How to Dress For Your Instrument Type

In General

• Do not wear ill-fitting clothing. Not only does it look sloppy, it impedes playing. In general, concert attire should not impede your breathing, cut off your circulation, or bunch in awkward places. Conversely, it should not fall off your body, look like you're wearing a sack, or feel like you're wearing a stage curtain.
• Excessively voluminous sleeves are to be avoided. They will annoy you, block the audience's and ensemble's views, and just be a nuisance in general.
• Measure yourself for your concert attire when you have eaten a full meal and have been siting for a while. 
• If you are able to fit two different sizes equally well, pick the size you think looks better on you. 
• Avoid clothes that have itchy seams or tags.
• Wear undershirts under white shirts if necessary. There are certain things best left to the audience's imagination.

Winds

• Do not wear corsets, binders, or other restrictive clothing.
• Avoid clothes that are tight on the neck. Tie wearers, do not tie your tie too tight. Keep the area around the larynx clear if you can.
• You can do fitted clothes as long as they are not tight. 
• Trumpets and flutes, avoid clothes that are restrictive in the shoulder area. Test your range of motion in a fitting room or study the seams in the picture if you are ordering online.
• Reed players, get pants with pockets that can hold your reed case. 
• Double reeds, make sure to get a nice bag to put your reeds and reed supplies in. 

Strings

• Make sure you can bow properly in the sleeves.
• Violins and violas, make sure you can move your neck and get your instrument into position.
• Dress-wearing cellos, make sure your dress is long enough so you do not show anything while sitting down. The audience does not want to see your undergarments.
• Cellos and basses, make sure you won't snag your kickstand on your clothing. 
• Harps, avoid clothes that drag unless you want death by harp. I can imagine, as a flutist, that death by harp is unpleasant.

Percussion

• Wear clothes that allow you to move heavy objects.
• Don't wear things that make noise when you move unless you were told to do so.
• Make sure you can move your wrists freely. 
• Look into moisture-wicking clothes if you are going to move around a lot.  
• Floor-length dresses are a bad idea because of the amount of rolling equipment.