OT- problems w/DD dance recital costume

[ADisneyQueen]

Yesterday I picked up DD from ballet class, she starts tearing up and tells me her recital costume is too small. DD is 10, very thin, but average height. Teacher comes outside and says costume is O.K, it comes to her knees, just barely. The costume is supposed to go way below the knees. We come home and try it on, it does look too small. the top part is a little snug. I look on the tag- the teacher ordered her a child's small. That is usually a size 5/6, DD wears 7/8. DD is very upset, the other girls were asking her why her costume was so short. I would rather have a bigger size that my mom could take in.
Now today she will get her other costumes for jazz. One is a dress that is supposed to be several inches above the knee. The other is a one piece unitard that has pants that are supposed to end at her shoes. Well, if she has ordered her another child small, there is no way they will fit. The dress will be showing her behind, the pants will be way too short. the recital is in 2 weeks, so I don't even know if she could get another costume in time.
I paid a lot of $ for these costumes, but more importantly, DD will be crushed if they don't fit. I wish I would have asked the teacher what size she was ordering. She did not consult parents about measurements and sizes. She is a nice person, but I am really upset about this situation and don't know what to do.

 

[mommytoe]

I have no advice, but wanted to let you know my dds' dance studio has problems getting the right sizes too. My own dds have only had their's to big and the dance studio pays a semstress to fix it.
There has been other girls that had the same problem as you with the outfits being to small. What the dance studio tries to do is trade around when they can to get the sizes to match better.

 

[Traveliz]

Gosh aside from alterations or trading with someone else I don't know what to say.

At the studio my daughter goes to/works at they try on samples in October and parents are consulted. I know we tend to error on the side of bigger because its easier to take in than add to a costume.

Good luck!
Liz

 

[kacaju]

I would call and speak to the teacher.
This happened to us last year and it turned out that my daughter was given the wrong costume. It was a big deal to us, since it was too small, but the other family whose costume was too big wasn't as concerned! We just switched costumes and all was OK

 

[emh1129]

I would also speak with the teacher. Your daughter shouldn't feel uncomfortable or self-conscious in her costumes.
It's too bad she didn't consult with you about what size to order before she actually ordered them

 

[CampbellScot]

What company do they order from? Some costume places will do a rush order if you give them a call. You may have to pay a little extra to get this done (even though the teacher should have at least asked you and should bear some of the cost!) But your DD can't have a dress that is too short. It's not fair to her at all and it pulls focus from the group.

good luck!!!

 

[dis-happy]

Wait and see how it goes with the second set of costumes. If they fit fine I would just live with it, but if everything is way too small I would ask the teacher to call and arrange for the company to swap out the costumes in a rush order. If she measured she should have some of the responsibility. However in our ballet class they ordered those costumes back in December and tried to allow a little room for growth---has your dd shot up in the past few months? If that's the case, it makes things harder, since it's not really anyone's fault. I would definitely look around and see if there are smaller children in the class that she could be swapped out with. In the meantime try to be positive about her costume so she is less upset, not more. By the time they are on stage with the hair and makeup they'll all look great, and the dress length probably won't be that noticable (kids are all different heights anyway).

 

[solferino]

I'm so sorry. I hope you find a good solution and your daughter feels wonderful about her costumes and has a dazzling performance. Dance recital season is so tough for so many reasons!!!

 

[luvmy2sams]

I'm sorry about this. With DD in her 4th year of dance, I know exactly how important those costumes are. I hope that you're able to switch around with another dancer or get a rush order on a new costume so your DD will match all the other girls. I'd talk to the teacher immediately and see what needs to be done. If she's at all like our DD's instructor, she'll want all the girls to look exactly the same, and will do whatever she can to rectify the situation.

It can be nerve wracking enough for those girls just getting up on the stage to perform. Your DD shouldn't have to also deal with being uncomfortable and looking different than all the other girls in her class.

I hope that you're able to solve this one. Good luck to your DD in her performance and to you in surviving the madness that leads up to these productions!

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Well I called the teacher and voiced my concerns. She did indeed order the other costumes in a small, so we will see how they fit. i'm sure they will not be right. She said she can get extra material to make the pants longer, though DD won't be pleased if they look "weird". She also said DD's costume didn't look that short compared to the others. Some of the bigger girls' skirts are very long. We'll see at the dress rehearsal.
The drama will unfold this afternoon. At least I can tell my DD that the pants can be fixed.

 

[Hannathy]

Are the Ballet skirts tulle or netting? could the really long ones be trimmed? but only if it is incredibly noticeable-but it probably won't be.

I can almost guarantee they won't be able to order another unless the company just happens to have a sample in stock. They do those in runs or batches at least in my experience and my sister has been running a dance studio for over 20 yrs. Since you had a problem this yr ask next yr to be consulted over the size before the order goes in. Girls are such different heights I really wouldn't stress too much because they aren't all going to be the same length on all the girls anyway. About the pants remind your DD that the closest anyone will be seeing her pants is 20 feet away and any additions won't be noticeable from that distance. Good luck this was the first year in 13 years that I only had minor alterations on my DD's costumes.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Wow. OK, my dd is only 3 and taking ballet for the first time, but at her dance studio, the parents are responsible for measuring their kids to make sure the correct size is ordered. That way it's the parents fault (instead of the teacher's fault) if the wrong size is ordered. Total bummer that the teacher goofed and ordered the wrong size. If I paid for the costume, I'd be quite upset!!

 

[Whosemom]

the whole costume thing is crazy! Good luck!

I have a boy dancer, and the teacher ordered what claimed to be unisex outfits. OMG!!! Luckily she was as beside herself as I was. LOL. I couldn't imagine any male short of a transvestite getting anywhere near that top! Your run-of-the-mill-effeminate guy would run. So she got him a different top.

Our real drama was this - we hold our recital a little earlier than most (its past already) and the costume company decided that she had given them a date she would like the costumes by instead of being honest about our recital date. The recital was May 6. They send her an email saying, gee, sorry, we're behind, we'll have the costumes to you on the 12th!!!! She finally convinced them otherwise - there were differences in some of the costumes, so she thinks they sent out to another company for help. Anyway - we got to deal with the same rediculous sizing issues receiving the outfits on the Tuesday before the Sunday recital.

She ALWAYS has us measure the kids before she places the orders, though, so most fit. Except that she orders in January, and sometimes kids grow at alarming rates over 4 months.

Good luck! Keep us posted. Misery loves company!

 

[Dancemom03]

DD has danced since she was 4 - competitively for the last 12 years. Each studio we've been with has sent someone in to take measurements by October/November and parents have had to literally sign off on the costume order form stating size. It's a shame this wasn't done at your daughter's studio. Dancers should feel not only special in their costumes - they should feel talented and confident regardless of individual skill level.
Parents and family members watcing will likely never forget how wonderful the child looked onstage despite how the costume fits. After all, isn't YOUR baby the best looking child in the nursery? Well, next to mine of course...

That said, I don't suppose they are made by Curtain Call by chance? Their warehouse is not very far from me at all and I'd be more than willing to personally pick up a larger size and mail it for you if possible. Often they have boxes of costumes that will show as not available for orders but they have several rooms of racks and boxes in which you might find one there in the store. If I can help let me know.
After so many years of last minute dance issues, I know how costume problems can seem bigger than life to the child wearing it. It probably won't help any but 10 years down the road, you may find yourself looking at those rubbermaid bins of outgrown costumes and you may not even remember it was less than perfect.

 

[CarolinaGirl86]

Hey! After 14 years of dance, I've decided costumes are a pain...too big, too small and a hundred other issues. At the two studios I've danced at, they've either switched sizes around amoung students, paid a seamstress to do alterations, (ie add fabric, trim everyones to the same length, etc). On a couple of occasions they've rush ordered costumes that somehow never made it into the box...and yes, this stressed out kiddo was one of the "lost" costumes! Whatever happens, I'm sure she will look absolutely beautiful in all of her costumes....(and hey...you can always pretend maybe her's is the right way, and everyone elses is too long....(ok that probably only works on my 5 year old cousin who is really short compared to the rest of the class and ended up with a super long dress, but its worth a shot)) GOOD LUCK with the costume and at the recital!!

 

[shelly3girls]

I hope everything worked out today! If not I really hope they can find a replacement.

 

[Tammysue5]

That is too bad. This is a big thing for the girls. My girls have been in dance for a few years and they are measured in November by the teacher and confirmed with the parents. At the "Holiday Recital" they pass around list to assure the costumes being ordered for your child are the right size as they order them over Christmas break. We received ours about two months ago. (March/April) and our recital is in the middle of May. We even have their pics taken in April in Full dress and makeup so groups photos can be used in the video show at the recital. I hope things turn out well for you!

 

[Aristomommy]

For DD, at least one of her costumes has been returned each year for poor fit. Even with proper measurements some costumes just fit differently. Last year a tap costume had only one sleeve and a long glove on that arm. The glove was way too big but the top too small. After sending it back the glove was still too big, so I just used double sided tape to hold it in place Worked for the 2 minutes she was on stage. I hope everything worked out with your costumes.

 

[pixiepower1971]

One of the challeges with fitting groups of girls is that some are wearing kids sizes and some are wearing adult sizes. My dds have been both the smallest and the biggest in various groups and it seems like we always have to make some sort of adjustment to get the best overall look for the group. Adding fabric is something that a seamstress should be able to do for a too small costume or cutting the skirts of the girls with longer ones. This year I am really lucky. Out of 10 costumes only 2 needed alterations. It seems like every year I have to do something to almost every one!

I hope it turns out ok for her!

 

[TheDizMom]

I can feel your pain, although I have never dealt with it for my DD. Hers are always to big. I would recommend seeing if there is someone in her class whose costume is to big to try and work a trade. It may still be a little small but maybe not so bad. I would talk to owner of the studio and let her know this is a major problem. If the other outfits are wrong too then they need to call the company and pay the costs for the new outfits and the express shipping necessary to get it to you in time. It should most definitely be at their expense since most likely they ordered the wrong size. I have never paid much attention to what they ordered for my DD either, I will from now on. With any luck it's just that costume they ordered wrong or her measurements weren't quite right for that costume. My DD is a size 4/5 and her costumes are a small child 5-7. They fit her perfectly except for one strap being a bit long. If your was given a small child there is no way they'll fit and more importantly she wouldn't be able to move enough to dance! It is definitely up to them to solve this and at their own expense. I know we are supposed to pay for alterations but that is assuming the costume is to large, not several sizes to small. As far as I know you can't enlarge a costume that much and still have it match the rest of the girls. Good luck!