Thursday, March 26, 2009

Celtic Costumes

Very colorful, very pretty and VERY expensive!
Although dancers are judged on their performance, presentation is very important. When the girls dance as a group they wear their  dance school's costume- colors and emblems embellish the dress to differentiate it from other schools.

When they solo, they choose dresses that express their style and help them stand out from the crowd. This explains the elaborate embroidery and wild colors! Dresses can weigh several pounds.
As I said the dresses are very expensive. They are handmade with many different fabrics. Many girls will buy second hand from another dancer.
When a dancer outgrows a dress there are stores or web sites that will buy and resell or it can be sold at competitions or online.
Can you guess how much these beautiful dresses cost? Check in comments for the answer!

10 comments:

preppyplayer said...

These works of art can range between $600 and $4,000. I thought lacrosse was an expensive activity!

Tami said...

How gorgeous! We saw a show in Ireland with these dancers and it was fabulous! I know my heritage is german, but sometimes I wish I was Irish! ;-)

Carly A. Heitlinger said...

I love watching Irish dancing. One the guys in my boat has been dancing since he was 5 years old. He performed a little number for the spring break talent show. Everyone was SOOO impressed! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjJrj6bu630

Ina in Alaska said...

Yikes! they are indeed works of art. Love the vibrant colors. Wish I had those legs!!

Suburban prep said...

I am Irish and when my sisters and I were looking into doing this when we were younger these dresses were expensive. Now they are just more so. They are stunning pieces of artwork.

Reenie said...

I know the school that I went to (I know just enough step dancing to get by at family functions without looking completely clueless) always special ordered costumes for their girls from Ireland. I never went to a feis, mostly because we couldn't spend the money.

Formerly known as Frau said...

I wish I could do that ...and like Ina wish I had the legs to go with the skill. Wow that is a commitment especially with costumes so expensive.

Preppy Pink Crocodile said...

Wow- they are stunning but they make my dance costumes seem like a steal!!

Caffeine Court said...

They are fabulous! Each one is a work of art..

I can see why they are so expensive.

the Preppy Princess said...

Oh, these can be almost as bad as skating dresses, sometimes more! We have been to a feis or two, many cousins and nieces dance!

tp