I'm just wondering as some of the items I have seen are more than my wedding dress! Crazy! Crazy!

I was just wondering - not trying to be personal - and have you worn your outfit(s) more than twice?

Well I don't dance anymore just teach but when I danced all of our costumes were hand made. They usually ranged from $300-$500 a piece. We would go to four regional competitions, nationals, and recitals. Occasionally we would reuse a costume for a solo or small group.

Where I teach now they are just catalog costumes so usually $60. The parents only pay for one costume and the studio pays for the others. We reuse a lot of costumes because of this. I think it is absolutely ridiculous but it is not up to me.

For Jazz/Hip Hop/Lyrical the most I have ever paid for my daughters is $150.00. This did include shoes, the costume, and tights. They would have worn this for four competitions, two rehearsals, and three recitals.

Now for Highland the most I paid is $ 850.00 - this was worn by my oldest for 18 months, and has been handed down to my younger daughter who has now worn the costume for about 12 months and will still get more time out of it. So I would say it has been worn for 20 competitions in total.

wowee! Thanks ladies. So it's the same in the US as in the UK then. I'm glad to hear that you re-use though.

I should invent a reversable costume = 2 for the price of one! The beading might scratch though ! hmmmm

Ah the shoes - I love the dancing shoes. I get mine on Ebay.

Irish dance champ dresses routinely run in the $2000 range. On the plus side they can be worn as long as they still fit. Most dancers keep them for at least a year and wear them to all the competitions in that time.

$400 for a hand-beaded, custom-made bedlah (bra/belt set). And that was cheap.

Fortunately I made my skirts to go with it, so the entire costume wasn't too expensive. But by the time you add in other accessories (sword/wings/zills/etc - and I refuse to get cheap, poor quality ones), the gear for one performance gets very pricey.

This is an interesting thread to read as I am making dance costumes and trying to figure out how to price them! With the hours involved in making one, depending on level of details, stones etc, and the cost of materials, I'm finding it hard to let the ones I have made so far go for anything less than £250 which in todays exchange rate is $408. I agree it sounds a lot, but as I said, a lot of money and time goes into making one. I regret can't post pictures yet to illustrate, as not a full member yet.

Best wishes,
Lillian

My handmade Irish dance dress was $1045 when I bought it, and then I paid another $300 to get a new skirt made. I've been wearing it for 3 years, and will likely continue to wear it until I reach championships.

My wedding dress was $900

The thing with highland costumes is that they last forever. A well made kilt is quite expensive, but it's an investment. Growing up I wore hand me down costumes, and it didn't hurt my placing at all, as they still fit right in with the current styles. The oldest I wore was my dance teacher's childhood kilt, which was more than 50 years old.

I didn't get a kilt made for me until I had almost finished growing, and it lasted me all through intermediate and premier. I've had it now for 10 years. Still year it on occasion, even though I'm no longer competing, and I'm sure it will get some more competition use by someone else, by and by.