When buying team dance costumes or uniforms, there are several things to consider before making the purchase. It’s important to think beyond the first performance. If your uniforms are going to be used more than once — which they should be — you need to think about their care and maintenance.
Are they easy to care for or will you need to iron them between each use? Does the fabric move with the dancer? Are the colors likely to bleed or fade after washing? How do you launder the uniforms? Do they need to be hand washed, dry cleaned, or can you just throw it in the washing machine with all of your other laundry?
Of course, the routine being performed and the venue where the routine is performed are also considerations to keep in mind, but there are plenty of good-looking uniforms out there. The biggest question should be one of durability and quality.
Durability is a key consideration. No one wants a wardrobe malfunction, so it’s important to make sure the item is stitched up properly and securely. Are there sequins and beads sewn on the costume? If so are they secure so they won’t come off, fall on the floor and cause yourself or another dancer to slip and fall? You do not want to cause an accident because you have something that could fall off or swing around and hit another team member.
You also want to make sure that the fabric is as simple to take care of as possible. You do not want to have to steam clean it or iron it before each performance, especially if you have to wear it more than once a day. Dancers change their outfits several times during the day; the costume gets bunched up and thrown into a bag until it is time to wear it again. If the fabric wrinkles easily, you end up wasting a lot of time ironing. You also want to make sure that the fabric is flexible. You want major durability with each costume for flexibility and comfort with the dancers, if it doesn’t have either of those characteristics then reconsider buying that costume.
Not all costumes and uniforms are high quality pieces, there are some that are just quickly stitched together which may fall apart with the rigorous movements required in team dancing. Make sure you buy the highest quality costumes to get the most wear out of them. What you spend upfront might just save you a lot of time and money down the line.
Photo: Kevin Coles
