Dear Teachers,

It's been a while coming, but here is the official sticky for you to post up reviews of costume companies - which ones worked well for you, which ones weren't so good, and which ones you wouldn't step foot near even if you had a pitchfork.

Disclaimer:Please post only actual facts and label your opinions as such as you are legally responsible for your words. The best defense against claims of slander and libel is simply: the truth.

This posting is provided as a public service, since dance.net cannot independently verify claims or get involved in disputes.

We ordered some competition costumes from Star Styled this year and was very happy with them when they came in. Then one of our students had thier house burn down and lost her costume. We called the company to get a new one and they couldn't do anything for us! We were willing to pay extra, whatever they needed us to do and nothing. This was in February, and we would not have been able to get a costume until after our recital in May. Apparently they could only send it out with certain order on certain dates.
Just an FYI for anyone, even though we loved these costumes, they couldn't do anything for us when tragedy hit one of our families. The poor 4 year old was crying asking the firemen if they could save her costume, heartbreaking! Anyway, we had to search the internet for fabric, ribbon, etc and have one made that was close enough for pics and recital.

Costume Gallery is a wonderful company to deal with! In my experience, the customer service has been outstanding. They answer the phone and are friendly. I had a student join late and they were able to still get me the costume for her in time. The costumes run true to size.

Cicci's has quick shipping. I have occassionally been missing a head piece here and there. Costumes tend to run small.

Curtain Call, Costume Gallery, Cicci - all were great this year. I received all costumes on time, even early. They also helped me find in stock costumes. (Fina/Dansco problem) Weissmans was good. They shipped on time, but their costumes tend to run a little small, but I knew that ahead of time.

I have always liked Kelle Company, even though a lot of their costumes seem the same (ie-they have a lot of the same fabrics and cuts throughout the catalog), they have a very up-to-date style and look as opposed to other companies that have a more old fashioned look. I also find that their costumes wear well for mutliple performances and that the fit is really nice both in child and adult sizes. I also find that they have shorter ship date periods as opposed to some catalogs that take so many months from the original order being places, pricing is also very reasonable for the product.

I also like Costume Gallery, they are very nice and I have always had pleasent experiences ordering from them, no problems at all getting or ordering my costumes. The fit is always good and they have a lot of variety throughout their catalogs. Sometimes I find that the actual costume seems to be made out of a different material than is shown in the picture though, and their hats are always a little funny looking. Some costumes are a little pricey, but nothing too bad.

Artstone, where do I begin! So many on this board have told of their horror stories with this company. And while I still go back to them year after year, the costumes are too beautiful to pass up! I always end up having to exchange sizes and or the size in one costume is not the same as another costume ordered in the exact same size (its either way bigger or smaller). And their consistancy of sizing is weird too...one year I will order a costume for a student and it will be HUGE and so then the next year when they measure for the same size I order it and then the exact same size on the same child who hasn't grown (I am talking the older teens here) will be three sizes too small...I don't know if I am explaining this in a way that makes sense, but really the sizing is all off in my experiences, though the finished (tailored) product always looks great onstage. Also their gloves seem to always be deformed, the fingers are crooked or too long/short or even sometimes the fingers are so skinny that the girls can't even fit their fingers in them!
The competitor section of their costumes always seem to fit better than the regular ones and they are really reasonably priced. I usually order from this section now for the recital!

Leos - Their costumes have always turned out wider than I would like. Almost eveyr costume I have ever ordered for them is always a little too big width wise and needs to be taken in. The have a lot of cute costumes though and very nice basic satin leotards for the little ones.

Design Works - While I like the fact that they can custom make costumes for you, they always seem flimsy to me. The material is always pretty thin and while the are pretty they just don't wear well, and we only have one recital with two shows!

Lebos - I have only ordered a few costumes from them, they don't have very many appealing costumes, but the ones I have ordered are made really well and are beautiful in person. They look MUCH better in person than in the catalog! Also they have a huge list of extras/accesories that are priced reasonably. I would recommend ordering some extras from them if the need arises.

This year we used Georgie Girl Costumes. Yes, some of the costumes are "interesting" but some are absolutely adaorable!! They were on time, extremely helpful, and most importantly well made!! I really reccomend them!

I used Loshin's and Libert's and so far, only 1 partial shipment to go, everything has went very well. Most of the costumes were in stock. What wasn't in stock I received ahead of requested delivery time. And so far so good with no missing pieces, rips or tears.

My experiences this year:

Art Stone- Fantastic, have never had a problem with them. Costumes are well made and getting better every year.

Weissman's- Love them, customer service is outstanding, they really came through for me in an emergency and bent over backwards to help. Costumes are much brighter in person, the catalog doesn't do them justice. They do run a bit on the smaller side.

Costume Gallery- What I love about them: They really think about all of the details, the accessories are all included, shoe bows,hairpieces,lace cuffs, sashes, everything (there's nothing additional to buy, except for tights). They come in bags that have labels for you to fill in with child's name and class.

Wolff Fording- Unusally long ship dates, however they are very upfront about this and I appreciate their honesty. They even tried desperately to find an alternative "in-stock" costuume for me and much to my surprise called me at home days later and left me a detailed message about other costume options she had found for me to consider. This amazed me, she went way out of her way for my one little class of 6 costumes, she made me feel like every customer was important enough for them. I will definately consider them in the future solely because of this, even though I didn't order from them this year.

Fina/Dansco- Won't be ordering from them again. Customer service was non-exsistent and I felt that they didn't care.

Just wanted to reiterate how good Wolff Fording was for us this year, kinda. We had an order that was supposed to be shipped the 6th, but something went wrong with the fabric shipment, and they couldn't get it to us until the 20th. However, the SO messed up when ordering the costumes and forgot to order 2, and they really helped us out and did whatever they could for us to send us something that would work.

Maybe I just appreciate them more for their customer service in light of everything that went on with Dansco. But, still worth the mention.

My good list is:

Stagewear LA
Curtain Call
Triple Threat Dancewear

Bad list: (NEVER will order from again)
Marcea
Art Stone
Fina / Dansco

I have had problems with Art Stone over the years and vowed never to order from them again, but I noticed a change in people's response to them in the past two years. I ordered only a couple of solo costumes last year and was happy. This year I ordered about a third of my costumes from them and I have to say that I am impressed with the change in customer service, quality and delivery time. I hope that they stay on this track because it was getting pretty bad for a while.

LIBERTS: Adult leos don't have any 'shape'. Seem to be the same style as the little girs--Short through the torso, and wide. I do like the dresses and separates. Some fabric seems flimsy to me. Very quick service, friendly staff, good for last minute shipments. Prices seem to have really gone up, but the quality is about the same as it was. We used to order from them under their old name. . .can't remember what it was, seems like FOREVER, and they used to be the most inexpensive for basics, but I think Weissman's is now.

ART STONE: This year '06-'07 was my first year. Loved the quality of the fabric and construction, as well as details. No velcro here. Zippers and snaps all the way. Pants are longer than most (which says a lot) and the rise is really high. I wouldn't recommend ordering 'up' with the size. They seem to run true to the chart or a little large. Shipping and returns were VERY quick and customer service is excellent.

COSTUME GALLERY. Gotta love 'em. Nothing exceptional with quality, style, etc. but reliable stuff. Good service, good personnel, fast shipping.

WOLFF FORDING. Good service (so far, but I hear there may be problems. We'll see how I feel in 2 weeks) Earlier this year we had a whole shipment where the fabric (like a nylon blend) ran, when we just practiced in them. Called the company, and they shipped a whole new batch of costumes to us in exchange. the fabric was still thin, but at least we could anticipate the problems. Good service. Had a 'glitch' in the shipping, where I think one of their staff was lying to us, but nothing major.

DANSCO. Very quality and complete costumes. We ordered competition costumes early and got those very quickly. They were well made and complete. Ordered recital costumes in December and ended up in the same boat as everyone else. Probably won't ever order from them again. It's too bad, really.

LEOS. Same problem as Liberts with the costumes. Short torso but wide around the middle. Hard to alter. Decent fabric, styles, and construction, but nothing remarkable.

KELlE. Excellent service. Excellent shipping. Excellent costumes and fabric. They will custom make anything for you, too, like if you ask for #120 with the fabric from the #310 costume on the legs and the collar in silver metallic with the #530 fabric on the sleeves, and please add fringe down the legs of the pants so it looks western. I actually did that. Mixed two styles of costume, three totally different fabrics, and added fringe to make a boy's costume. And, the price for the alterations was VERY reasonable. I would do business again, but I'm not crazy about some of the styles, and a lot of their stuff looks very similar.

WEISSMANS: We're always on hold for about 1/2 an hour. Costumes are nice and quick, and service is good when you finally get to talk to someone. They have messed up our order and it takes a bit to get it straightened out. But overall, I like the product we end up with. Has the least expensive basics I've seen. Liberts used to be, but their prices have really gone up.

CICCI: We don't always get a complete order here, but they are quick to ship out the parts we've not gotten. If you order from them, be sure to check that everything's there right away, is all. Nice costumes, we've always had good quality with them. Good customer service and friendly, caring folks.

BAUMS: Pretty flimsy stuff. Good for pieces, but I don't recommend a whole costume. Pants run big, and are out of fabric that is hard to cut/alter without re-hemming them. My older girls didn't like the leos because they were really thin/see through. We mostly use them for hats, etc. but sometimes this can be pricey, too.

THEATRICAL WAREHOUSE: Great for pieces, etc. Very quality, but kind of expensive.

APPAREL WAREHOUSE:

Liberts is quick and inexpensive. Gotta love that.

While we love this company, styles, prices, service....just so wish they would not use those plastic fasteners, for the necklines of their costumes...they just do not snap securely....I have sent some back to be replaced last year, but, this year I would have had to send almost my entire order...when I called to "complain", they said no one else has ever complained....so if any teachers out there feel the same way i do, please let them know!!.....thanks!

My Good List:This means sizing is decent, price is decent and order shipped on time.

Curtain Call
Liberts
A Wish Come True
Costume Gallery
Leos
Weissmans
Wolff Fording

Bad List:This means bad customer service, and costumes that were either 4 weeks behind ship date or didn't arrive at all.

Dansco
Dance Galaxy

I want to give a "shout out" to Ferreira. The 2008 Costumes (I had a sneak peak) are super cute, well made and the sizing rocks. They are actually made to fit the girls age/size. Great concept. I'm so used to adding a couple inches to the girth because most costumes run small. Ferreira's run true to size.

Keep an eye out for the catalog this Fall!

Art Stone: Very dependable. Nice fabrics, nice fit. Parents loved. Failed to ship a couple of small accessories, said they'd be here in 3 days, they were here in one!

Revolution: New to costuming this year. We were very happy, parents were too. Very pretty, well made, on hangers and in zippered garment bags. Hope their line expands.

Designs by Valerry (sp?): Never, never, never. Worst customer service nightmare I've ever experienced and I've been in the business world for over 30 years. And we are yet to settle the Visa claim for their ridiculous overcharge for shipping ($84 for 4 costumes and they told me they gave me a courtesy $20 discount). Hey, they're the ones who sent the wrong costumes in the first place! All I can do is grrrrrrr....and grit my teeth.

Although Fina came through with my order I was very disappointed in the quality. This was my first and last time using them. I am also done with Marcea. Used her a few time, very expensive and quality is so so. Also I never have received my costumes on time.

I loved Arstone and A Wish Come True. Very happy with them.
I also used Kelle and star style this year and had no problems.

Costume Company and Wish Come True both were wonderful this year. When one costume was inadvertantly misordered and no one realized it until only a few weeks before the show, Costume Gallery got us a new one in no time at all. VERY helpful

We got several classes of costumes from Costume Depot. I had a terrific experience from the customer service end to the styles. Those costumes looked great on stage.

Art Stone was wonderful as well! We drove them nuts.....and they always were curteous and got all of our costumes to us way in advance. The best as far as I am concerned when it comes to value for the money....they are using nice velvets and rhinestones and sometimes the price is actually LOWER than the other companies that are giving you cheap lycra and sequins.

Kelle has excellent customer service and great styles, they are just expensive (thats probably why....they have smart people working for them and need to pay them accordingly....rightfully so!)

Marcea's styles are some of my favorites but we had to WORK to get delivery for when we needed it. I don't want to have to stay on top of a company to insure timely delivery. I want to place my order and forget it.

Costume Gallery- also another great company to deal with...no problems whatsoever.

Curtain Call- their prices are out of control. I used to order MUCH more from them but this year only ordered 2 classes.

Fina....well what can I say? Luckily I order really early and got what I needed when I needed it, including a size exchange, but not without staying on top of them as we had to do with Marcea.

I will definitely stay with Costume Depot, Art Stone, Kelle and Costume Gallery....only go with Marcea if I cannot find something else somewhere else. I would love to go with Design Works, Revolution and A Wish Come True since I KNOW they are wonderful to deal with, I just wish they would update their styles and fabrics.

I had this post on the Studio owner board, but I want to add it to this thread because I feel EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS COMPANY.

____

So first off I feel so moved by this company that I feel compelled to share with you my amazing experience with Stagewear LA.

A few days ago my student lost her home due to a massive fire that completly engulfed everything. They have NOTHING left. Aparently about a week later, the Fire Dept has said that it was caused by something in the wiring.

I found out when she came in for class at 3pm after school the next day and had jeans and a tshirt on. I said "Love, where is your dresscode?" (Normally she NEVER comes in without her clothing so I thought it was a bit odd...)
She then burst into tears and ran up an hugged me and said that they lost their house the night before because of a fire.

After kicking myself for just walking right into that blind, we sat and she told me what was going on. Her family is currently staying with her aunt and uncle. They are making due in the cramped space, as it is a three bedroom cape now with 9 people. They got a few clothes donated and such to get them through the next few days.

But then she looked at me and burst into tears again and cried, "Im so sorry, I can't be in the recital, all my costumes are gone!!"

Well then Tyler lost it. I told her through my own blubbering that I didn't care if she went out on stage with a Tshirt, she would be in the recital. Screw the costumes!
But I still felt horrid for her. She is just crushed.

So I called up Stagewear LA which is the company I ordered the majority of my stuff from this year.

I related to them what had happened, by the way this phone call happened yesterday. The women (God I can't remember her name I just was so scattered) was so upset by what happened to MY STUDENT! It was amazing! She said I will call you back in just a few minutes. Let me get some things in order here.

Five minutes later she called me back, and proceeded to blow me away.

first off they stopped producing costumes way back in the beginning of May or late april. I totally expected to hear, Mr. Wing we are so sorry but we just don't have the costumes in stock.

Instead it went like this.

"Mr. Wing I just want to let you know that the costumes she needs will absolutly be shipped out to you on June 12th and will be overnighted to you for your recital on June 16th and 17th, I will personally ensure it goes out because I will be doing it. Just so you know, we are not charging for these costumes. We feel absolutly horrible about what happened and we know she must be just destroyed right now. Please let the family know our condolences. We want to do our part to ensure that this is one less thing for her to worry about. We want to make sure she has a good recital."

Get ready DDN So's for this.... I was stunned and didn't speak for I think it was about 60's seconds. If you know me, this is a 50 year occurance!.... ok maybe every 27 years but still.

I responded with a few stutters and thanked her over and over for their caring.

Studio owners I wanted to share this with you all because of two reasons.

One when a company goes above and beyond in the name of humanity like this one has, everyone should know. Especially when we get ripped off annually with other different costume companies, It is so amazing to know that great ones are actually out there.

Two, that even before this, Stagewear LA has been on time if not early with their costumes all season. Their costumer service has always been friendly and patient, and they do what they say they are going to do. Furthermore, their costumes I believe are simply gorgeous. They look custom made and the quality is really good.

I am urging everyone on these boards to please consider them for your next seasons costumes. I want to see this company do well. I feel they deserve it for this and so much more.

Thanks all.

Tyler

Stagewear LA Website: retterworld.com

____

OH.... MY.... GOD.... !!!!


I am TOTALLY IN AWE RIGHT NOW.

I just got a package from Stagewear LA (two days from my call to them) with a letter attached.

It reads:
____

Tyler:

Your students costume is being shipped to you overnight on the 13th for your recital on the 16th. We were able to produce one last costume from that line. Let me know immeadiatly if there are any problems.

Also, in this package you will find 5 items from our powerplay danceline. These are clothes she can wear to her classes. Please add this to your clothing drive for her.

We hope that she has a wonderful recital.

All our best,
Stagewear LA
____

Let me all just tell you something.

I don't cry. EVER. I got teary eyed when she told me her home burnt. I got teary eyed again when they said what they told me originally...



But I am flat out balling my eyes out right now. I have never seen this type of caring from a costume company like this.

I'm writing a thank you letter to them today. I am in such awe I don't even know how to begin.

I will be a costumer of Stagewear LA for the rest of my life. Please studio owners, let's reward these people!!!!

Good List

Curtain Call(costumes are always on time or early)
Leo's
Wolf Fording
Weissmans
Kelle (excellent fabrics and customer serive)
Costume Depot
Marcea(expensive, but ok to order from if you only want a few costumes)
Design Works( although not packaged well at all when shipped, we had green feathers everywhere)
Wish Come True

Bad List

Dansco
Dance Galaxy!!!!!!- We never recieved our costumes for our show. They deleted our order off the computer like it never existed and we I doubt they will refund our money. Don't order from them.

Dansco-In that past I have never had any issues with Dansco. Even when I was working for people. I loved how every hair piece is attached with a barrette and so on. Although this year is another story, I understand if there are issues with coming ontime. I realize that Shit Happens, but what I do not agree with was there way of going about the matter. Basically "the only way to contact Dansco is via email" I did so and did not get any return call. Even after my costumes had arrived there was a hole in one and the tutu of another was coming completly off. I called and got the same outgoing message of only email and I am still waiting for that phone call. I can not hand over a costume that is coming apart to a child after their parent paid X amount of dollars for it. Luckily I have a grandmother at the studio that fixed it, but I am the one that has to compensate her for their poorly made costume. I believe since Dansce bought Fina in the summer, they bit a little more then they can chew. I am very un happy about the quality of their costumes this year. I feel I need a verbal appology from Paul the president of Dansco/Fina