Are there any rules on the length of dresses in Ballroom for competition. I am referring specifically to the length of Alesha's dress for the Waltz which was nearly touching the floor. It made it very difficult to see her feet for most of that dance.

I believe all dresses for competition should end at the ankle.

there is NO rule in the BCBD rule book re length of Adult dresses

Thanks bendymixer. I find that strange.

well frankly there is only a certain lenght a dress can go before it gets in the way of dancing when making them I always measure to top of the shoe (just below ankle) though many dresses are being worn just below calf as well these days

I think the camerawork was more to blame for not seeing her feet last night than the dress. Len clearly was watching her feet without a problem given his comment!!

I should probably start another thread for this (but hardly think it's worth it) so will post my query here as it is slightly related:

Does anyone know whether there are rules regarding the colour of ladies shoes? It's just that I've noticed that they're usually gold or bronze even if those colours don't necessarily go with that of their dress. Is there a reason for this?

If anyone can respond to this it would be much appreciated.

I'd like to second this request - my mum has a bee in her bonnet about Kelly's shoes and how she seems to have more swanky ones than the standard gold colour everyone else has.

With the disclaimer that I am not an expert - I think I remember from sometime in series 3 it being said that gold were normal as they kind of blend in and less attention is drawn to footwork mistakes. So that's obviously a plus for inexperienced slebs!

But I may have remembered wrong I do remember Gloria Hunniford wearing black shoes and it really stuck out when things weren't spot on.

Maybe she buys her own......just a thought.

I don't know the rules but I think it has something to do with tan or gold shoes don't stand out as much if a mistake is made whereas if black shoes are worn all the time then people are instantly drawn to the feet (like Brendan's pink shoes for example).

I maybe wrong but that was my guess if it helps.

Thanks SF...makes sense.

I think I get particularly bothered when they wear dresses with silver and bling on them and then wear gold shoes with it when silver ones would look much better IMO. Don't know how much more visible that might make them but not too much I'd think!?

No idea, but I know what you mean. I think sometimes even just a sort of flesh tone like ballet shoes might go better with some of the frocks.

Oh well, they can't all have our sense of style, eh? LOL

Right years ago we used to dye the shoes to match the dresses in ballroom many still do and in latin black sliver or gold wwere worn

A world dance champion called Hazel Fletcher published an article about shoes and how some colours accentuate any foot errors and she tought flesh coloured shoes were best now almost all latin dancers wear flesh coloured shoes (what you think is gold is in fact flesh coloured) and nowadays many of the ballroom do to

I loved Brendan's pink shoes, I want them!

The tan/gold shoes also make the legs look longer, as they continue the line of the leg without an abrupt break.

yep elanor which is what Hazel was saying in her article I know people think the shoes look gold on TV but they are dark tan coloured

Haha! So do I, I'm gald I wasn't the only one thinking that

That's probably it, probably has them flown in direct from LA - like her cape with the Swarwhotsit crystals on it, sheesh. Very interesting to hear the thinking behind the flesh coloured shoes, especially where they're supposed to make legs look longer, tis a poor day when you don't learn something new.

Yes they do... finish the line off. Different coloured shoes often look like bits stuck on the end of the foot and block the line. It's the same in ballet... you wear pink shoes so that the foot extends out from the leg. Aesthetically more pleasing to the eye and gives the illusion that the leg is longer

... don't forget, with the shoe thing, you wouldn't want to be breaking in a new pair of shoes every week along with learning a new dance ... not surprised that the celebs stick with the shoes they know, even when they are a dodgy colour!

I wonder if Brendan got this weeks shoes especially made for him

I bought a pair of leopard print shoes from International over the weekend . . . they are stunning!

I definitely think flesh looks the smartest on the floor but think it's also nice to match the shoe colour with the costume sometimes as many ladies (and men) also do.