When to order your dance costumes

Planning a dance performance requires time and planning, especially when it comes to securing the perfect costumes.

Whether you’re gearing up for a competition, your big show, or just an end of term showcase, timing your costume hire can be crucial.

Although we're the UK's leading dance costume hire company and have a massive stock of dance costumes, we get booked up quickly and booking too late might leave you with limited options.

So here’s our guide on the optimal time of year to book your dance costumes, no matter when your performance is, to ensure you get the best selection and availability.

Spring (February - April)

Optimal Booking Time: October - January

March has always been one of our busiest months as many dance schools host their recitals and competitions in the spring. Depending on when Easter falls, this also spreads to the neighbouring months. Booking costumes the end of the year or in the early months of the year ensures you have a wide selection.

Summer (May - July)

Optimal Booking Time: January

June is always stupidly busy! Summer is filled with dance competitions and performances, but every year so many of you leave booking your costumes until the last minute! At Costume Source we allow you to book up to nine months in advance (and lots of you do). We never 'close our books', but our costume availability over the summer does become limited and many customers have to shorten their hire to just a few days to get the costumes they want. The earlier you can book, the better. You can always amend your booking nearer the time.

Winter (October - December)

Optimal Booking Time: August - September

November is another really busy month, but we're seeing more and more customers spread things out (let's face it, the run up to Christmas is busy enough without putting on a show) holding shows right from September. We know it's not easy to book over the summer when you aren't sure of class numbers, but it really is worth it. You can easily book a few more costumes than you think you'll need and just remove them when everyone starts back and you've finalised numbers. You'll only pay a small deposit and you don't pay for costumes you remove from your booking.

Booking Strategies for Optimal Availability

Plan Ahead

Start planning your costume needs as soon as you know the dates of your performances. Early planning allows you to take advantage of better availability.

Consider Rental Durations

When booking, consider how long you will need the costumes. Ensure the rental period covers any rehearsals, performances, and potential photoshoots, but be prepared to shorten the length of hire in busy periods as this could increase the range of costumes available to you.

Stay Flexible

Consider holding your performances outside of the busy months. Many schools are already moving their summer shows to earlier in the year as this avoids exams holidays and they are reporting better participation and ticket sales. Here is a heatmap showing our busy and quiet times to help you: