What to Wear: Covering the Necessities

This is an interesting topic, especially for those of us who are a tad modest. If you are the least bit familiar with pole, and you’ve seen the videos, you know what we wear. The women in a bra and panty type situation, or the men in nothing but a pair of skivvies, This may seem a bit off-putting. I can honestly say, even I was a skeptic about the validity of skin exposure. That’s where most of  the “stripper” stigma comes from I would assume. It wasn’t until I actually took a few classes that I realized it’s pretty much essential to bare some skin. Pole can definitely be a “less is more” situation.

            I remember my first class; I wore some knee length gym shorts and a t-shirt. I survived just fine for the first few classes in that attire. I started  over a year and a  half ago, so my memory is fuzzy, but I recall the first few lessons being all about spins. I would, however, recommend that if you do choose to go that route you at least wear shorts that you can roll up a bit, because you will, at the very least, need the back/side of your knee skin. Eventually, I realized that I was getting nowhere in average gym shorts, so I had to reconsider what I wore.

When I first started pole I was very much a Modest Marty. The idea of exposing thigh was traumatic for me, so I continued using gym shorts, rolling them up higher and higher as the moves called for more and more skin contact. If you do this you will see that heavily rolled-up shorts will do nothing for you but make you look silly. 

 Looking back from my experiences, I want to leave some advice, by providing better alternatives:

1.     Running shorts – A very good option for the modest. They provide decent leg exposure, provide enough loose fabric, and come with a snazzy lining to hold all your naughty bits in one place. Where these shorts could be a potential problem is during advanced moves where the loose fabric could possibly get in the way with hand placement. Even with running shorts, there is a possibility of having to roll up the legs a few times, but totally manageable.

2.     Women’s Gym Shorts – Yes, sir, I said it, “women’s gym shorts.” This is what I usually wear to pole classes, when I’m not poling at home. Most women’s workout wear tend to focus on more form-fitting clothing, and usually shorter leg lengths. You can usually find women’s gym shorts for cheaper than men’s clothing, which is even better. If you are at all feeling insecure about rolling up at the lady’s department of a sporting goods store, just hold up a piece of paper and pretend like you’re shopping for a lady friend. Or, if you actually have a lady friend to go with you, they could definitely provide a decoy for your shopping needs. That’s what I did; I had my friend Michael (girl) come with me. She stood by me while I looked for what I could handle. Ha, ha!

3.     Compression Shorts/Dance Shorts – Things like UnderArmor fall under this category. As you can imagine, compression shorts are tightly fitted around your body, but offer some decent leg coverage. These are pretty good because there isn’t any loose fabric getting in the way at all and you can pretty much guarantee that everything, and I mean everything, stays in place.

4.     Undies! – Yes, dancing in your underwear is 100% acceptable when it comes to pole. Just so we are clear, I’m not referring to boxers, those won’t work. I’m talking about some form fitting boxer-briefs or briefs. Now this may scare you, but when you get to the point of advanced moves, you will be thankful for the minimal coverage and more bare skin. I usually tend to wear this at home. Just as a side note: if you choose underwear, please make sure they are clean and not ratty looking. That’s just not right if you come rolling up to class in busted underwear.

5.  Leather pants - I can't vouch for this, but I do believe you can sport some leather pants that offer a decent grip compared to your legs. Just keep in mind, you're going to be do a lot of physical activity, so it may be too hot. Personally, I think they are too expensive, too hot, and not any less embarrassing than our other options.

Some key points to think about when looking for pole clothing:

·      The more skin exposed, the better; you’ll need the thigh skin

·      Whatever you choose, make sure you have good “twig-n-berries” coverage

·      You aren’t the only one who may feel vulnerable, most others will be exposing skin too

·      You are there to learn, just like the rest of the class, and it’s highly unlikely people are staring at “you”

·      You will quickly learn that you will get warm, fast, as it’s a legitimate workout

·      Try whatever works for you. If you don’t like it, then switch to something else!

You have to keep in mind that you are there in class with others who want to be in class. It may feel like people are looking at your body in an explicit way, but it’s really not the case. Students tend to be just as exposed and focused, so they have their own crap to deal with. The studio owners should’ve already weeded out any perverts who are there to stare at bodies. From my experiences, most studios clearly state policies that prevent such occurrences from happening.

Relax, you’re going to be doing so much fun stuff that you aren’t even going to care what your attire is.