However, if you need costumes for competition in January, you cannot wait until November to place your order. What can you do?
In September and October, most of the costume houses will be able to ship you costumes in about 4 or 5 weeks so that is the good news. If you need costumes for a competition in December or January and can place your orders during that time, you should be in good shape. When November rolls around, the costume houses are starting to get busy and their shipping time goes to about 6 weeks. December is high season and shipping goes to about 10 weeks. And remember, these shipping times are approximate so you have to allow a few extra days for any unforeseen problems.
And also remember that “shipping time” means just that. It does not mean that it will be delivered to your studio on that date. You have to allow about 5 extra days for delivery. All of the costume houses will do their utmost to ship on time and keep you happy. Occasionally they run into problems such as:
Material problems. They are not making that up. Most of the materials are no longer available in the United States and they have to be ordered from overseas. This not only takes longer but if there is a problem with the color or the stretch it will take even longer for them to replace it with the proper material. This is pretty much beyond their control even though they all buy hundreds of thousands of dollars in inventory in advance. But if this happens, the costume company should notify you.
Shipping problems. Materials coming in from overseas sometimes run into problems with customs, strikes, weather etc. This delays everything and there is nothing the costume company can do about it. Again, the costume company should notify you.
These are just a few of the reasons to allow as much time as possible.

HOW TO MEASURE
First of all, look at the size chart of the company you are buying from. Each company has their own size chart and you cannot use one from one company when ordering from another company. The first question is why don’t they all use the same size chart? There is one easy answer. Every company buys their material from different suppliers which means that the color, the stretch etc. is different from that of another company. If they all used the same chart, there would be major problems with fit since if one buys a stretch fabric from one company and it stretches this much, and another company buys the same stretch fabric from another company and it stretches that much, you would have two costumes from the same size chart that fit completely differently.
The most important measurement is the GIRTH measurement. Why? Because most costumes stretch SIDEWAYS and not up and down. Measure girth from the center of the right shoulder, through the crotch and back to the starting point. Hold the tape loosely. When in doubt, let the girth measurement be your guide.
REMEMBER: You know your students best. If they gain or lose fifteen pounds over the next few months, or they grow four inches, this will definitely affect the fit.
LOOK AT YOUR STUDENTS: If the girth says one size but the student has an exceptionally large bust or of the student is exceptionally thin, you must take this into consideration.
CHECK THE MATERIAL: Velvets, Lycra etc. stretch. Satin does not.

HOW TO ADJUST COSTUMES IF THEY ARE TOO SMALL OR TOO LARGE
When you finally get your costumes, let’s hope they all fit beautifully. If they do not, what can you do? First of all it is a lot easier to take in a costume that is too big than it is to let out a costume that is too small. If it is too big, you can have someone sew the side seams and also the crotch to bring it in to fit better. If it is too small, we suggest putting a piece of stretch material in the crotch which can make it anywhere from one to two sizes bigger.
Neither of these is a perfect solution, but at least it gives you something to work with when a few costumes do not fit like you would like them to.

EXCHANGES
If you order early enough and you find that the costumes do not fit properly, then there is a chance that you have time to exchange them for a different size. However, you must realize that costume houses cannot afford to get stuck with lots of costumes at the end of the season so they do not stock extra costumes for exchange. There is a very good reason for this.
Let us assume a costume house has 500 different style costumes in their line. If they have 7 sizes in each costume, then seven time five hundred equals three thousand five hundred. If they kept only five costumes in each size for possible exchanges, that would equal 17,500 costumes. Needless to say if those costumes are not used for exchange they would be stuck with a lot of costumes and the cost would be prohibitive. And that would only be five costumes of each. Suppose they needed more, it would make it even worse.
However, if you have to make an exchange, this is what we suggest: Call the company and see how long it will take to get an exchange. It will probably be as long as whatever shipping time they are giving unless you are extremely lucky and they happen to have the size you want in stock. (Quite rare.) Order the exchange and charge it to your credit card. Tell them you are returning a costume and they should credit your account when they receive it (minus whatever the exchange charge is). This is important because if they wait for your return before they ship the costume they cannot order the new costume until they receive the exchange and that will delay the delivery even more.
The reason they cannot order a costume until the return is received is many times teachers say they are returning a costume for exchange and then either forget to return it or delay sending it and then it is too confusing for everyone. That is why you should put it on your credit card immediately. Also remember to return the other costume immediately since they will not accept any exchanges as the season draws to a close.

WHAT TO DO WHEN A COSTUME IS LATE IN ARRIVING
You have sent in your order and the company says that the ship date is approximately 8 weeks. That gives you plenty of time and you have allowed 5 extra days for delivery and 5 more for any delay. It is now past that time and the costumes still have not arrived. You are in a panic. (We cannot blame you.) Call the company immediately. Try and speak to your personal customer service representative. This way you will get the same person you always talk to and he or she will probably know about your order. Get information. Is there a problem? Will they be ready to ship shortly so you can still get them before your show or competition?
Be calm and polite even if the representative does not give you the answer you want. Hopefully the representative will also be calm and polite and that way you can find the proper answer. If they cannot deliver the costumes in time, you have a choice of canceling the order or waiting longer for the costumes to be delivered, or they may be able to offer you other costumes to replace the ones you originally ordered. Again, this is not the greatest Plan B but it gives you some alternative.
Hopefully, if you ordered the costumes allowing the correct shipping and delivery time, problems like this will be at a minimum.

IS IT WORTHWHILE TO HAVE COSTUMES PART SHIPPED?
This is usually up to you. If you have to make alterations to the costumes, such as additional rhinestones, sequins, appliqués etc. and you want to get started early, it might be worthwhile to have whatever costumes are ready shipped, with the rest being shipped later. Most companies will be glad to do this for you but there may be an extra shipping charge involved, so check with the company first.
It might be a little confusing if you do this however, since it’s almost impossible to give out part of a class while the other students are disappointed they didn’t get theirs.

WHAT TO DO WITH TWO PIECE COSTUMES
In today’s world, many of the costumes available are two piece costumes. They will look good on most dancers but if you have students who are not happy with they way they look in them there are a few things you can do. Some companies offer a nude garment that can be worn under the costume. This way the costume can still be worn as a two piece outfit and the undergarment will hold the body intact and make the students who are uncomfortable feel more secure. If some students are too heavy for the costume but you have decided the class would look good in this costume, then this is a good way to help the heavier students look and feel better.

HOW TO CLEAN COSTUMES
If a costume has a stain or is dirty there a few things you can do. First of all, try a Tide stick or an Oxy-clean stick and try to remove the stain. If that doesn’t work, look at the tag on the costume. Most costumes can be dry cleaned (but not all). If this still doesn’t work there is always the chance it can be washed, but that is very dangerous and there is no telling what the outcome might be.

HOW TO GET YOUR OWN PERSONAL CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE
Many companies now have a way to assign you your own personal representative. When you speak to a rep and you are happy talking to that person and you feel comfortable working with him or her, get the extension number. That way, whenever you call, you can dial that number and be connected with the same person. It is much nicer when you can speak to someone you have spoken to before rather than start all over again from the beginning with someone new.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN ORDERING A COSTUME
The costumes you order are “ready made costumes” and not custom made so there are certain things that must be taken into consideration. First of all, look at the costume in the catalog and READ the description. You may find out that it is not made of the material that you thought it was by just looking at the picture. See what sizes it comes in and be sure the sizes you need are available. Be sure it comes in the colors you want. Check the ship date and be sure you have enough time.

HOW TO GET YOUR STUDENTS TO PAY FOR THE COSTUMES
There are many ways to do this. Some studios include the cost of the costumes with a registration fee when they first sign in to the studio. This works well because the costume is paid for and there is no more “collecting” to do. However, not every student can afford to do this at the beginning of the season.
Some studios collect a certain amount each month along with the monthly class fee. This helps spread out the payments and is not a huge burden on the students. But remember that the payments have to be made in the first few months of the new season so that you can order the costumes.
Some studios wait until the costumes are picked out so they know exactly how much the costumes cost and what they are going to charge the students, and then they apprise the parents of the cost and give them a due date when the payment has to be in.
There are many ways to collect the money for the costumes, but no matter how you do it, there is one thing that is extremely important. The costumes MUST be paid in full BEFORE THE COSTUMES ARE EVEN ORDERED.. You do not want the costumes to arrive and then have the student move or quit and then you are stuck with a costume that is unpaid. However, this means that you have to make your decisions early so that the collection of the money does not, in any way, delay your ordering the costumes. The longer you delay, the more of a chance the costume company cannot deliver on your specified date, and then you have a real problem.
WATCH FOR MORE TIPS ON COSTUMES AND OTHER RELATED ITEMS THAT WE WILL POST ON A MONTHLY BASIS. WE HOPE IT HELPS.
HAVE A GREAT YEAR.
Nancy and Art Stone ART STONE/THE COMPETITOR ®
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