Wednesday, July 3rd
2024 Dancewear Store Reviews
Eleve Dancewear
- Free shipping on orders over $200
- Get 10% off order with email signup
- Ready-to-wear and custom options
- 14-day return policy
At Eleve, they style their dancewear to help dancers represent their personality. Eleve's founder, Lisa Choules, began her career at Ballet West in Utah. Later, she was dancing with Kansas City Ballet when she began designing costumes for director William Whitener, Quixotic Fusion, and Owen/Cox Dance Group. She retired in 2009 and founded Eleve Dancewear, a company that specializes in making custom dancewear.
Unique designs you won't find elsewhere
The product selection at Eleve is not run-of-the-mill. Customers will immediately notice that this is a high-quality retailer with fashionable designs that you won't find anywhere else. You can shop by women, men, kids, or collections. In addition, you can view all their fabric options (solid, solid mesh, velvet, pattern fabric, and pattern mesh). There are hundreds of selections that can be used for custom leotards, skirts, dresses, tops, bottoms, and more. Not only do they have beautiful floral patterns and flattering solid colors, but you can order products in seasonal prints as well if you want to dress up for Halloween or get festive for Christmastime.
Custom dancewear
Within any category, you can choose to shop from Eleve's "Ready to Wear" or "Custom" selection. For custom items like skirts and dresses, tops and bottoms, and unitards that aren't available in the "Ready to Wear" category, customers will select their size, quantity, and color. There is a 6-8 week production time before shipping. If you order a custom item here, you won't be able to return it. However, "Ready to Wear" items can be returned within 14 days for a full refund as long as they're in new, original condition.
Great product descriptions
The product descriptions at Eleve Dancewear are some of the best we've seen: they have real pictures of models and their products taken from different angles, plus all the details about the models and a helpful size chart to make sure you get the right fit. The only thing we wish Eleve had on their product descriptions was the option for customers to leave unfiltered reviews.
Expensive, but worth it
There's no doubt that Eleve Dancewear is one of the most expensive choices for dancewear. They offer free shipping on orders over $200, which seems like a lot, but if you're shopping here that's only 2 or 3 pieces of clothing. Most leotards are at least $75 or more, which is 2-3 times more than what you can find elsewhere. However, it's hard to compare Eleve's dancewear to most other retailers since they have such unique designs and materials. You're getting the best of the best here, so it isn't going to be cheap. We imagine that anything you purchase from Eleve will bring in lots of compliments from fellow dancers since it isn't what you see everyday.
Very happy customers
We found quite a bit of feedback from both customers and employees of the company. Across the board people were thrilled with their purchases here and felt it was well worth the cost. Some comments we read mentioned that fabric is sturdy but stretches well, and whatever you buy from Eleve should easily last years, even with heavy wear. People say the size chart is accurate, so you don't have to worry about ordering the wrong thing as long as you put in the time to measure.
Best option for serious dancers
Browsing Eleve's website is enjoyable since they have such a modern and beautiful collection. If you're a serious dancer looking for top quality items, Eleve Dancewear should be the first place you look.
DanceWear Corner
- Sign up for emails and get free shipping
- "A+" Better Business Bureau rating
- 30-day return policy
- Competitive pricing
- Honest product reviews
DanceWear Corner was established in 1996 and is family owned and operated. The company has a 6,000 square foot showroom located in the heart of Orlando, Florida and has expanded into one of the largest online dancewear stores in the world. Their inventory goes beyond just dancewear and includes Praisewear, original clothing designs, lounge accessories, and more for men, women, and kids.
Long list of style options
Within their dancewear company, there is a solid variety of leotards, tops, bottoms, undergarments, and menswear. A lot of their inventory comes in black and white, but they have color options as well, especially for kids clothing. The pictures of the products are clear and show the dancewear from all angles to give customers an accurate idea of fit and style. You'll find all the staple essentials and more at Dancewear Corner with up to 100 options within each category of clothing.
Most items are ready to ship
Since DanceWear Corner is not a made-to-order retailer, most of their items are in stock. However, we did notice that with some commonly-needed dancewear items, there were quite a few sizes that were sold out at the time of this review. There are some "to order" items, which means the dancewear can be ordered from the manufacturer and then shipped to you within 1-2 weeks.
Reasonable pricing
For appealing dancewear, we felt that DanceWear Corner has competitive prices. You can get a women's leotard within the $25 - $35 range, which is definitely affordable. If you sign up to receive emails from DanceWear Corner you qualify for free shipping on your order. Otherwise, the company offers free shipping on orders over $75.
30-day returns and exchanges
If you need to return or exchange your order from DanceWear Corner, you'll have 30 days to do so with most items. You'll be subject to a return shipping fee of $8.95 for returns (unless you want to return for a store gift card), but exchanges are completely free. All you need to do is contact the company, tell them the reason for the return or exchange, pick out your new item if applicable, and have your order sent back within 15 days of that time.
Unedited customer reviews
One of our favorite things is that DanceWear Corner has honest customer reviews on their products. Based on over 4,000 reviews, they have nearly 5 out of 5 stars. People say the dancewear fits well, is comfortable, and is high quality. It's helpful to read these reviews, because on some leotards, tops, or shoes, sizes run a little big and customers mention this in an effort to help others purchase their correct sizes.
Can't go wrong
The Better Business Bureau gives DanceWear Corner an "A+" rating. They have high ratings from customers and a fantastic selection. Dancers of any age would find this retailer a good go-to place for all their essentials. With competitive pricing and a reasonable return policy, you can't go wrong buying dancewear here.
Dancewear Solutions
- Free shipping on orders $45+
- "A" rating from the Better Business Bureau
- Made in the USA
- 60-day return policy
- Bulk discounts
Dancewear Solutions is committed to providing stylish and affordable apparel for dancers who put in hours between practices and performances mastering their routines. They offer thousands of dancewear choices up to 30% off of retail prices. The company doesn't provide a lot of details about their history, but they do say they have over 50 years of experience in the industry.
Easily narrow down apparel options
When browsing apparel at Dancewear Solutions, you can either sort the inventory by specific items like leotards, dresses, tights, and accessories, or shop by dance style. They even have options for gymnastics apparel as well. You can narrow down the thousands of dancewear options by color, brand, price, and style. The children's and adults' sizing ranges from XS to XXL.
Lots of color options
It was exciting to browse all the dancewear options because not only do they have helpful images of models in the clothing from all angles, but there is a lot of variety in color as well. Many of the leotards, skirts, shoes, pants, jackets, and more are available in up to 10 colors. You can easily see what sizes are available and read a description of the item for a full picture of what to expect.
Lower than retail prices
Understandably, all the children's sizes are slightly less expensive than adult sizes of the dancewear. Many of them are marked down 20 - 30% off of retail pricing, making costs quite competitive here. Dancewear Solutions has a section of their site called Dance Team, dedicated to team costumes where coaches can order in bulk and create professional accounts for access to exclusive styles. Orders over $250 qualify for a 10% discount, orders over $500 qualify for a 15% discount, and anything over $1,000 qualifies for a 20% discount. In addition, spending over $45 means you'll get free shipping and in-stock items usually go out within 1 business day.
60 days for returns
The return and exchange policy from Dancewear Solutions is one of the most generous we've seen. If for any reason you need to send something back (except for undergarments, makeup, tights, and foot care items), you have 60 days to do so. Customers are responsible for return shipping, but if you're making an exchange, the new products will be sent to you at no charge.
Transparent product reviews
Dancewear Solutions is owned by a company called Weissman. They have an "A" rating from the Better Business Bureau. They also let customers rate their individual products. Not all items have customer feedback, but many of them do. We noticed helpful details left by other buyers about how well the dancewear washed, if sequins started falling off after a few wears, how stretchy the material is, if specific items of clothing run big or small, and more. We appreciate the transparency from Dancewear Solutions in letting people be honest about their purchases and help each other make the best buying decisions.
We like what we see
We like everything we see from Dancewear Solutions. This is a great option for dancers as well as coaches and studio-owners. The selection is big with a lot of items in-stock, a good range of sizes and colors, and a flexible return policy. You'll definitely have success looking for dancewear here, and we rank Dancewear Solutions among the best.
Just For Kix
- "A+" Better Business Bureau rating
- Free shipping on orders of $75+
- 10% off purchases of $35 or more
- Product reviews
- 60-day return policy
Just For Kix aims to lead the industry in the trendiest dancewear available on the market today. They have over 35 years of experience in the industry and do a lot more than just clothing sales. Just For Kix engages over 20,000 youth at 200+ locations worldwide each year through their dance programs, camps, and special events. They also utilize their classes to educate, inform, and influence youth about the dangers of bullying. This retailer encapsulates the full spectrum of dance by outfitting and engaging dancers.
Great variety
At Just For Kix, you can shop for bottoms, costumes, leotards, dresses, leggings, shoes, tights, and tops, sort specifically by their new arrivals, or browse their clearance section. They also have a lineup of "Dance Basix" which includes staple black and white pieces that are essential for every dancer's wardrobe. Regardless of what you're looking for, you can count on Just For Kix having a great selection with hundreds of items within each category.
Few filter features, but honest customer reviews
We do wish that customers were able to sort by size, price, color, or other product features to help narrow down their options a little faster. Just For Kix displays everything together, so you'll have to scroll through quite a few pages of apparel to potentially find the one you're looking for. One redeeming feature we appreciate is the ability for customers to leave reviews on all the products. Most items have at least a few comments and we were able to learn things about different articles of dancewear like if they were sheer enough to require extra layers, how well the materials stretch, if sizing was accurate, and how quickly they shipped. We appreciate this transparency.
Fair pricing
As far as pricing, Just For Kix falls somewhere in the middle of other retailers in this review. They're not expensive by any means, but they also aren't crazy cheap. For reference, many of their leotards are in the $25 - $50 range depending on the style and details. Tops, bottoms, biketards, and leotards with decals or themes were upwards of $70, which is to be expected as long as the quality holds up. If you spend over $75 on dancewear here, you'll qualify for free shipping, which should be easy to do. Also, to save a little bit on your first purchase, Just For Kix offers 10% off purchases of $35 or more if you provide your mobile number.
Return items within 60 days
Despite our best efforts, we often order the wrong color or size when online shopping and this can definitely be the case when it comes to form-fitting clothing like dancewear. If you need to send anything back for a return or exchange to Just For Kix, you'll have 60 days to do it from the time the items are shipped. All returns need to be in unused condition with tags attached. Customers will bear the cost of shipping and can expect refunds credited back to their original form of payment within 2-3 weeks.
Highly recommend
We were happy to see that Just For Kix earned an "A+" rating from the Better Business Bureau. They have mixed reviews from customers online, but many of them referred to their dance camps - and not any sort of reflection on their product quality. The best thing to do is refer to their product reviews on any item you're interested in, to get an idea of quality and durability. We noticed that most reviews are very high, so we're confident that Just For Kix can deliver functional and appealing dancewear to their customers. We highly recommend browsing what Just For Kix has to offer.
Danzia
- Free shipping on orders $45+
- Pointe shoes loyalty program
- Unfiltered customer reviews
- 30-day return policy
Danzia began as a small project in Silicon Valley in 2011 and has become a nationally recognized dance retailer. The company has served over 20,000 cheer, dance, and fitness groups throughout 50 different countries. Danzia is owned and operated by Wonita International Inc., a leader in the clothing industry that specializes in selling dance clothes, shoes, and accessories for dance groups and schools.
Shop by dance style
When you're shopping at Danzia, you'll look for dancewear based on the type of dance you do. Their categories include worship, ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, modern, ballroom, and even cheer. Their subcategories for each style of dance features everything a dancer would need from shoes to tights to leotards, bags, pants, ribbons, and more. You can easily sort your options by selecting the brand, garment type, color, size, and price you want.
Very affordable pricing
We were really happy with the pricing we saw through Danzia since products like leotards, tights, ballet slippers, and even pointe shoes were extremely affordable (plus free shipping on orders over $45). For example, you could get a basic leotard for under $30, pointe shoes for $38, or ballet shoes for $12. Sometimes this could signal a lack of quality, but Danzia allows customers to leave unfiltered reviews on all their products. Most products have very high ratings with comments about how well they fit, how comfortable the item is, and how long it lasted. These will help you make an informed decision when shopping at Danzia and have less hesitation about their quality.
Pointe shoes rewards program
Competitive dancers go through pointe shoes really fast, which means they're constantly buying new ones and spending a significant sum of money on them too. Danzia offers a pointe shoes loyalty program where you'll get 12% off when you buy your first pair from them, 15% off your second, third, and ongoing pairs, and 18% off all pointe shoes after you've made your tenth purchase.
30-day returns and prepaid shipping
As long as you aren't trying to return an item that was initially listed as "Final Sale" and haven't worn any items or detached the tags, your order is eligible for a refund within 30 days. Danzia will offer prepaid return labels for most orders as well. Depending on your bank, refund transactions take as little as 2-3 business days to appear on your card once they've been initiated.
Fantastic option
Although Danzia is not rated by the Better Business Bureau, one of the most helpful things is reading their product reviews. Aside from this, some customers have commented about their excellent customer service, high-quality products, prompt delivery, and affordable pricing. We noticed they have a lot of repeat customers who claim that even after years of shopping here, they are never disappointed. Even though they don't have the most appealing website out there, Danzia is a fantastic option for dancers needing affordable dancewear and a good selection.
Discount Dance
- Free shipping on orders $49+
- 20% off a single item with email signup
- Unfiltered customer reviews
- 60-day return policy
Discount Dance is a company built for dancers by dancers. Their goal is to provide the largest selection of dance apparel to fit the needs of every dancer whether their passion is ballet, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, or ballroom. As part of their mission to empower dancers and celebrate the art of self expression, Discount Dance has proudly donated to Hurricane Katrina victims, St. Joseph's Ballet, numerous breast cancer associations, and the National Dance Association. They also have a teacher's reward program that recognizes the hard work of dance instructors worldwide.
Impressive selection
The selection of dancewear at Discount Dance caters to men, women, boys, and girls. They boast that they have all the essentials "for every age at every stage" . We were happy with the selection in every category and liked that not only are there a lot of styles, but many of them come in up to 13 different colors. You can sort the selection of apparel by type, size, color family, brand, price, average customer rating, and dance genre.
Leave reviews on items
There aren't a lot of customer reviews on each product, but we appreciate that anyone that's purchased a leotard, shorts, a skirt, shoes, or whatever it may be, can go in and give feedback about comfort, durability, and fit, as well as leave a comment about the item. People can also ask questions about the style and answer questions for each other. It's extremely helpful to hear what other customers have said about the dancewear here since some items run large/small and you'll want to know how breathable the material is and how well it will hold up after a lot of wear.
Expect discounts
Based on their name, we would expect Discount Dance to offer highly competitive prices. It's worth browsing the "sale" category because we found leggings for $5, athletic tops for under $12, and dresses for under $30. They have over 25 pages of sale items, so it's likely you'd find something in your size. Not all of their regular-priced items are a screaming deal though. Some girls' leotards are nearly $60 or dresses for $70. However, for the most part, prices here are reasonable, but we wouldn't call them "cheap" . At the time of this review, they were offering 20% off all shoes, and if you provide your email for Discount Dance's VIP mailing list you'll get exclusive deals and a promo code for 20% off a single item.
Environmentally-friendly efforts
In an effort to reduce the impact of the textile industry on the environment, Discount Dance is integrating sustainable processes to reduce water consumption and pollution. Their first eco-friendly collection of dancewear (Mariia) was launched at the beginning of 2022.
60-day returns
If you need to make a return to Discount Dance, you can do so within 60 days from the ship date. You can print a return shipping label from the company for $5.95 (deducted from your refund amount). If you would rather make an exchange, you're kind of out of luck since you still need to return your items and purchase new ones.
A good go-to
Discount Dance is not rated or accredited by the Better Business Bureau, but they have mostly high reviews from customers with a few being frustrated over hassles when trying to return merchandise and difficulties working with customer service. As far as the selection, people are happy with their options and say pricing is very reasonable. It seems that the dancewear here is high-quality and arrives just as expected in a timely manner, which is great. Despite being edged out by several higher-rated retailers, Discount Dance is definitely a reliable resource for dancers wanting fresh styles to improve their dancewear collection.
B Dancewear
- $3.95 flat rate shipping
- Made in the USA
- Hundreds of color options
- Made-to-order dancewear
B Dancewear proudly hand-makes all their apparel in the USA. Their goal is to provide high-quality dancewear that looks great, fits well, and comes in a range of colors other than black. The company was founded by a mother-and-son duo looking to take a customer-centric approach to manufacturing. They boast that every item is available in over 200 colors and 7 stretch fabrics.
Good variety, poor website
We like the idea of having so much variety in dancewear and were initially excited about what B Dancewear had to offer. Their clothing categories include tops, briefs, shorts, skirts, pants, shrugs, gloves, leotards, biketards, unitards, and more. They even have a category of clothing for boys/men, so it seems that they've covered all the dancewear essential bases here. Within each category is a long list of styles, colors, and sizes to choose from. Depending on what you're looking at, B Dancewear does have some website issues where text and photos overlap each other, knocking this retailer down a notch in online appeal. The user experience falls behind their competitors because they need to clean up their website and make it easier to browse their inventory.
Photoshopped product images
When you choose a dancewear item you are interested in, there are usually over 100 colors to choose from in that style. When you click on a color, you'll see a poorly photoshopped image to display what the product looks like. We wish they had real pictures of all their dance clothes to give a more accurate idea of color and fit. The sizes you'll find range from a child's XS to an adult XXL. All adult sizes cost a few dollars more than the listed price. In addition, all orders incur a flat rate fee of $3.95 for shipping.
1-3 week manufacturing time
All the products from B Dancewear appear to be on sale. Their prices are reasonable, especially if you actually get what you pay for in size and color since they have such a wide variety. B Dancewear says that if you're interested in a product that's out of stock, manufacturing takes about 1-3 weeks. Unfortunately, when you're browsing dancewear it doesn't show whether or not the product you choose is in stock or not. However, most items here are made-to-order, so we would expect it to take a few weeks at the minimum to receive any orders placed.
No returns or exchanges
Since you're buying made-to-order dancewear, the company does not allow for any returns or exchanges. The only exception to this is if you received an item that was damaged. In this case, they ask that you reach out directly to the owner of B Dancewear via email to get it taken care of.
Few customer ratings
B Dancewear is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau and they don't have a rating from them either. There isn't a lot of information about the company with respect to customer satisfaction. However, they do allow reviews directly on their website, but besides being few and far between, many of them are 5-9 years old, which isn't very helpful in knowing how well the company has kept up quality. We also noticed that their blog hasn't been updated for a couple of years, which is often an indication that the company isn't very active on their platform.
Not a favorite
We like that there are a lot of product style and color options at B Dancewear, but aren't thrilled at how long it takes them to arrive, the lack of useful product images, and the few customer reviews, so we haven't given one of our highest ratings to this retailer. You'll have a better experience shopping elsewhere.
Danskin
- 20% off your first order with email signup
- Free shipping on orders over $50
- Modern exercise and dancewear apparel
- 30-day return policy
Danskin has been selling dancewear and other types of apparel since 1882. They specialize in comfortable and flexible exercise-wear, sleepwear, and intimate clothing for women and girls. Here you'll also find exercise equipment like toning kits, resistance bands, and yoga blocks. Danskin's styles are modern, appealing, and easy to shop through their sleek and simple website.
Just the basics
When you're shopping at Danskin, you should expect to find basic dancewear that can easily be mixed and matched. They don't have any wild patterns or a huge color variety either. Rather, most of the dancewear here is black and white with a few pink options in certain products. Their selection is small with about 30 items total. This includes leotards, biketards, tights, and girl's wrap skirts as well as bike shorts and sports bras. The selection of dancewear is small and caters to practice apparel rather than anything you'd use in a performance. You likely won't find everything you need from top to bottom at Danskin, but they have some good staple items.
No dance shoes
Although Danskin features an inventory of shoes, none of them are for dancing. There are only 13 styles of streetwear sneakers and none of them are anything super special. Their dancewear section is the go-to place for dancers, but there are a lot less options than we've seen through other retailers.
A little pricey
The leotards from Danskin are a bit more expensive than what you can find through a competitor. Of the 7 styles, most range between $35 and $65. This isn't crazy expensive, but you can definitely find similar designs for less with other retailers. Tights are around $20 and sports bras around $25. If you spend over $50, you'll get free shipping, but otherwise we didn't see any major sales or discounts for customers to take advantage of.
Complete returns within 30 days
If you choose to return your order (undergarments and opened tights excluded) to Danskin and it's in unused, unwashed, undamaged condition, you can send it back for a full refund within 30 days. Customers are responsible for return shipping.
Great store, bare dancewear selection
The Better Business Bureau does not have a rating for Danskin and the company isn't accredited either. They don't have customer reviews on their website, but we aren't skeptical of this company in any way. We really like the look of their leggings, jackets, tees, and other loungewear that would be great for yoga enthusiasts and gym-goers. We think this is a great place to shop and most anyone could find something they like here, it's just not a top place to look for dancewear since their selection is so bare. Give Danskin a look for fun, but don't expect to find everything you need for performances or practices.