When a client first contacts us about making their dream tutu, we start the process by getting to know them.  

How old is the dancer?  Is this her first custom tutu?  Where does she dance? At what level – is she a professional dancer in a company?  A pre-professional student? Which company? Which school? Who is her coach/teacher/director?  What is the tutu for – a YAGP solo? A Nutcracker? An International Ballet Competition?

These are important first questions that tell us a lot about what this particular dancer might be needing. Every coach/ director/ choreographer/ teacher comes from a specific background – Russian, English, French, etc.  Ballet is very tradition-bound. It is important to recognize and respect the traditions honored by the dancer and those with whom she is working.

Once we have thoroughly discussed the needs and wants of the dancer, as well as the probable costs and realistic time frames, we work up an estimate.  In order to be put on our schedule, the client must do two things:

1. Pay a 50% deposit on a credit/debit card with the rest to be charged along with the shipping charge when the costume is finished and ready to ship OR pay 50% on Paypal, AND give us a credit card to keep on file to charge the remainder and the shipping charge when ready to ship out.   We prefer NOT to wait for the final payment to be made through Paypal because often clients do not see the final Paypal invoice for some reason and we do not ship without payment in full. We DO NOT take personal or business checks or Echecks.
2. Send us all measurements we have asked for.

Once the deposit and measurements are received, the design is put on the schedule.  At this point, we will let you know when you can expect to receive your tutu – We do not count the time in which we have been speaking with a client and/or the time it takes for a client to make a decision to have us make their tutu as part of the time it actually takes to make their tutu. If the client takes a couple weeks to make their decision and/or get us proper measurements, and we have, in that time, taken on other clients who were ready to go, it is possible that it could take longer than earlier anticipated to finish their design. We are strict about this policy. We simply do not have the time in our schedule to hold open time/space for anyone.   

It is extremely important that the measurements we receive from the client are accurate. Dancers should never measure themselves. Do not add “growing room” to measurements OR subtract from actual measurements for anticipated weight loss.  I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of getting accurate measurements. We will make your costume to the measurements we receive from you. If the costume does not fit, we are happy to alter it.  However, if it does not fit due to inaccurate measurements, there will be a charge for the extra work. We make each costume with as much “wiggle room” for change as is possible considering the complexity of the design.

• Women's Measurement Worksheet
• Men's Measurement Worksheet

If a client is nervous about the measurements they have sent for one reason or another, we are happy to send a muslin for fitting purposes.  We ask that clients take a video of the fitting, or Zoom with us during the fitting. It is also a good idea to send a video of the measurements being taken, showing a close up of each final measurement of the tape measure on the dancer. 

Once on the schedule, we will pull samples of several bodice fabric choices, and will ruffle several tutu skirt sample options.  We will organize and label all samples to make it easy for you to mix and match them. We keep a copy of all samples we send out, so the client simply has to email or call us with their choices. 

Once your costume has been cut out, any changes to color and/or design will incur an extra charge.  We do not put a time limit on this, as sometimes there are delays in the cut schedule, and we are happy to accommodate your changes without added charge if at all possible. 

We often post pictures of works in progress on FB and IG.  We do not mention client names, unless specifically asked to do so.  If you do not want to see your tutu in progress publicly, please let us know and we will not post any pictures.

Clients are welcome to email and/or call us to check on time frames.  It is rare that we can move a project up to be shipped out earlier than originally agreed upon.  Our Shop works on an extremely tight schedule.

For shipping most custom garments, we use UPS or FedEx Express Mail with one to two-day delivery. Shipping rates for custom items will vary depending on the piece and your delivery requirements. Tutus in particular may require special handling, packaging, insurance, etc. You will be given our best estimate shipping rate when you place your custom order. Shipping will be billed when the item is ready to ship.

Custom Orders are not returnable.Please understand the importance of supplying accurate measurements. Your costume will be made to the measurements supplied by you. Because we often do not have the opportunity for in-person fittings, our costumes are made to fit as close as possible according to the measurements you provide.

It is possible that light alterations will need to be done, even with perfect measurements, due to a dancer’s weight fluctuations, water weight, current humidity changes, etc.  Most of the time, these minor tweaks can be done by a mom or local alterations person.  If more extensive alterations are needed due to more complicated fitting issues and/or changes in your measurements, we are happy to make those changes.  You will, in that case, incur alteration and shipping charges.  However, if you need alterations, we want to help make the costume the way you envision and are happy to help.