QUESTION:

My daughter’s ballet teacher suggested I contact you regarding having two tutu costumes made for my daughter (age11) for a competition in February.  We want her to have something appropriate for competition but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars as she will definitely grow out of them. Her teacher suggested you might have a solution.  I’d appreciate any input you have on this.

TUTU.COM ANSWER:

I would recommend this: a Mondor Bodice Leotard with one of our Economy tutus.  The tutus come in many colors, start at $90, with add on options like hooping, custom dyeing, etc.  They look very professional - perfect for a serious, young dancer. If you can sew or use a gun tacker, you don’t need to pay for tacking the layers. Use the links above or search for product keywords Mondor then Economy Tutu in the Tutu.com Search Field for all the options and pricing. We can dye the leotard to match the color tutu you choose.

Often, young dancers outgrow the bodice/leotard part before they outgrow the tutu skirt, so doing it this way with a separate leotard is way more cost effective.  You can also switch out embellishments for different parts very easily if you have minor sewing skills.

Tutu.com sells hundreds of embellishments.  If you can decorate it yourself, you can save that cost. Paying someone for the hours of handwork can really add up financially.

Please keep in mind that our tutus are all made when ordered, so don’t wait if you decide to go with us. Depending on the time of year, our schedule gets booked up. Sometimes, if we are doing an order of tutus in the same color as yours that was placed earlier, we can tack your order on and do it with the other order, and get it out sooner, but that doesn’t always happen. 

Dyed Mondor bodice leotards drying at Tutu.com's Ballet Costume Shop.