Recommendations for good quality dance festival costumes needed

[GriseldaGrantly]

Just wondered where people purchased their costumes for dance festivals etc Thought it might be nice to share ideas also

I'm always on the look out for good quality, slightly different, dance costumes; especially ballet tutus, tap and character. I don't mind buying from overseas if need be.

Also wondering if people buy made to measure and/or reuse costumes

For ballet tutus, we've always used a professional tutu maker, as they need to be made to measure. For tap and song & dance, depends on the dance, whether there's a theme. Lots of ideas and suppliers on ebay. Also try Images Textiles and Dreamworld for cat suits and Lycra stuff.

For ballet tutus and lyrical costumes, both off-the-peg and made-to-order, try 'Just Ballet' in Southend on Sea.

Thank you both. I'd heard of Just Ballet but hadn't checked, those are just the sort of thing I'm looking for. And I'm tempted to try one made to measure.

Somebody recommended ids, though I'm not sure of the quality. They look more like play tutus.

Also, I keep finding something that might do (more for tap and character) then find you're only able to order if you have a dance school!

IDS are great for dance school shows, loads of the schools buy their costumes from there and I think some of their costumes are lovely. They only sell trade though, so you would need to order via a dancewear shop or a school.

Just Ballet have recently started to hire out some tutus, so that might be helpful if you have a dd who needs a costume for a one-off competition or performance.

I wouldn't buy decorated tutus from ids for my 11 year old but might consider one of the plain Lycra ones to decorate for a younger child. That being said I would go for the slightly more expensive ones (seem to remember a couple of years ago our dance school ordered some for a show, the £15 plain tutus were horrendous but the £25ish ones were much better quality).

I tend to have tutus made up for my girls made to measure. Dance direct now stock revolution dance wear which is quite good quality, but often needs ordering quite a bit in advance. Also if you can get a teacher to order for you the savings are massive! Think about 40%.

I also order from the Weismann catalogue via dance depot. Dd1 is thrilled with the costumes we have bought from them, and although it states they only sell to dance studios I have never been asked that question! Relatively cheap too, although coming from America be aware of shipping deadlines.

Song and dance can often be cobbled together depending on the theme. Dd did "my old man" and I think we spent about £4 on a blouse and borrowed other bits from wardrobe.

eBay can be good, especially for plain leotards to jazz up!