Although the dress code diverges as much as the style of dance, if you practice enough dance disciplines, you’re likely to see dancers wearing unitards and leotards at varying points. What’s the difference between these two dancing uniforms?
Unitards feature long legs and possibly long sleeves as well depending on the style. A leotard does not have long legs and is often sleeveless. Leotards are usually worn exclusively by women whereas unitards are unisex.
If you want to learn even more about unitards and leotards, such as how they’re different and whether dancers need one over the other, you’ve come to the right place. There’s lots of great information to come in this article, so check it out!
What Are the Differences Between a Unitard and a Leotard?
Let’s begin by expanding on the differences between unitards and leotards that we laid out in the intro.
Pants Length
Unitards are not exclusively long pants, but that’s usually what this dancing and athletic garment is known for. If not long pants, then a unitard may feature ankle-length leg protection or shorts.
Leotards never have long pants. Instead, they have the same cut as a one-piece women’s swimsuit, which means a high cut along the inner thighs in the front and then rear coverage around the back.
Sleeve Length
Both unitards and leotards are often sleeveless. You might see some leotards with short sleeves, but this is uncommon.
It’s a little more common for unitards to have short sleeves, and some even feature long sleeves for cool-weather wear. By comparison, leotards rarely if ever have long sleeves.
Gender of Wearer
We’re not here to say who can wear what, but traditionally, women have exclusively worn leotards. Unitards, on the other hand, are favored by both men and women.
In other words, the unitard is unisex, which should be easy enough to remember!
Do Dancers Need Both Unitards and Leotards? Why?
Now that you understand the difference between unitards and leotards better, you might have more questions.
For instance, does a dancer need both unitards and leotards in their collection of dance uniforms?
The answer to that question, generally, is yes.
A female dancer especially, who has the option to seamlessly switch between unitards and leotards should have both in her wardrobe ready to go.
Some styles of dance favor either the leotard over the unitard or vice-versa. For example, in ballet, it’s standard to wear leotards and tutus. Leotards allow the legs optimal freedom and therefore are the preferred choice for ballet dancers.
If you walked into a ballet class wearing a unitard, you wouldn’t make a good impression on your instructor or your classmates or dance partners.
In dance, while your skills and talents matter the most, we would be remiss to ignore the fact that one’s looks do play a role as well. That’s why dancers put so much time into their hair and makeup and buy the nicest-looking dance outfits.
There are times to stand out and times to blend in, and you’ll want to wear the right dance uniform to your class or rehearsal depending on what that style of dance calls for. That’s why having a unitard and leotard handy is best.
History of the Leotard
The leotard is named after Jules Leotard, who was born in 1838 and died in 1870. Leotard himself was an acrobatic dancer from France who sported the original dancing garment named in his honor.
Unfortunately, Leotard was not alive to see it. It was in 1886 that the leotard was named that, as Leotard himself preferred the name maillot instead. That’s a French word that refers to a very tight-fitting sports shirt.
Into the 20th century, those involved in acrobatics and in the circus almost exclusively wore leotards. By the early 1900s, the one-piece swimsuit for women evolved from the leotard; one-pieces still resemble leotards to this day.
By the 1950s, leotards were still the favored garment by circus performers but soon bled into gyms and exercise facilities as well.
The early exercise leotards were almost exclusively black, but everyone knows that by the 1970s and 1980s, Day-Glo leotards were the style of the day.
This didn’t last forever, though. By the 1990s, gym fanatics and exercisers largely moved away from the leotard. Women began wearing sports shorts and sports bras instead.
History of the Unitard
By comparison, there’s a lot less known about the history of the unitard.
What we can say for sure is that at the start of the 1900s, dancers and models wore unitards that were flesh-colored to mimic nudity.
These first unitards were a lot thinner than modern unitards are. They also encompassed more of the body, covering a person from head to toe save for their hands and their face.
Anne White, a professional tennis player, wore a white unitard in 1985 to the Women’s Singles Championships game, which made a lot of headlines in the day. In 2018, the French Open banned unitards after Serena Williams wore one to a tennis game.
Figure skating had banned unitards in the 1990s, calling them illegal to wear when competing. Those rules have since changed and unitards are allowed again.
The Leotard and Unitard Today
So that brings us to the modern-day leotard and unitard.
Unitards, although still an uncommon sight in many physical activities, are the preferred garment when doing circus performing as well as equestrian vaulting, dancing, gymnastics, acrobatics, and other forms of physical activity.
Leotards are the gear of choice for gymnastics, traditional ballet, acrobatic rock’n’ roll, postwar modern dance, and figure skating.
You don’t only see leotards associated with sports though, and that’s been the case since the 1970s. Leotards have crossed over into streetwear and are still worn for fashion purposes to this day.
When Should Dancers Use a Leotard? What About a Unitard?
As we discussed earlier, ballet is the primary type of dance in which leotards are favored, but it’s not the only one.
Many modern forms of dance have embraced the leotard as well for its excellent upper-body and lower-body flexibility.
When should a dancer wear a unitard? For more physical and certainly more acrobatic dance styles, a unitard allows you to enjoy a full range of flexible movement while offering more protective coverage than a leotard.
Why Is the Leotard More Comfortable Than the Unitard?
Skintight spandex is probably not anyone’s definition of comfortable, but the general consensus among dancers is that the leotard is more comfortable than the unitard. Why is that?
It’s simple.
Leotards have less material.
You don’t have to worry about your arms feeling squished and encumbered since your arms are free in a leotard. There’s no fabric underneath your armpits, making you warm and sweaty.
Your legs are also completely open, so they don’t feel the squash of the tight fabric. You can focus more on your dance techniques and less on your uniform.
Related Questions
Do you still have questions about leotards, unitards, and related garments like then? This section will shed plenty of light!
What Is the Difference Between a Unitard and a Bodysuit or a Jumpsuit?
Leotards vary in quite different ways from both bodysuits and jumpsuits. Let’s take a closer look now.
A bodysuit is a fashion garment, not something that athletes and dancers usually wear.
The upper half of a bodysuit can be any style, from strapless to off-the-shoulder, spaghetti-strapped, halter style, deep V, short-sleeved, scoop-necked, sleeveless, and long-sleeved.
The bottom half of a bodysuit is like a leotard, with the same high cut in the front and usually full rear coverage around the back.
Bodysuits are typically exclusively worn by women, usually with a skirt, pants, or shorts on top.
A jumpsuit is a full-body garment that is again usually a women’s fashion item but can be worn by both genders if used occupationally (such as a hazmat jumpsuit).
Jumpsuits are usually long-sleeved and feature long legs but might have short sleeves or no sleeves and could have shorter legs as well.
Unitards are much tighter than jumpsuits although about the same tightness as a bodysuit. You’ll recall that unitards always feature long legs, and that’s the main difference.
What Is the Difference Between a Unitard and a Body Stocking?
A body stocking is yet another skintight garment for athletes and dancers to wear. You’ll also see fashion body stockings.
As the name implies, a body stocking is usually designed to cover a lot more of the body. Unitards used to be like body stockings but today only exclusively cover the legs.
What Is a Biketard? How Is It Different from a Unitard or Leotard?
You might have noticed that cyclists were not on the list of those who wear either leotards or unitards. That’s because they wear their own special garment that’s unofficially known as a biketard.
A biketard is a leotard with shorts. The shorts length might be quite short for women and longer for men.
The design of a biketard reduces exposure of one’s legs so that when a cyclist is using the bike seat, they have less pain, chafing, and discomfort when on long bike rides.
Biketards have shorter legs than a unitard and longer legs than a leotard, so they truly fit in between both garments.
What Is a Unitard or Leotard with Shorts Called?
If you ever hear another dancer talk about leotards or unitards with shorts, they’re referring to biketards. Another unofficial name for these garments is bootietards since they do showcase one’s rear.
How to Choose the Right Size Leotard or Unitard
How do you select the correctly sized leotard or unitard for you? You need to take some measurements. Let’s discuss them now.
- Inseam: Have a friend take a flexible measuring tape, start it at the crotch, and then stop measuring at your bottom. The number on the measuring tape is the inseam length. Round it up to a half-inch if needed.
- Hips: To measure your hips, have a friend wrap a flexible measuring tape around your buttocks and hips where they’re fullest. Keep your heels together for an accurate measurement.
- Waist: Find the place where your waist indents and have your buddy place the flexible measuring tape there. Place one finger on your belly underneath the tape and measure.
- Bust/Chest: To measure your bust, the measuring tape should go over the fullest area of your chest. Keep your arms at your sides and stand in a relaxed stance.
- Girth: Finally, there’s girth, which will be the deciding factor in which leotard or unitard size is right for you. Your friend will have to put the flexible tape measurer on top of your shoulder where the leotard or unitard straps would go. Bring the measuring tape all the way down to the crotch and then back to the original shoulder.
Conclusion
Unitards and leotards are both dance uniforms but differ in some pretty key ways. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should choose one garment over the other, as both have their place in the annals of dance history!
With deciding between a unitard vs leotard you might also be interested in our article ‘Dance dress codes: Should you trust studio rules?‘, where we cover nuances of dancer comfort and trust in a studio setting.