You will also find people of any age at contra dances, from 6 year old children to their 80 year old grandparents. Although 50 years ago, men wore coats and ties to contra dances, now blue jeans and tee shirts are often the standard. Some women may also wear the standard jeans and tee shirt, but many also have long skirts or dresses that they keep for dancing. The most important part of any dancer's attire is their shoes. For contra dancing, shoes must be clean , soft , and comfortable .
Most dancers bring special shoes that they only wear in the dance halls.
In this way, sand and grit is not tracked into the dance halls, where it can quickly damage the wood floors. Shoes should also be soft, again to protect the wood floor. Finally, no one can dance if their feet hurt, so comfortable shoes are a must. Some dances require that all dancers wear clean soft soled shoes. In most case, you need not bring anything.