Choir uniform suggestions, from the wise S&B MNers, please!

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

I'm in a small chamber choir (roughly 22 members, 6 men, 16 women). Our current uniform is black, open necked shirt and trousers for the men, and black trousers with black top (long or three-quarter length sleeves) for the women.

We recently did a consultation exercise and one of the issues that came up was the choir's uniform - some of the women feel that it is too dull and drab, and would like some sort of change - sadly none of them have given us any actual suggestions.

We are going to discuss this at the upcoming AGM, and I was wondering if any of you had any inspiration you could share with me. We have thought of keeping the uniform but adding an accessory - a scarf or corsage etc - but that gets pooh-poohed by some of the committee, and there are concerns about choosing a different colour top (what if we all have slightly different shades - shock horror) - and I have no decent ideas at all.

Heeeellllllp!!!

[HerestoyouMrsRobinson]

My violin group wear any combination of purple/royal blue/black and that looks nice. Some wear all black of course but the overall effect is good!

[justilou]

Btw - great way to order scarves en-masse is via Ali Baba or wish.com
They're very cheap - if you can agree on the scarves it's a great way to get them in bulk. (But don't necessarily believe them when they advertise things as being silk or wool, they're usually man-made fibres)

[justilou]

Totally agree about singing wait-staff in white shirts. Things we have found that worked for us were -
Men - plain coloured tie and/or cummerbund to tone in with
Women - silky, flowy scarf (patterned worked better than plain) can be worn as a sash across the body or draped over one shoulder, knotted loosely around shoulders pashmina-style, tied around waist, etc... We found that depending on the performance we could wear it in a uniform manner or break it up by having everyone choose how they wore it. (Also far, far cheaper than doing a whole new uniform and easier to update if necessary)

[RaisingSteam]

Our local choir wears a sort of sparkly/beaded turquoise scarf/shrug for the women and a toning bow tie for men. I don't know if they have a supply of them for new members. The shrug is nice as it covers the shoulders (over a black outfit of choice) looks a bit bit special but isn't size specific.

Not unlike this

[Trumpton]

The choir my DH sings in just specifies sea colours . It works for them as they are quite informal. If you want to see lots of choirs have a look at Llangollen international music eisteddfod . They have a dress code and it's amazing how different the choirs look.

[flowery]

"flowery Sorry, I've just realised it might have sounded like I was being a bit dismissive of Rock Choir, which was not the intention. (Just prefer a more varied repertoire. ) I was just trying to list as many options as quickly as possible."

No, no, not at all! It's not everyone's cup of tea by any means, and I didn't take that as dismissive. I just didn't want anyone whose cup of tea it might otherwise be to be put off by the t shirt!

[PitchFork]

at uni our choir had blue as colour.
blue has the advantage that different shades don't clash.

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

At university it was always "black - more fabric than flesh"

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Nope - me neither! Sometimes I have to bite my tongue an awful lot, in order not to blurt out what I am really thinking!

[MardyBra]

flowery Sorry, I've just realised it might have sounded like I was being a bit dismissive of Rock Choir, which was not the intention. (Just prefer a more varied repertoire. ) I was just trying to list as many options as quickly as possible.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Thank you Mardy - that's really helpful of you.

[MardyBra]

SDTG have PM'd you a couple of links. A local choir to me does the black thing, with lots of them wearing LBDs, and a bit of bling. They look good.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

I'm with you, Chipmunk - I hate wearing trousers - I look dreadful in them and would far rather wear a long black skirt - but on this, the choir is adamant.

I think we will have a brief discussion at the AGM - and I suspect we will end up keeping our current uniform - and certain members will carry on whingeing about it.

[flowery]

"I wouldn't join Rock Choir anyway, but would be put off by their T shirts which would do nothing for my fat belly apple shape"

Not for your benefit as you wouldn't join anyway, but for the benefit of anyone who is considering it, RC uniform is either RC t shirt or own choice of plain black top.

[MardyBra]

Choir dress codes I've come across:

All black - don't mind.

Black with a coloured corsage - quite like this

Black skirt with white top. I hate this. White really drains me.

Black skirt with a plain coloured top. OK, but ultimately there were lots of different styles of top, so it could look a bit messy.

Black and white. Works quite well, but need to make sure that only big block colours are worn. Black and white small prints don't really work.

Floor length evening wear in plain colour, My favourite, but only works for certain types of concert.

Black evening wear. for a requiem.

I've never been asked to wear a scarf, but have seen several choirs with them, and think they look a bit frumpy.
I wouldn't join Rock Choir anyway, but would be put off by their T shirts which would do nothing for my fat belly apple shape.

Gents tend to be plain trousers with white shirt, coloured shirt, DJ if we're doing evening wear.

[FauxFox]

What about kimono type jackets for the ladies and co-ord ties for the chaps? More than a scarf, fits/suits anyone, can be worn over existing uniform...
red kimono
floral kimono
khaki
paisley mono
sequin
biba fringed

[AnyTheWiser]

It's a minefield, isn't it?
When everyone has different colourings, and everyone is a different shape and size... you can see why so many stick to black! Plus you don't tend to get the issues of different shades then, either.

Jewel colours look nice, even on pale people, if there's a choice over the colours- say deep red, deep purple, teal?
The problem is that a choir is an ensemble, and you're looking for harmony together, not multiple clashing styles and colours. Perhaps deep blue?

Or choose something that suits no-one, such as maroon or brown and primrose yellow?

Men can have a tie in whichever colour is chosen.

[SpuriouserAndSpuriouser]

Oh god OP, I am on the board of my choir and this comes up at even general members meeting and causes so many arguments.

Our uniform is similar to yours, all black. We had an "accessory of choice" in red, but people got annoyed and wanted matching accessories. Then there were arguments about what kind of accessory, and what colour. Power points were made, votes were collected. Then the head of the "fashion committee" (NB she invented this title and gave it to herself) disagreed with the results of the vote and took it upon herself to bulk order these weird frilly neck ties for the women and bow ties for the men. Then she asked the choir to refund the cost, because it was a choir expense.

Anyway no one liked them and we wore them for one concert and then they got put in a cardboard box in someone's loft and there they lie to this day. And still the argument rumbles on at every members meeting. So basically, in conclusion, I have no idea what a nice uniform entails but I wish you luck and

[IrenetheQuaint]

Absolutely not white shirts, we had them once in a choir I sang in and we all looked like waitresses, it was grim. We finally rebelled and went all black - much better.

I'd definitely allow a dress/skirt option (also in black). And maybe allow carefully selected colours for more informal concerts?

[Katisha]

Trouble with identical dresses/tops is that it really shows up how they suit certain members of the choir and not others. Even Vivienne Westwood's jackets for the Monteverdi Choir do this.
I'd go with black and white.

[CrotchetQuaverMinim]

Black all the way.

Coloured scarves and corsages etc just end up looking really amateurish and try-hard, too me. Either standard tops/dresses that are provided, if you really want a uniform, or all black. Or at a real push, something like different bright coloured versions of the same top - need to have some consistency. And even then you have to make sure that the colours are evenly represented - I was once in a choir that said bright coloured tops, and everyone happened to choose red/pink/orange shades for one concert, except one person in bright blue.

[OlennasWimple]

I guess sparkly jewelery would have a similar effect - can be large diamonds or Claire's imitation. Men can have cufflinks or tie clips if they want