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One of the most common questions we hear is this: how long does it take to get a  custom dance costume?! There are a lot of different factors that can contribute to lead times for dance costumes, but generally speaking a design-from-scratch custom dance costume will take 12-18 weeks from gathering inspiration, to production, and to performance.   

A design-from-scratch custom costume is a great option for teams that want a truly one-of-a-kind look, and have greater flexibility with budget ($250+) and time frame (12-18 weeks). Instead of choosing between pre-stocked and catalog styles, this is your chance to become the designer yourself!

There are other custom options that can save you time, like customizing fabrics on a pre-designed style.  For more resources on costumes with quicker turn around times, check out the related post The Best Costume Options For Your Time Frame. 

If you decide a custom costume is right for you, we've broken down each step with time frames below, along with a few tips for saving time!  

Team: Endicott College Dance Team 
Coach: Nicole Sao Pedro-Welch
Location: Beverly, Massachusetts 
Style: Collegiate Dance Team

 Green Bay South West High School found inspiration for their 2015 pom uniform in a Nike shoe!

Inspiration for your next dance costume can come from anywhere: the runway, your Instagram feed, a sneaker, or that gorgeous peach that's sitting on your desk. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to narrow down your focus, and create a performance concept that is unique from your competitors.  To help, we've rounded up some of our favorite resources for finding dance costume inspiration, as well as some tips to get it all organized! 

The Cherry Creek Pom's with sponsor Carla from Carla's A Classic Design.  

Team: Cherry Creek Poms
Director/Head Coach: Megan Bruhn
Location: Cherry Creek, Colorado
Style: High School Dance Team

Team: Diamond Gems
Coach: Jennifer Keller
Location: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Style: College Dance Team 

Style: Avatar 

As we head into competition season, we've gotten a lot of requests for the crowd pleasing Transition Costume.  Transition Costumes deliver that WOW factor to the crowd (and the judges!) that everyone likes to see. But they're also COMPLICATED! How do you even begin to design one? Find out what the most effective transition costumes are, and some tips for designing them below! 

Team: Purdue Golduster Dance Team 
Captain: Katie Rehling
Location: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Style: Collegiate Dance Team

Planning the new upcoming dance season is SO exciting!  Many times this means designing a new costume, which means a design consultation with your dance costume design company. You will likely be getting a lot of information out of this design consultation- but how can you prepare beforehand? Find out here!

Team: Prescott High School Dance Team
Director/Head Coach: Samantha Schoen
Location: Prescott, WI.
Style: High School Dance Team

Photo via Lifetime, Ladybirds wearing the 202-Mesh Top

The Louisville Ladybirds' Dance Costumes, as Seen on Lifetime's "So Sharp"

Have you been as obsessed with watching Lifetime's "So Sharp" as we have at The Line Up?  It's not every day one of our clients stars in a Lifetime reality show, and the excitement is contagious!  Every week we've been streaming the show in the conference room over lunch to see the stunning routines, the teamwork, the drama, and of course, whatever Coach Todd Sharp will say next! 

Our account manager, Lindsey Stone, has been working with Todd and the Louisville Ladybirds Dance Team for over 5 years now, and we've loved helping outfit the 14 time National Title winners with a variety of pieces - branded apparel for gameday as well as custom costumes for NDA Nationals! 

Here's a peek inside the team's wardrobe and the inspiration behind some of the Louisville Ladybirds' dance costumes below!