talkmagic.co.uk

I was at a magic gala show recently. There were some good acts (with massive reputations) on the show. It wasn't a bad show overall, with some wonderful highlights.

But at the end the international acts were invited on stage to take a final bow. One was wearing a collarless shirt, no tie. One had suit and t-shirt. One was wearing sneakers, and had his shirt pulled out over his trousers. One was just in a t-shirt. They were announced as the cream of international talent, and they looked like four guys dragged from the street.

Call me old-fashioned, but I feel that their appearance let them down badly. There was no sense of pizazz or showmanship about them. Only one carried himself like a star. What do you guys think on the topic of appearance?

Who were the acts out of interest?

I could understand if the encore was spontaneous and so they may have been winding down after their performance, but if not then I agree, if you're on stage, you should still be in a professional performance mode.

Robert-Houdin dressed in the style of his audiences, so I suppose you could say that this was all they were doing. However, I am with you on this, Tony; I think it's possible to wear current clothing and still have some showmanship. In more recent years, Doung Henning broke the mould with his 70s gear (which does look a bit dated now, of course), but his outfits were still costumes, with bright colours and magical motifs. I am not sure a hoodie with a unicorn would be quite right, though.

Did there wear something else for the actual show? Your post suggests that maybe they had got changed before they came back on stage.

I won't say who they were - that would be unfair on them. They did a great job on stage, no complaints there.

One of them - black suit, black t-shirt - did look good, and carried himself like a star. They took their bow in their performing clothes. I particularly objected to one guy wearing sneakers, and the shirt out. Looked very tatty.

I appreciate dressing modern. I loved the way Doug Henning dressed (I have been known to wear the flower-power shirts myself). But you can dress modern - even casual - without looking like a tramp. One looked well, one looked fine, two were substandard in my view.

Part of showbiz is to be larger than life in the act and the presentation. I'd say the same goes for the stage clothes as well, dress well show that you've taken the trouble to put some thought and effort into what you do in return for the spec's hard earned cash. I'm not a fan of the 'hit and run' style of street magic but, clutching at straws in an attempt to offer a balanced response, I suppose the tatty dress style would fit with that concept so perhaps these guys were just trying to be seen as trendy and current? If so they were obviously way off target!

I've told this story before but when Paul Daniels did the Gala Show at the Ipswich Convention a few years ago, a chap in that audience thought he ought to explain to his young daughter, aged about 7 or 8, that Paul was very famous. The little girl replied, 'I know he is Daddy because he's wearing a nice sparkly tie'. Out of the mouths of babes....

Mandrake wrote:When Paul Daniels did the Gala Show at the Ipswich Convention a few years ago, a chap in that audience thought he ought to explain to his young daughter, aged about 7 or 8, that Paul was very famous. The little girl replied, 'I know he is Daddy because he's wearing a nice sparkly tie'. Out of the mouths of babes....

Brilliant - and it makes my point perfectly.
I am bringing my eight year old to Paul Daniels on Wednesday. Really looking forward to seeing a pro, in every sense.

Whilst I think that it's best for a performer to look as smart and professional as possible, I do think that scruffy and dressed down is still better than the horrific outfits that some magicians decide to sport to stand out and show how wacky they are. Generally it just shows that they have no idea at all about clothing and leads to the horrific (but all too often correct) stereotype of some gurning cretin wearing a sparkly waistcoat and a playing card bowtie desperate for any attention.

The other day I was perusing another forum (boo, hiss), and there was one thread on there about whether or not you should wear a suit. To pick one commenter at random, a guy who claimed to be a working pro stated that it was highly important to appear smart and presentable at all times but then completely demolished his own argument by explaining that his preferred costume was a white suit with a red turtle neck- the sartorial equivalent of telling someone that they should always treat their dates to the most expensive, swanky restaurants before recommending that they go to Nando's in Croydon! He wasn't the only commenter who seemed to suggest that you should aim for PeeWee Herman if you want to look smart and fashionable. Whilst I'm sure they definitly stood out when working, I really don't think that their audiences went away with massively positive opinions about them unless they also had the fashion sense of four year olds. They might be thinking: "wow, that guy was really good at finding my card but it's a shame he looked like a reject from the worst circus in the world."

If you want to dress like a clown, then become a clown. If you want people to respect you, dress to be respected.

All of which goes to prove there are limits in both directions!

I think that any performer should dress in a way that makes them look professional. It might not always have to be super smart (I quite like to dress in a slightly quirky, hippy way when the situation is right) but I don't think that you should ever look scruffy. You should always look as if you've made some kind of effort. People's first impression of you isn't going to be down to your first effect or even how you introduce yourself, it's going to be down to how you look. A positive first impression is going to help you no end. Have a think about it, you're sat in a resturant, which of these two magicians are you going to want to take time out to watch, the scruffy looking bloke with jeans around his knees and a t-shirt, or the smart, well dressed, clean shaven man?

why are we so hung up on appearance?
and why is judging people based on their clothes any better than racism?

because the world is just * mental!

Alas it seems to be the trend nowadays to look horrific on stage. Too many performers wearing their street clothes. It is supposed to be SHOW business. Alas those days are gone............................

I find myself agreeing with all this and as Mark is 100% right. The chavvy street attire seems to be de rigeur these days even in music, comedy and other fields of entertainment. It seems to be chav attire or scruffy student attire.

Where fashion is concerned, I have often been told I'm leading the way and am willing to come to any magic society and perform make-overs. Kind of Gok Wan meets Jason King.

I want a Freddie makeover.

Lawrence wrote:why are we so hung up on appearance?
and why is judging people based on their clothes any better than racism?

because the world is just * mental!

Because our skin colour is who we are. Our clothes are a choice. This guy chose to come on stage at a prestigious event in sneakers, with his shirt hanging out.

ACE T wrote:I want a Freddie makeover.

Done. I'll even throw in lessons in how to walk wearing platform shoes.