Looking for a dressmaker that can make my first competition dress. I have my own design in mind. If anyone has a suggestion please let me know.


Thanks

Where are you located?

I live in Arizona.

Try
http://www.theballroomshop.co.uk/

They are located in England. I got my 1st professionally made dress for $500 (which is a pretty good price for custom and some crystals). All the dresses are around $450-600. Angela can make a dress to your design, or you can pick one from her collection and she can customize it to however you want. The dress will take 2 months to come, as mine did. If you need a faster dress, look for local people. Looks good and fits well.

Spent months agonizing over prices and availability of gowns (like at comps). Interviewed a couple of dressmakers and tried on used gowns. I finally decided to use a dressmaker whose gown I fell in love with worn by a competitor at a comp. Ask everyone you see with a gown that you like where it came from. There are many inexpensive gowns available on the net. I'm having mine custom made (under 1k) and I designed it completely. Where do you live?

I live in Arizona.

I live in NY and the dressmaker I chose is in MD. I will have to make a trip for a fitting. I don't recommend that, but I was so frustrated and dissappointed with the people I had met so far. I saw this dressmaker's work so I knew it was quality. You might also go to bridal shops, some are willing to make a gown. Can't your dance teachers suggest any dressmakers? You really should consider one of the legit websites who make gowns to order and you just submit all your detailed measurements (in the USA). Consider going 1/2 shorter so that if it is too long, you won't have to have it shortened for $100 or more. Good luck.

Another thing thing to consider is renting a dress. I had a dress made for me and wore it 3x. I want something different now so I decided to sell the one I had made for me. Easier said than done. Since it was custom made for me, and I'm taller than the average dancer, it won't necessarily fit a big dancing demographic. The dresses for sale on this site seem to run on the smaller side - I'm a whopping 8, so keep in mind how long you will use the dress, how easy it is to re-sell if you want to, etc.

As for buying one overseas, I don't think I'd be inclined to do it. Part of the process should be having fittings done so you don't have to go and pay to get it re-altered, or find out that it doesn't hit your body where you thought it would, etc. If you're talented enough to transform/alter a dress, then it's probably not a bad option. When I buy a garment, especially a pricey one, I just want to be able to put it on and go....