I totally disagree with your comments regarding heel height. Ballroom dancing in heels is a totally difference feel and experience to dancing in heels if you were socialising or clubbing. There it is just a matter of whether your shoes are comfortable and whether you can balance on them well enough to dance. With Ballroom dancing it is totally different. The shoes form part of your foot, an extension of your legs, ankles and feet. Great pressure is placed through the foot to the floor, any movement and balance comes from here. I can wear 4" heels when I go out, but would not dream of trying to Ballroom dance in them, it would be impossible for one thing and I would not be able to use my feet at all.

I wasn't talking about the 'dance around your handbag' types. I was talking about 'plus size' semi pro's, or advanced amateurs. There are plenty of them, just go to YouTube and you will see numerous 'advanced amateurs' or a few semi pros who are quite large, dance many genres, including ballroom and latin, and wear heels.

There is a whole movement of plus sized dancers, who don't do comedy dancing, but tour small venues.

ETA: my whole point was about the theme in this thread regarding 'big girls can't dance in heels'. I was pointing out they can and do, to quite a high level. Alison herself might have problems, but that is probably due to poor muscle tone more than weight per se. Other 'big girls' do dance in heels and have the muscle tone and fitness levels to enable them to do so.

I do know what you mean, I am a dancer myself so I like to think I can speak from my vast experience. I don't doubt that experienced dancers, large or small, can dance properly in heels. You mention semi pro's and advanced amateurs (whatever they are)...these are experienced dancers that can keep their weight and balance in the right place and on the right part of their foot.They use their feet in the correct way. My point is, that inexperienced dancers, large and small, will not able to use and articulate their feet in the correct way.

Let's not. Alison is a beautiful woman and a great dancer, end of. No woman is more or less "real" or "female" than another.

I'm thin as a rail with pretty much no bust or hips to speak of and I dance in 2inc heels. I'll build up to higher ones but yeah... it's not just larger ladies that have trouble with heels.

I'd say they dressed a whole range of shapes and sizes badly last night and that Alison did better than some. I do agree about the lack of support for her bust - I don't know if there is a dance reason for that, just wondering, because it seems such a bad decision that there must be a reason for it? But otherwise I'd much rather have Alison's dress than Caroline's or Ola's and I thought Jennifer's dance was really marred by her hair being distractingly odd every time she had the back of her head pointed at the camera (though she had a nice dress). The men were badly dressed too - I thought several of them particularly in the ballroom would have looked better in some sort of jacket to help them give the illusion of good posture.

I do hope they start designing some better dresses though, the ones Alison has had so far, have been dreadful.

I haven't really loved any of the dresses yet so far. I liked the skirt on Pixie's outfit yesterday but the top was weird...

I always feel that in any Ballroom dance, the male should wear tails. The men would have to wear a jacket made for Ballroom otherwise the bad posture, and lifted shoulder line would look even worse. They dress the ladies in a Ballroom dress so them men should wear proper attire.

Indeed, inexperienced dancers regardless of size might have issues in heels, and that's the point, it isn't always due to size, though it can be. But the theme of this thread was 'she's big, she can't do heels, like all big women'. Was adding my experience into the mix, and I work with many types of dancers of all shapes.

I would have thought that for her own day to day comfort/health/practicality Alison would have her own specialist corsetry/undergarments specially made to measure/fit.

Leaving the costume department to then fit a dress/costume over the top of her specialist underwear...not having to construct something from skin to surface both made to measure & suitably re-enforced every week just for her.

If anyone's getting short shrift on costume so far it's Caroline...just seems to get thrown into a leotard with a bit of trim or a few bits of fabric sewn to it.

Very well said, that "real woman" rubbish annoys the hell out of me.

My apologies, I didn't mean to offend, but clearly I did.

I merely meant - and realise I should have said as much - that these big dance dress establishments are more used to dressing really slim girls, and are less used to fitting bigger ladies. When a larger lady I know, who is a very good senior ballroom dancer (fairly high up in the ratings), went to one of these establishments in London to have a ballroom dress made, she was turned down. They said they couldn't help her - which is how she became my customer!

That's shocking Kaycee, isn't it, but that's true, I've heard of this before.

I have to agree with kaycee. I've bought practice clothes from some well known dance dress suppliers and I have had to buy a size XL. I am a size 12 normally although sometimes have a problem with certain makes of clothes as I am slightly larger across the bust,

There is one very well known supplier who has nothing in my size. I also know an average size lady who was turned away from a supplier when looking for a comp dress.

This seems to be a British thing. American suppliers seem to do a full range of sizes.

As you probably know, the dance world is very "size-ist" if thats the right word. Within ear shot of one well known Latin coach, when talking to his female student, who was no more than a size 10, told her to loose weight " you fat ***". He was not joking.Not typical of coaches of course, just mentioned it to make a point.

Re Real Women... All women are real women with curves, just because those curves maybe slightly larger, out of proportion or simply in the wrong place does not make them any less real womanly- imo!

Ha! He'd really have to be an exceptionally good coach in my view for someone put up with that !

I must be the only one who actually had no problem with Alisons bust last night!.... I though it looked like a lovely mumsy bust that you could snuggle into!...... and I say this as a completely heterosexual woman......... I thought it looked fine!, but I must say I am one of those people who can't stand the whole structured rigid bra's that some big busted women wear!.... I think they look horrible!......

I do agree about the mens' wear last night though!.... when Mark Wright came on the first thing I thought of was Blimey!, he's just in a casual jumper and jeans!..... I thought he looked terrible!.. then as more of the celeb men came on, I saw most of them were in similar attire!,,, what's that all about?... as someone else said, 'The women are all dressed up in ballroom wear. so the men should be dressed equally as well'..................

I thought the same; he looked dreadful.

I've no objections to ballroom boys not wearing tail suits though. In major competitions "lounge" suits are quite acceptable - especially for early rounds of competitions, keeping the tails for the evening. I also like to seem them worn instead of tails by junior dancers.

But lounge suits for dancers are not the same as the lounge suits bought from high street shops, or even made at the tailors. They are specially designed so they do not rise up on the shoulders etc., actually can be quite uncomfortable - so I'm told.

As far as Strictly goes, my real total pet hate is when they dress a guy (celeb or pro) in tail suit, complete with cummerbund, and then team it with "normal" coloured shirt and tie - and TUCK THE TIE INTO THE CUMMERBUND! It looks ridiculous.

On the subject of Alisons shoes she was advised last week to wear a slightly higher heel and I noticed this weeks were pretty much the same height only clumpier. I presume therefor she has a reason for not going higher and I wonder if she would be better, more comfortable, in ballet flats. Even if it is just the height thing they would work.

THIS ^^^^
Its the guys trousers that are completely distracting IN A BAD WAY!!! They are either up their chuck their balls cradled in a pouch or the crotch starts mid thigh!! its bizarre, I recall Marks being the worse, very distracting, I fact his whole outfit was a mess, distracting from his performance IMO, simple dress trousers and a nice shirt would have sufficed.

WELL SAID ELLIE!!! That "real women" rubbish completely sets me off on one!! IMO it is offensive in the extreme and through my own (back in the day) experience, it worries me the damage impressionable women today can feel by such a hurtful comment.

I completely agree and also add trousers way to short, riding up to almost shin height. Does strictly have a new wardrobe department this year? All costumes seem cheap and tacky this season.

I haven't watched Alison on anything for a while (I never watch This Morning), so my question is, what does she usually wear?

If memory serves me right, Alison has always been a vibrant dresser (and it suits her), but I wonder if she has ever given so much regard to corsetry as some larger ladies do. I'm not saying that she likes to jiggle her ample curves without thought for structure, but she may be less concerned with it than some of the viewers are.

Saying that, I think she has looked good both weeks, but those shoes are letting her down...a lot!

But as to the SCD dressers and some of the other dancers.
Couldn't agree more about Mark's outfit - he looked awful!

Are you me?
I thought those same things last night. Alison should have gone and got herself some serious made to measure underpinnings before she started, so that the people who dress the dancers and pros had a base to work on. Proper corsetry takes time and skill, I know, so it might be too late now, especially as she will be losing weight hand over fist the longer she stays in.
And great good God Almighty, the dresser must have seriously taken against Caroline, based on the two frocks we've seen her in. Horrendous efforts.
Compare those two Caroline has worn to the two Sunetra's had. She's looked lovely both weeks in dresses that suited her figure.