Costume ballet

Choosing dance costumes, whether custom or off-the-shelf, involves much thought on the buyer's part. First of all, each dance genre has its own special costume.

Ballet costumes

Ballet outfits, for instance, are meant to display the precise and delicate technical footwork of the dancer, which the short skirt of the tutu allows. Tutus themselves come in different styles: the romantic tutu reaches below the knee and is the longest and most flowing. At the other end of the spectrum are the classical tutus which include the pancake tutu (which is often used as the Swan Lake and Nutcracker costume) and the platter tutu. These have a similar shape and structure, but a significant difference is that platter tutus have ornate designs stitched on to the top layer whereas pancake tutus are plain.

Other types of dance

As famous as the ballet tutu is, it cannot be worn for contemporary, jazz, ballroom, or lyrical dance. These genres may instead utilize dresses of varying lengths, unitards, and tops and pants combinations. Costumes are selected to match the genre and mood of the dance music. A ballroom performance set to Latin music may involve a bold, red dance dress. Meanwhile, black and white dance costumes might be perfect for a mysterious and symbolic modern lyrical dance. Carrying many styles, designs, and colors of dancewear in your store will cater to a wide range of dancers. Likewise, consider stocking both child and adult dance costumes since shoppers may be buying for themselves or for their children. As it's common for an entire dance troupe to wear the same costume, you can stock a range of sizes for each style in your shop to increase the likelihood of bulk purchases.

Just for fun

Finally, another category of customers for your shop may be those looking for fun costumes for events instead of official dance events. Offering them discounts on older dance costume stock may make sense since these customers do not require the latest designs or technology in their clothing.