Quickie Tips for Clubbing Etiquette

If you're on your way to a nightclub in London this weekend but haven't been partying for quite some time, you may want to brush up on nightclub etiquette before you hit the line. Things have changed since the 1990s ... today we give you a few quick tips for fitting in at your fave club in London!

Dress the part

Be yourself ... but not your Sunday morning tracksuited self! These few tips will make it easy to remember:

• Dresses or skirts for girls
• Shirts, slacks and enclosed leather or leather look shoes for guys
• Keep the chest plumage to a minimum
• Ditto the flesh for gals ... at least for your first couple of weeks back!
• Brush and style your hair - I'm talking to you, boys!

The bill-palm

Should you try to get into a London nightclub a bit quicker by slipping a bill to the bouncer? While this is standard practices in some clubs, and more common in some parts of the world than others, I don't recommend you do it when you’re just reintroducing yourself to the club scene. Some bouncers will take quite a bit of offense to this!

Mix your drinks

And by this, I mean mix up your proportion of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Being drunk means you are far more likely to commit one of the other mortal nightclub sins a little further down the list...

Not recognizing the word 'No'

Few bouncers have any tolerance for guys that don't listen to the word 'No' from girls. Yes, they are at a nightclub. No, that doesn’t mean that they must automatically want to sleep with someone, and that someone should be you.

Keep your limbs to yourself

Mostly something to remember on the dance floor ... even innocent touches from uncoordinated dancing can be interpreted badly.

Do a bit of dance practice before you get there

People are no longer doing the Stayin' Alive finger point move ... unfortunately! Check out a few more up-to-date dance instruction DVDs before you hit the clubs, and remember only the moves that feel the most natural to you.

Food, drink and smokes

Be very careful with all of the above ... there will be some expensive dresses floating about your nightclub in London, and nobody wants sauce, beer or cigarette burns in theirs.

Top Club Tips: How to Dance in High Heels!

It's one of life's great conundrums .. when you're going out clubbing in London you want to look fantastic, and that usually means wearing high heels to lengthen those legs. However, when there are so many good tunes spinning so loud, dancing is irresistible ... yet your gorgeous shoes are really not made for dancing! For those who love their high heels as much as they love London's awesome RnB clubs, we've got some great tips this week.

Choose enclosed shoes

Sweating and slippage is not only uncomfortable when you’re trying to dance in high heels, but could be dangerous and very embarrassing! If you choose enclosed shoes you can pop little stocking socks on inside your shoes to keep yourself looking great and slippage to a minimum.

Practice makes perfect

Practice dancing in your high heels at home before you go out clubbing in London, and try to dance in high heels after adding alcohol into the mix. Don't practise right beforehand - you'll just give yourself premature blisters or cramps. Do it mid-week.

Choose wide heels

Spike heels are almost impossible to dance in - unless you want to be the center of attention at your London nightclub after taking a tumble, don't dance in spike heels. Choose wedges, kitten heels or at least wider, chunkier heels.

Grab some insoles

You can get a huge variety of high heel insoles that make doing anything in those beautiful instruments of torture much more comfortable! Grab a few different pairs for different heels.

Make sure your clubbing heels are black

This way you aren’t tempted to wear heels that won’t dance well, simply because your good dancin' shoes don't match your outfit. Buy a good pair of dancing heels in black - or even red or tan, depending on your usual wardrobe.

Look for toe room

If you choose shoes without toe room, you'll bring home a nice crop of painful blisters. Trim your toe nails right beforehand, and make sure those little tootsies aren’t squashed!

Stretch it out, pump it up

Do both flexibility and strength exercises for your calves, thighs, hips and feet to help your high heeled dancing skills. This will ensure that you are less likely to fall, and if it does happen you are less likely to injure yourself.