Learn

This post is written by our owner, Deb Erickson, in conjunction with her daughter, Trista Erickson.  We post this not as medical professionals, but as a small apparel manufacturer looking to help our community in any way in the fight against the COVID-19 crisis.  Click through the links below to reference all original articles for further reading.  

This past January, synchronized skating teams across all levels competed at the Midwestern and Pacific Coast Synchronized Skating Championships held in Wichita, Kansas! Of course our favorite part about the event is seeing so many gorgeous costumes and new trends on the ice. This year we saw a lot of ombres, some unique themes from edgy neon skeletons to beauty queens, and the ever-trending vibrant colors that pop on the ice. Check out a few of the teams we were proud to have outfitted with their #LineUpLook below!   Special shout out to KrPhotogs Photography LLC for so many fantastic pics.

Thank you to everyone that entered the #OwnTheSpotlight Photo Contest! We loved seeing all of your the submissions and were blown away by the response! It was very hard to narrow it down to one winner, but in the end we had to choose. Check out the winning submissions below!

Team: Ohio State University Dance TeamCoach: Melissa McGheeChoreography: Pom - Carsen Rowe, TRIBE 99; Jazz - Rudy AbreuLocation: Columbus, OHStyle: College Dance Team - Jazz & PomInstagram: @ohiostatedanceteam 

Another season has come to an end for North Dakota dance teams, culminating in the 2020 NDADD State Dance Competition at the end of January.  The competition featured teams from around the state doing their best Pom, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and High Kick dances! From Bismarck's trend-setting Pom unitards to Valley City's Olympic-themed Kick costumes, we're always inspired by the ideas North Dakota teams bring to us year after year! We were honored to outfit some of the teams at this year's competition, check out some highlights below.   Congrats on another great season, friends! 

Audition season has arrived! and we're kicking it off in style, with 6 new collections of tryout apparel!  From edgy to girly, there's a mixture of looks to match any one's style. 

Photo via Little Chute Dance Team We're so proud of all the high school dance teams who finished their season competing at the Wisconsin State Championship just a couple weeks ago! We always love seeing our friends' beautiful dance costume designs come to life on the floor. Wisconsin teams sure know how to design gorgeous and innovative custom dance costumes!  Check out a few highlights and some of the teams we were lucky to have outfitted for the 2020 WACPC State Dance Championship, below! Have more photos to share? We love to see your team photos and how you #OwnTheSpotlight! Tag us on social or submit your photos here.

Competition season is in full swing, one of our favorite times of the year.  We love seeing how teams pull everything together - choreography, music, costumes, and months of hard work - to create one cohesive and thrilling package!  In celebration of all the excitement, we're holding a photo contest!  Tag us in your pics for a chance to win a $500 gift card to The Line Up and to be featured on our website.  We'd love to see how you #OwnTheSpotlight!

Starting early on your custom dance costume design can save you time, stress, and money, but one of the main constraints we hear is, "I don't have my team or money yet!"  No worries, there are ways to get started even without your team assembled or your funds in place for the year.  You can take advantage of early bird savings by getting started with your design and prototype before you have your team or your full funding. Then, when you have your team and funding secured, you can place your full order.

  Inspiration for your next dance costume can come from anywhere: the runway, your Instagram feed, a sneaker, or even something as random as that gorgeous peach that's sitting on your desk!  We know it can feel overwhelming to narrow your focus to create a concept that is unique from your competitors.  To help, we've rounded up some of our favorite resources for finding dance costume inspiration.

One logo created with 5 different techniques.  Price will vary depending on logo size  and exclude base garment price - shown here at 7.25" high.  Most teams brand their cheer and dance uniforms with logo and lettering, but you may not realize that there are many different options available! "Which logo and lettering option is best for me?", you might ask. The answer is that it depends! Some factors that affect which option is best for your dance or cheer uniform are: Your overall budget Level of detail in your team logo  Fit of your uniform or location of logo Below, we summarize 5 ways you can add your logo to a cheer uniform - embroidery, vinyl, sublimation, spangles and rhinestones - and the pros and cons of each! 

  In our How Much Does a Custom Dance Costume Cost series, we’ll be covering a few things that will affect the price of your dance costume: patterning and set-up fees, fabric choices, the number of costumes being ordered, and embellishments. Today we’ll talk about construction details that add to your custom dance costume costs - the “cut and sew” features of your costume! Construction details include the base pieces of your costume that need to be cut out of fabric and sewn together, and doesn't include add-on features like rhinestones, appliques, or fabric choices. Generally speaking, the more construction details going into your garment, the more it will cost.   Below we break down 5 common construction details that add cost, along with average price ranges of each. Prices will vary depending on your chosen costume company and your group discount, but below we used pricing from The Line Up, before any discounts are applied.  

We've kicked off our How Much Does a Custom Dance Costume Cost series and next up we're talking about dance costume embellishments! Embellishments add the perfect finishing touch to your custom dance costume. But when designing on a budget, they're often the first thing to get cut. Why? Because they can get pretty costly and add up quickly! Not only do you have to consider the cost of the embellishment itself, but also the labor costs to have your costume company apply the embellishments for you. However, you shouldn't have to sacrifice those finishing touches because of your budget! The easiest way to save is to apply the finishing touches yourself. Here are 4 dance costume embellishments that you can add yourself for the perfect finishing touch, while also cutting costs:

Aitkin All Starz Dance Team in a Custom Jazz Costume One of the most common questions we get regarding costumes is "how much does a custom costume cost?!" This can be a difficult question to answer because a custom costume is just that - custom - and depends on what you add! Everything is completely unique, which means that the pricing is unique as well. As a general guideline, custom costumes can range anywhere from $150 to $600. The more detail and complex, the higher the price.  However, we generally tell people the average price of a custom dance costume is around $250, and to start with that budget in mind.   If you're looking for more information, here are six areas that will determine how much your custom dance costume costs:

You've got your choreography, your team is practicing hard, and now it's time to design your dance costume! This may seem like a daunting task, but designing a custom dance costume can really be broken down into 8 simple steps. If you've been following along our How to Design a Custom Dance Costume series, we've covered everything from prototypes to  fabrics. We've compiled all the posts in this series to give you a brief overview of the custom dance costume design process. Check it out below!

In our recent How to Design a Custom Dance Costume series, we've been covering all the steps to ordering a custom costume.   Once your design and prototype is confirmed, it's time to get started making your group order! The next step is sizing and measuring your team before your custom costume goes off to production. Fit is fashion! Even with the most beautifully designed costume, if your outfit doesn't fit properly, the focus will be on your flaws and not your skills. Here a few tips to ensure your dancers are fitted correctly: