No. But I have worn chaps and hotpants.

Oh, you know you loved it.

I think guys take the most heat because of the size/height differential-- follows tend to find our faces in large manchest/underarm territory a lot more. For example, a follow can regularly end up with a cheek or nose pressed tight against her partners chest. I don't think it's as common the other way round.

:D I "glow" too much to complain, myself, but I do love a lead in a nice fresh t-shirt. It's like a present.

Why doesn't anyone make a skin tight under shirt with chamois (shammy fabric) on the inside and something like Tyvek or Kevlar on the outside? It would soak up all the sweat and maintain an impenetrable moisture barrier between you and your partner. You could dance all night long in one shirt, not get a drop of sweat from your chest or back on the followers and just ring it out at the end of the night... And if you combine it with a chamois hat or head band... you might not drip a drop all night long! ;)

For now I guess I'll just keep changing my t-shirt...

I've tried changing shirts - my all time high was nine shirts I changed during Fram. Didn't make one ounce of difference - halfway through the first song it was soaked. Not damp - soaked.

I drink a lot of water - over a gallon a day. I'm always warm and am comfortable around 50 degrees as room temperature. With temps mostly in the high 80's, with plenty of humidity at most of the dances I don't have to dance to sweat. Yes, I'll wear wicking shirts but I'll usually dance once or twice then sit at the bar. The advantage of those are that they will evaporate pretty quickly so I'll try not to get them dripping by dancing continuously. Which really sucks because I'd like to sometimes.

Surprisingly they don't smell after they're washed. They don't even smell that bad after a night of dancing compared to some t-shirts I've used. One or two brands did but I tossed them after it wouldn't wash out. Also if I am a mess I'll warn my follow - if they know me and like dancing with me they don't mind. Most of the time they're pretty wet themselves anyway.

this is NOT what this thread should be about.

grumble grumble grumble

Chiming in mostly to agree with what other people have said.

Also, though...I've noticed that I don't sweat all that much, but I need to change my shirt once or twice a night anyway. Why? guys with sweaty palms. I'll notice that the back of my shirt is drenched, but only in very specific places (and usually in the shape of a handprint). Though to be fair, could be that that my shirt is touching my skin more there becuase the leads hand is on my back, not because his hand is sweaty. Anyway its always good to have an extra shirt. The only time its annoying to me is when I'm wearing a dress and need to change the whole outfit. But as compared to being gross, its really not that bad.

Also, the sweaty shirt is annoying to me, but I understand it. Please oh please wipe your forehead between songs. There is nothing grosser than having someone drip sweat on me. If we're waiting for music, you can tell me you need a second and go dry off. I will be thrilled to wait a few 8s before starting to dance if it will make the overall experience more enjoyable.

What's worse than your partner spinning and flinging their sweat at you?

Your partner with a runny nose spinning and flinging their snot at you.

Been there.

Please, please, PLEASE change the sweat soaked tshirt. For your own sake. Because if a girl is grossed out by your sweat, she WILL warn other girls that they don't want to dance with you.

And do you really want your follow silently praying, "Please don't do bal, please don't do bal..."

I always bring 5-6 extra T-shirts with me and wear a Hawaiian shirt. That definitely helps to keep my partner nice and dry but after the first intense dance I am never truly dry again. The over shirt never gets wet if you keep changing the T-shirts unless you are at Fram and the AC is dead.

I too shave my head and always carry a back-pocket towel. You can buy a really good one of these at any outdoor store that will soak up way more moisture then a regular towel. You have to keep a real towel with your stuff that you can constantly revisit and also use to wipe off when changing a shirt. I am always tempted to wear a head band as I would never play a sport like racquetball without wearing one but I look enough like a geek sometimes and don't need to emphasis that.

Two last things.

If I tried to wear a jacket while dancing I would die from the heat.

There is good news for all who have this wetness problem; fresh sweat has no smell to it just don't eat a bunch of garlic that night. Old sweat on the other hand is just the opposite. Fresh clean clothing and a fresh clean body will let you know that strange expression on your partners face is a good one.

I've been promising this for a while, but have finally gotten around to it this week.

For the last two or three months, I have been working on layering at summer swing events to test a hypothesis: that wearing a inner wicking layer underneath a breathable cotton layer is a more comfortable and convenient system than wearing a single cotton layer that gets changed frequently over the course of an evening.

To test this, I had purchased a number of wicking shirts over the spring, including these brands:

Nike DriFit Nike FitDry Nike Pro Underarmour Heat Gear Starter StarDri Reebok NFL Equipment Athletic Gear New Balance

I also used a cotton sleeveless tank top as a control.

My outer layer ranged from a polo shirt to a knit Cubavera button-down shirt to a guayabera.

My dancing experiences were both indoors and outdoors, in places ranging from the outdoor concourse of Pennsylvania Station in Baltimore to the Glen Echo Bumper Car Pavilion to Jam Cellar to the Reston Town Center to the New York City dance parade. Temperatures ranged from the high 70s to the mid-90s.

Here's what I found over the course of my research:

1. Any time you wear an undershirt -- wicking or not -- under a cotton outer layer, the outer layer is often dryer to the touch -- even after extended periods of dancing -- than a single layer worn next to the skin.

2. There are exceptions. If the temperature is above 95 degrees, or if you're wearing a cotton undershirt, your outer shirt will get wringing wet in some places.

3. A cutoff tee or tank top as your wicking layer is much more comfortable than if you had full sleeves. When you have four layers of fabric under your arm rather than two, it traps heat rather than letting it vent.

4. Some wicking layers work better than others. For me, the StarDri and the Reebok NFL Equipment tops tend to trap more heat than moisture. These two wicking shirts are very tight-fitting and have a Lycra feel to them.

5. The one that worked the best for me was the Nike Pro, which breathed exceptionally well, especially on the occasion that a breeze was present.

Here are a couple of caveats to what I have said above.

1) Don't wear a wicking layer by itself. I have seen several leads wearing polyester tops in hot weather and they got very, very wet by the end of the night -- giving the wicking capability of the fabric, I wonder why?

2) When it's humid, your wicking layer won't work nearly as well as when the air is relatively dry.

3) Don't make this two-layer system into a substitute for common sense when you're dancing in the summer. If you take a break once in a while, you won't get totally drenched.

4) Make sure that wicking layer you're wearing is clean before wearing it so that it doesn't start smelling when it gets really hot.

5) Drink plenty of fluids.

I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I believe the two-layer system works if managed properly.

Awesome research!!

Quoted from "Monsignore"
What's worse than your partner spinning and flinging their sweat at you? Your partner with a runny nose spinning and flinging their snot at you. Been there.

are your serious?

this is snot right at all.

and curious..............where were you hit? don't tell me the mouth....

if you have been snotted, this deserves a whole new thread, as sweat and snot are on two different gross levels.

i have never heard of such a thing.

Why don't ya just take your shirt off prior to dancing?

For dressy nights I usually go with the three layer system (regardless of the heat/humidity):

cotton t-shirt button down dress shirt sports coat/suit coat

If it gets unbearably hot, the coat can come off and at least I still have a button down shirt. Since the cotton t-shirt takes most of the moisture, I always have multiple shirts to change into, and keep the dress shirt on. This means the moisture has to go through two layers to even reach the coat, and with consistent changes the dress shirt doesn't even get wet.

I've always been made fun of bringing a bath/beach towel to dances... but let's face it. If it's crowded and steamy as most NY venues often are, a hand towel on a sweaty person is not going to make much of a difference after an hour of dancing. The increased surface area of the larger towel guarantees enough coverage for long periods of dancing, and then it gets tossed in the laundry when I get home. I'd rather look tacky but be dry and not smelly (deodorant in the bag, foot powder/spray for when I take off the shoes) with a large towel than be the reputed "wet dancer".