Dance School & Studio Costume Supplier

Class uniform, show costume or both: what a studio order usually contains

A dance school orders two kinds of garment from ZipaSports: the class uniform that students wear every week in the studio's own colours, and the show or competition costume that is made once for a specific routine. Cheer programmes add a third: the practice set and the competition uniform. The table shows the pieces in each group, the fabric options and how each is decorated.

Every row is its own design with a 20–25 piece minimum, and a class of mixed ages fits inside that count because sizes are mixed within one design.

The show calendar: counting back from dress rehearsal

Show costumes are the one order a studio cannot receive late, so we plan them backwards from the dress rehearsal rather than forwards from the enquiry. The week counts below use the standard production path; the express path shortens production to 7–12 days at additional cost when a routine is added late.

A studio with a fixed show date should send the date in the first message. We confirm which path fits and, if the standard path is too long, quote express production so the costumes still arrive with a fitting week in hand. Class uniforms are less date-bound and are usually placed for the start of term.

Fabrics that survive a term of classes

Class uniforms are washed weekly and stretched daily, so the fabric choice matters more than it does for a costume worn twice. Our dance and cheer garments are cut from 4-way stretch lycra and spandex blends at 180–220 GSM, which recover their shape after a full class and hold colour through repeated washing. Leggings for class and warm-up go heavier, in nylon-spandex or polyester-spandex at 240–300 GSM with 12–20% elastane, so they stay opaque in a deep plié.

Show costumes draw from the embellishment fabrics: foil for light-catching bodices, stretch velvet for lyrical and contemporary pieces, power mesh for sleeves and midriff panels, and sequin fabric for musical theatre. Each is lined or backed where it sits against skin, and the spec sheet states which base fabric carries each panel. The full range with handling notes is on the dance costume fabrics page.

Sublimated fabric is checked for wash-fastness and colour-fastness before cutting, which matters when a studio's youngest class is four years old and the costume is washed after every rehearsal. Finished panels are measured against the approved size specification before packing.

Sublimation or rhinestones: choosing decoration by piece

Sublimation and rhinestone are both done in-house, and most show costumes use both: a sublimated base with hotfix stones on the bodice. The choice per piece follows a few practical rules.

• Sublimation prints the design into polyester-based stretch fabric, so ombré fades, galaxy prints, faux-lace patterns and the studio name across the back cost nothing extra in colours and never crack or peel. It is the right method for a whole class in matching costumes and for anything a child will wear repeatedly.
• Rhinestone and crystal hotfix is applied by placement on the bodice, neckline, waist or skirt hem. It gives the stage sparkle a solo or competition piece needs; the mockup shows stone size and density so the studio approves the coverage before production. See rhinestone and crystal embellishment.
• Embroidery is used on warm-up jackets and bags, not on stretch costume fabric, where the stitching would restrict movement.
• Heat transfer and DTF suit a small logo on a class leotard or a name on a cotton-blend tee.

For a group routine we recommend sublimation for the base and rhinestone only where the lights catch, which keeps the cast matching and the costumes washable. Details on the method itself are on the dye sublimation page.

Child 4 to adult in one costume: sizing without a fitting day

The same costume design can be ordered from a size for a four-year-old to an adult size in a single run, and the mixed sizes count towards the one 20–25 piece minimum. Patterns are graded by computer from your size chart or ours, so the neckline, strap and skirt proportions scale with the child rather than simply shrinking the adult pattern.

Studios that cannot hold a fitting day have two options. The first is a measured size list: the teacher records chest, waist, hip, girth (shoulder over crotch and back) and height per student against our chart, and we cut to the list. The second is a sizing set, one leotard per size, made in 5–7 days at sample cost and credited against the bulk order, which stays at the studio and is used for every future order.

Girth is the measurement that decides whether a leotard fits, so the size list template we send asks for it first. Long-torso and short-torso adjustments can be built into the size chart for an adult company. Finished garments are measured against the approved size specification before packing; the normal tolerance is ±1–1.5 cm.

Warm-ups, team jackets and the studio-branded range

The studio jacket is the garment parents see most, worn to and from class and at every competition, so it is usually the first branded piece a school orders after class uniform. Team jackets and hoodies are cut from cotton-polyester fleece at 280–350 GSM, or performance polyester fleece at 240–300 GSM for a lighter competition-day layer, with the studio crest embroidered on the chest and the dancer's name printed or embroidered on the back.

A matching set typically includes joggers or leggings, a tee or crop top for warm-up, and a dance bag in 600D polyester with the logo embroidered on the front panel. Each garment is one design with its own 20–25 piece minimum; a studio with 60 students across three age groups fills that count easily on the jacket alone.

Studios that sell the branded range through reception, or online to parents, can have their own woven neck labels, printed size tags and hang tags on every piece, with individual polybags so the stock is shelf-ready from the carton. Studios that operate the range as a brand under their own label have no MOQ limit on reorders. Product options are on the tops, jackets and warm-ups page.

Reorders, new starters and mid-term top-ups

A dance school's uniform order never really ends: new students join in September and January, dancers grow out of a leotard mid-term, and the competition team needs one more costume when a cast changes. ZipaSports keeps the approved artwork, Pantone references, sublimation files, rhinestone placement maps and the studio's size specification on record, so a reorder is placed by sending a size list and goes straight into production without a new mockup or sample.

Colour consistency across reorders is handled in two ways. Sublimated colours are printed from the same file each time, so a leotard ordered in January matches one ordered the previous September. Solid dyed fabrics are matched to the Pantone reference on file, and minor shade variation between dye lots is normal; a studio that needs an exact match across an entire cast should order the whole cast in one run.

Top-ups of a few pieces for new starters are possible below the standard minimum on request once the design has been produced. A studio that plans its year can also place the class uniform for both intakes at once and hold the second batch, which is the most reliable way to keep every student in the same colour.

What the studio sends us, shipping, and the Quality Guarantee

This is the checklist a studio owner sends to start an order; the free design service fills any gaps.

Orders ship from Sialkot, Pakistan by DHL, FedEx or UPS in 5–10 days with tracking to the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and EuropeIrelandNew ZealandUAESaudi Arabia; import VAT or duty is payable by the importer on arrival unless otherwise agreed.

Quality Guarantee: if any garment arrives with a manufacturing defect, we remake it free of charge — the remake goes into production within 3 days of your report. Send photos and the order reference within 7 days of delivery. A misprint, open seam, missing stones against the approved mockup or a wrong size against the approved specification is a defect; a size chosen wrongly or a change of mind is not, and made-to-order costumes cannot be returned. Full terms are on the Quality Guarantee page.