at at a show you will be pleased to find the Pros wearing the ugly things!!

And DRY CLEANING   Bahhahaahhawwwaaahhhaahaahahah !!!   IDONTHINKSO !!!! It is isn't permenate press and able to be washed at a Truck stop when you hit your first big circut like the Panhandle... thats like 12 shows in 14 days and 4 cities.... Yep Prada is a Thing of the past, it collects hair like you would not believe... let's think Target and Wal Mart, Outlet Malls and even Thrift stores in really Rich Neighborhoods!!  You have to rethink MANY things when you take one the Passion of the Fancy.....  Get creative you will have a blast!!

Bonita of Bwana