My Dad always says, “Your point of view, depends upon your point of viewing”.  So this article gives the point of view of a dressmaker!                                                                                                

Have a Custom Dress Made                                 by Deanna Wright

                                       You’ve got your new music and solo.  You and your coach have decided that it’s time to have a ‘custom’ dress made for your program!  What are some things to consider?

The first question is “where to find someone to create this garment for you?”  A lot of custom dressmakers are found through word of mouth.  Coaches may have certain people that they work with regularly, others might know someone through dance or other activities, it might be someone’s mom or grandmother, or skating/dance retail stores may do the work themselves or have a network of people to suggest.  If you’re at competitions and test days, and you see a dress you like, ask the person who made it for them or where they purchased it.

Other questions to ask include:

v      Who designs it? (the skater, the coach, the dressmaker)

v      What type of fabrics should be used and where are they purchased?

v      Time Frames? 

v      What is the estimated cost versus your expected budget? 

v      What are your personal fit preferences? 

v      What are your expectations of this garment/finished product? 

v      What is your back up plan should it not turn out as you anticipated or the work just didn’t get completed?

Your designer or dressmaker is part of your paid professional team and as such should have earned a certain amount of respect for his or her ability to do what they do.  Working with stretch fabrics and knowing how to pattern and fit a garment for comfort and practicality as well as being a work of art in and of itself is no small feat.  This person would no more consider going out to advise the choreographer on how to choreograph a program or suggest to a coach how to improve the technique of a jump, so their expertise in what they do, should have equal respect.  That is not to say that it is not a collaborative effort on the part of all parties concerned.  Each person is part of a team working together to create the “total package”.  The key to success is to respect the expertise of each person’s contribution.

What are you paying for when you have a custom dress made?  Time time time and more time.  The materials used are expensive but an even bigger part of creating a custom dress is the time involved.  How much time does it take to meet with the skater to talk about the design?  How much time is involved is providing more design input?  How much time (including travel time) does it take to source the fabrics needed?  How much time is involved in developing the individual pattern, cutting the garment, sewing the garment, fitting the garment, altering the garment, dying the fabric, finishing the garment, purchasing the beading materials, actually decorating the garment.  Add up ALL those hours and think about how much you pay a skating coach per hour to teach your skater, or how much an hour you make in your own job or how much minimum wage is. 

The ability to create and sew is a gifted talent and dying art.  Many of the people who sew custom dresses do so as a labour of love because they don’t feel they could ever ask to be compensated for the number of real hours that go into producing a skating dress.  If you take the time to do this exercise – it gives you a better comparison between having a custom dress made and buying a specialty garment “off the rack”, or a more basic garment from a store that you can then individualize.                         

When reviewing time frames, again consider the time involved.  Here’s simple equation to think about:

v      A simple dress (no beadwork) may take at least 20 hours

v      Multiply by the number of dresses that a good dressmaker might be working on, at the busiest time of the season (may be 15 – 30!

v      Add 20 hours of beadwork to at least half of those dresses

The result - If you have not given your final design and fabric confirmations and provided the appropriate financial deposit at least 4 weeks prior to the competition/test, you cannot expect your garment to be completed!  Some dressmakers may make the cut off 6 – 8 weeks prior to the competition.

This is a presentation sport.  The most important factor is for the skater to feel great about himself or herself.  Whether you have had a garment made from scratch or individualized one of the many exceptional dresses available from a store, look good, feel good and skate with confidence!

Christmas  is not as far away as you might think!

Great new gifts ideas:

Thanks One and All for your Support!  We had teams running in Brampton and Burlington for the Run for the Cure and in total, we raised $2850.00 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation!!    Thank you to all of you who inspired us to be part of this great event, and to all of you who supported us in our fundraising efforts.  Be sure to check out our home page for pictures.

Good Luck, Skate Hard – 'til next time!

Print or read the October 2005 newsletter in PDF format (Portable Document Format)
If you have trouble reading or printing the PDF follow the link below for an updated reader

Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download)

                                                                                     Newsletter Index Page | Shop Online | Home Page