Practicewear - I just don't get it.

fascination said:
with the exception of a few wraparound dresses from kohl's, I wear what I wear to thegym to my lessons...and that has no bearing on my dancing..to each their own
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My personal beef with knits from Kohl's and JC Penney is that they don't look good long enough. It takes fewer washes before they start to show signs of wear compared to non-knits and quality practice wear. I.e. Dance America practice skirt I mentioned earlier on this thread, I still have it and it is still as good as new. Dance America practice top I bought even earlier - same thing, and I wear it quite often. A knit top from JC Penney I bought around the same time - not as good, even though I wore it less often than said practice top. Although I had a couple of pleasant surprises with JC Penney clothing, but those were exceptions.
 
I don't shop at penneys so I can't speak to that....as to the rest, I have no issue with premature wear and tear to the stuff from kohls so I have not needed to look further for practice gear....shrug...whatever works for folks
 
Some of the dresses on danceshopper look so amazing, they don't even look like practice wear....not just a plain top and skirt anymore....practice wear has evolved...there must be a market for this stuff....I love it
 
Do your knits "knubble up" with tiny little balls (of not lint but balled fabric)? I've NEVER figured out how not to get it to do that. It's so frustrating, so I get the equivalent of "Citi-Knits"- it's a poly kind of slinky nylony stuff. GREAT for travel, lasts forever if you treat it right, which thankfully isn't difficult.

I've looked at some holyclothing skirts, but I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I could probably find an equivalent cheaper. Their colors and styles are SO pretty though.
 
And the pants i got from Penney's (I don't shop for dance stuff there, but have outerwear, etc. you know, stuff that doesn't matter, heh) got knee boobs. They were wide-legged! How does that happen?
 
sbrnsmith said:
Some of the dresses on danceshopper look so amazing, they don't even look like practice wear....not just a plain top and skirt anymore....practice wear has evolved...there must be a market for this stuff....I love it
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There is! Showcases, Am syllabus competition, and I've seen some female pros wear DanceAmerica dresses dancing with their students in ProAm events.

I love the DanceAmerica things I have!
 
The practice wear is rediculously priced IMO. Why does a simple shirt made of nylon spandex need to cost upwards of $100? I guess it's supply and demand and there isn't enough demand. I have found some reasonably-priced "dance-like" tops at the Dress Barn stores in the DC area. I would have never known to go in there until someone recommended it to me...
 
I like danceshopper and have a few pairs of pants/skirts that I wear to practice parties, but yeah, they are expensive. Having said that, I've found plenty of cheaper alternatives for $20-$40 at (for example) the Deb shop and ekclothing. No significant difference in quality or compliment receipt for what I've bought among the various stores.

For lessons, I usually wear yoga/exercise pants/capris and a fitted t-shirt.
 
canismajor41 said:
The practice wear is rediculously priced IMO. Why does a simple shirt made of nylon spandex need to cost upwards of $100? I guess it's supply and demand and there isn't enough demand. I have found some reasonably-priced "dance-like" tops at the Dress Barn stores in the DC area. I would have never known to go in there until someone recommended it to me...
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Well, one reason I can see is that fabric (the very specific dance fabric with that soft hand and great stretch to it) often costs upwards of $25 a yard. Yes, you can get a matte jersey or matte stretch crepe fabric for a lot cheaper, but a lot of them just don't have the same texture as the higher quality fabrics. If your materials are going to cost you at least $30 (including other notions like elastic and thread) then you've got to charge more than that to pay for the laborers time and probably some overhead for the company selling it.
 
fascination said:
I don't shop at penneys so I can't speak to that....as to the rest, I have no issue with premature wear and tear to the stuff from kohls so I have not needed to look further for practice gear....shrug...whatever works for folks
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I bought some Arizona Jean yoga pants/fitted t-shirts. Both Kohls and Penney carry this line, and it's fairly inexpensive. I guess that's one of those cases of "you get what you pay for", because the pants do tend to develop the "knee-boob" and the fabric is prone to piling. So while they don't fall apart, they're not presentable enough to wear in public after something like 30 laundry cycles. A somewhat pricier top I bought at Penney, made out of fabric similar to DanceAmerica's, is just much more resistant to those things.
 
interesting...I don't wear that brand...i do tned to stick to fitness brands when Igo to Kohl's ....all of which hold up well
 
I feel that if I wear anything more than maybe a skirt and tank top to dance I look like a bit of a snob. Obviously that's not the case of either me or people who wear practise wear, but some of the full-on dresses just look really fancy.

I usually just end up going in jeans and a longish shirt (bc no one wants to see standard belly) or workout gear.
 
Lioness said:
I feel that if I wear anything more than maybe a skirt and tank top to dance I look like a bit of a snob. Obviously that's not the case of either me or people who wear practise wear, but some of the full-on dresses just look really fancy.

I usually just end up going in jeans and a longish shirt (bc no one wants to see standard belly) or workout gear.
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I think that really depends on the studio/space you are practicing in. It is not unusual to see people in full practice dress/wear at my studio.
 
I have quite a few practice skirts but I hardly ever wear them. I usually just wear yoga pants and a top. I'll wear the practice wear for coachings.
 
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