Cost of ballet uniform

[Balletbore]

DD has just started ballet. She is 10, but has been doing other types of dance and is loving it. Her ballet school is great. However I am finding the cost of the RAD uniform for exams a real shock. She has just completed grade 2,so apparently this means a whole new uniform for grade 3. The character skirts if bought through the dance school are £35! And although am scouring ebay, it is difficult to find the ribbon colours required and specified by the dance school. Her leotard is v specific as well in terms of colour and doesn't often come up on eBay either. The problem is I encouraged her to do ballet as I did it for 10 years) mixture of RAD and ISTD exams which only required a black leotard, tights, shoes and a skirt loaned by the school so was reasonably cheap for my single mother to afford. Is it the RAD or the dance school which is specifying the uniform? Sorry of this is a bit naive, genuinely a bit surprised.

Little kids wear a swimsuit without underwear, so I don't understand why some people think there is an issue with not wearing knickers under a leotard.

Because knickers aren't practical for swimming, generally, given the fabric they're made from. Leotards, they're used to wearing with underwear, even competitive gymnasts will often opt for special underwear rather than none at all.

At the gymnastics club near us (world and British champions galore) the coaches would go ballistic if they saw their gymnasts wearing underwear with their leotards! It just doesn’t happen. I don’t see the difference at all between a swimming costume and a dance leotard, they cover exactly the same amount of flesh.

It just doesn’t happen

It certainly does happen, and at all levels. It's allowed in the British Gymnastics rules also.

I don’t see the difference at all between a swimming costume and a dance leotard
A swimsuit is usually worn in water, hence not practical to wear underwear underneath

The Royal Ballet School specifically instruct their Junior Associates to wear white high legged knickers under their leotards.

There would be rebellion at dd's vocational school if they couldn't wear underwear.