classydancer
Member
I've also used a chinese dressmaker and have worn that dress for two years now. I still receive compliments on it, from little girls to pros
Do you order dancewear and shoes from overseas?
- Thread starter DanceMentor
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Ordered a gown for a newbie friend from overseas vendor. Friend is so happy, she could float away. total win.
<bump bump> wore gown at recent comp. Got many compliments Go figure. It's terrific. Color me happy.
scullystwin42
Forum Master
That's awesome!
scullystwin42
Forum Master
Hey there, has anyone ordered a dress from RP Atelier? They are ukraine-based, but i love their designs, and their quote for a custom dress fits my budget. Let me know if you have!
classydancer
Member
I have not ordered from RP Atelier, but I met the designer, Agnieszka, at Blackpool and spent a lot of time at her booth. She's a lovely person and her dresses are great (I tried on two) - the quality was very good. She didn't have anything already made that fit exactly the way I wanted it to, though, so I didn't buy from her. She was happy to do something custom made, but the design process and all the decision-making makes my head spin, so I decided to just wait and watch for whatever came next. I can send you a private message with links to a few videos at her booth if you're interested
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scullystwin42
Forum Master
Thanks! And I made a mistake in my post, I think it’s Polish not Ukranian.I have not ordered from RP Atelier, but I met the designer, Agnieszka, at Blackpool and spent a lot of time at her booth. She's a lovely person and her dresses are great (I tried on two) - the quality was very good. She didn't have anything already made that fit exactly the way I wanted it to, though, so I didn't buy from her. She was happy to do something custom made, but the design process and all the decision-making makes my head spin, so I decided to just wait and watch for whatever came next. I can send you a private message with links to a few videos at her booth if you're interested
classydancer
Member
Yes, the company is in Poland
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
In response to OP’s questions, and to (hopefully) assist future DF readers with their shoe selection process...yes, I bought my shoes from overseas. When we did our 3 intro lessons I wore regular sandals bcs they were the only open toed shoes I had that buckled around my ankle & would stay on (I mainly wear slides in summer). Then when we did the 6 (I think I said 10 in a previous post but it was only 6) beginner lessons, I switched to a pair of t-strap character shoes I still had from the last play I was in, & they worked better than the sandals. Studio recommended suede soled true ballroom shoes if I decided to continue in the social foundation program, so I ordered several $20-$40 pairs from amazon in different styles & sizes (all 2” heels). My street shoe size is US 9.5 regular width, & after reading lots of customer reviews on Amazon I bought sizes 8.5 and 9 to try. I got my new pro’s evaluation of the ones that were comfortable enough to wear, so he could tell me which ones fit properly and explain why they needed to fit a certain way, & returned the ones that didn’t work (yay for amazon’s free returns). The 8.5 size fit best. When I practiced at home, I used a different pair than I wore at lessons, bcs our hardwood floors at home aren‘t nearly as nice as the studio floor & I didn’t want to damage the lesson shoes.
As I neared the end of my 14 social foundation lessons & prepared to start bronze program, I tried on the VeryFine dance shoes carried & sold by my studio. The studio only stocked one style of smooth/standard & one style of Latin sandals, & they were very uncomfortable on me. After making numerous phone calls, I discovered that NO other place in my city carried any ballroom shoes, so I couldn’t try anything on without driving 90+ minutes (grump grump grump). So I started studying the shoes of the ladies at my studio who were there for lessons a lot, and who appeared frequently on the studio’s Facebook page as comp participants. Many of them had shoe bags with “IDS” on them, so I looked up what that was: International Dance Shoes.
Next I did research online about “best ballroom dance shoes” & got all the expected names: Ray Rose, Supadance, Aida, Werner Kern, a few others. International was in the category of “really good but not absolute top of the line, midrange price, definitely sufficient for non pros.” I read a whole lot of reviews of IDS shoes, & purchasers’ descriptions of their various sizing & styles & heel types...also their return policy & procedures, since they’re in the UK.
And then I jumped in. If you’re going to participate in a sport, you need the correct gear. (You don’t wear $20 Keds for cross country running, for example, without risking injury & minimizing your chances of success.) I went to the IDS website & ordered a pair of Mia tan satin Latin sandals, US size 8.5, 2.5” IDS (flared) heels, & no customized features that would prevent them from being returned if needed. I also bought a shoe brush & plain tip heel protectors. SUCCESS! They arrived very quickly & I took them to studio before wearing them, to get Pro’s opinion. He said they fit perfectly. He was surprised I had spent that much for shoes I hadn’t tried on first...prob one of the first big hints to him that I was serious about learning dance. (The first night I wore them for a lesson, one of the more experienced students glanced at them & said, “so you went for the 2.5” heels?” I was impressed she could tell that in just a glance!) I still used a 2” pair from amazon for practice at home, but could tell a big difference in the heel heights, so occasionally I would wear my IDS shoes for short practice sessions.
I wrote a glowing review of my IDS sandals online, in which I said I would definitely be ordering my smooth shoes from them also. IDS emailed me to thank me for the review, and suggested that when I ordered the smooth style, to get a half size larger than my sandals. Very cool that they read the review & took the extra step of contacting me...no idea if other sellers do that, but it’s a first IME.
A month later, after Pro asked repeatedly “haven’t you bought your smooth shoes yet?” I went back to IDS website & ordered a pair of ICS Round Toe SingleStrap flesh satin shoes, US size 9, regular width, 2.5” IDS heels. (I also ordered another set of heel protectors, this time suede tip, bcs the plain tip ones are a non-skid rubbery plastic material that makes it hard for me to glide my foot forward on the long heel-toe steps. If I were a better dancer, they’d work fine, bcs my foot would be gliding just above the floor rather than on it, but I’m not.) As before, they arrived quickly, & Pro approved.
I’ve had the Latin sandals only 3 months & the smooth shoes only 2, so I can’t comment on how they’ll hold up over time. I had ZERO painful breaking-in period with either pair, which is a huge thing IMO.
As I gain more experience, I might try a US company & hope their shoes work as well for me as IDS, but since my focus was not on price or local availability, IDS was great for me.
As I neared the end of my 14 social foundation lessons & prepared to start bronze program, I tried on the VeryFine dance shoes carried & sold by my studio. The studio only stocked one style of smooth/standard & one style of Latin sandals, & they were very uncomfortable on me. After making numerous phone calls, I discovered that NO other place in my city carried any ballroom shoes, so I couldn’t try anything on without driving 90+ minutes (grump grump grump). So I started studying the shoes of the ladies at my studio who were there for lessons a lot, and who appeared frequently on the studio’s Facebook page as comp participants. Many of them had shoe bags with “IDS” on them, so I looked up what that was: International Dance Shoes.
Next I did research online about “best ballroom dance shoes” & got all the expected names: Ray Rose, Supadance, Aida, Werner Kern, a few others. International was in the category of “really good but not absolute top of the line, midrange price, definitely sufficient for non pros.” I read a whole lot of reviews of IDS shoes, & purchasers’ descriptions of their various sizing & styles & heel types...also their return policy & procedures, since they’re in the UK.
And then I jumped in. If you’re going to participate in a sport, you need the correct gear. (You don’t wear $20 Keds for cross country running, for example, without risking injury & minimizing your chances of success.) I went to the IDS website & ordered a pair of Mia tan satin Latin sandals, US size 8.5, 2.5” IDS (flared) heels, & no customized features that would prevent them from being returned if needed. I also bought a shoe brush & plain tip heel protectors. SUCCESS! They arrived very quickly & I took them to studio before wearing them, to get Pro’s opinion. He said they fit perfectly. He was surprised I had spent that much for shoes I hadn’t tried on first...prob one of the first big hints to him that I was serious about learning dance. (The first night I wore them for a lesson, one of the more experienced students glanced at them & said, “so you went for the 2.5” heels?” I was impressed she could tell that in just a glance!) I still used a 2” pair from amazon for practice at home, but could tell a big difference in the heel heights, so occasionally I would wear my IDS shoes for short practice sessions.
I wrote a glowing review of my IDS sandals online, in which I said I would definitely be ordering my smooth shoes from them also. IDS emailed me to thank me for the review, and suggested that when I ordered the smooth style, to get a half size larger than my sandals. Very cool that they read the review & took the extra step of contacting me...no idea if other sellers do that, but it’s a first IME.
A month later, after Pro asked repeatedly “haven’t you bought your smooth shoes yet?” I went back to IDS website & ordered a pair of ICS Round Toe SingleStrap flesh satin shoes, US size 9, regular width, 2.5” IDS heels. (I also ordered another set of heel protectors, this time suede tip, bcs the plain tip ones are a non-skid rubbery plastic material that makes it hard for me to glide my foot forward on the long heel-toe steps. If I were a better dancer, they’d work fine, bcs my foot would be gliding just above the floor rather than on it, but I’m not.) As before, they arrived quickly, & Pro approved.
I’ve had the Latin sandals only 3 months & the smooth shoes only 2, so I can’t comment on how they’ll hold up over time. I had ZERO painful breaking-in period with either pair, which is a huge thing IMO.
As I gain more experience, I might try a US company & hope their shoes work as well for me as IDS, but since my focus was not on price or local availability, IDS was great for me.
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
Latino Dancewears has been mentioned very positively several times in this thread. A fellow student at my studio also told me she gets most of her dresses from them. I've been on their website and find it a little overwhelming, since I don't really know yet what I'm looking at. There are so many choices and so many options for customization that I hardly know where to begin. However, I really like the 3-digit prices. Can a beginner make good selections without substantial input from her pro or other experienced dancers? Are there any basic rules which, if followed, increase my chances of making a good choice?
Well Rounded
Well-Known Member
I value input from my pro. When I see something I like online, I show it to my pro (on the phone, laptop or tablet), and get his input. If the prices is substantial, I get input from the studio owner. If it's a high-ticket item and I can't return it, I definitely want their input before I order. Over the years, they have approved most of my choices, but they give me insight to other considerations. Ultimately the decision is mine. I will say that most of the time I have ignored their advice I have regretted it. That doesn't matter so much if the item cost $15 but when it costs $1500 or even $150, it matters to me.
The only advice that has always been correct is, don't buy something that you don't like, just because it's a good buy or someone else says it's the right thing for you.
The only advice that has always been correct is, don't buy something that you don't like, just because it's a good buy or someone else says it's the right thing for you.
scullystwin42
Forum Master
Honestly, with Latinodances, just make sure you tell them to use Preciosa or Swarovski rhinestones. Everything else, pick what you want. I have had to had a few things adjusted once it arrives, so just make sure you have access to a decent seamstress just in case.
scullystwin42
Forum Master
Hm. My studio owner has heard a couple not great things of RP Atelier. I like the interaction with The owner so far, and I know my studio owner has a bit of bias against European dressmakers 
. Ugh. Asking again if anyone here knows someone who’s bought from them.
. Ugh. Asking again if anyone here knows someone who’s bought from them.
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
Help! I just realized there are 2 almost identically-named websites that both sell dresses like I’m looking for...latinodances dot com and latinodancewears dot com. Which is the one that you guys have had such great success with? Both of them offer different quality stones & different fabric options; both have great prices; both make dresses to fit the measurements provided by the customer... I can’t tell which one to use!
scullystwin42
Forum Master
Latinodances
the other one is not so good
the other one is not so good