advice please on "comfortable" tights

[balletmama7]

I have a eight year old daughter who loves to dance, but hates her tights. She has been dancing for five years, and we have had many a struggle over putting on tights before dance class. She finds them "itchy" and the waistband is too tight. She wears the Bloch convertible tights. This is all our local dancewear shop carries. In her defense, I wear the Bloch tights myself, and the waistband does tend to cut in a bit. She is, like my husband, very sensitive with clothes. Doesn't like things restrictive at the neck, wrists, waist, etc. I solved the problem for awhile when she was five by finding a few pairs of toddler pink, all-cotton dress tights. They were not made for dance, but they did the trick at the time. Her studio would not allow them for performances, so she had to go back to the Blochs. Frankly, I thought we had conquerred this. But the last few weeks, her complaints have increased, and yesterday we had tears before class. Have any of you ever struggled with this, and is there such a thing as "comfortable" tights? I sure would appreciate your input! Oh, one more thing, I changed studios last year and the new studio is much less restrictive in their dress code. Blochs are not required at performances. So, if I could find a softer pair with a stretchier waistband, she could not wear them all the time. They don't even have to be pink.

[momtofour]

My daughter has eczema so she does not like tights for that reason. She wears the bloch but then needed capezio mesh for a performance and those are her favorite...she won't touch the bloch any longer. My daughter is slim to avg in size and those bloch tights do cut in her also. I think she would like the low rise tights but our local dance store does not carry them in the child size.

[Victoria Leigh]

Welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers, balletmama7!

 

This sounds like a serious problem, as tights are not generally uncomfortable. I don't have the answer for you, but, hopefully, some of our great parents will come up with something. If they have suggestions of different brands that are more comfortable, you could order them online from any number of Dancewear places.

 

I always wore Danskin tights, as I did find them to be more comfortable than others. I would also suggest washing them by hand in a very mild detergent, and never put them in the dryer.

 

As for the studio she attended...were the Bloch tights the requirement, or was that because those were the only brand available there? I would think that any brand of regular ballet tights, like Capezio or Danskin, for instance, would be acceptable because they would look the same as the other dancers, as long as the color is the same. It worries me a bit that the school she attends now does not have a dress code for their ballet classes. This is not generally an indication of a serious ballet school.

[buzzandmoo]

We started with Bloch, neither of us liked them. I felt they did not wash well. My DD (who is not sensitive!) thought they were "scratchy". We switched to capezio. We LOVE them. The waist band is wider and soft on the inside, and after multiple washings they are still soft. FYI we switched to the womens small size more than a year ago (DD has long legs) cause we felt the girls sizes were skimpy. When fellow moms asked about tights and I encouraged one to try the womans size she was pleasantly surprised at how well they fit her daughter.

[julisha]

I agree with buzzandmoo. Dd loves the Capezio transition tights. We also found the adult sizes more generous and a better fit.

[itsallgood]

I also had the same problem with my young DD. I would cut the waistband on all her tights and they were still uncomfortable and tight. Last spring my local dance shop started carrying Euroskins for Kids by Eurotard. The waistband is comfortable, she doesn't complain anymore, and I don't need to cut anything - yea! My older DD will only wear bodywrappers. I do think Bodywrappers hold up a little better than Euroskins but the Euroskins fit my young DD so much better.

[LPM]

We use capezio 1816C transition tights. They say ultrasoft on the package. My daughters have never complained about the waistband. And my child who itches and breaks out in hives with no provocation has worn them through the worst cases of hives and not complained about them.

[dkd]

My daughter almost quit ballet when she was 6 because she hated tights. We still laugh about it today and she is so glad that I did not let her quit.

She started out with Bloch, but she wears Capezio Ultra Soft tights now.

 

Maybe you can go up a size for your DD and it might have a bigger waistband??

 

I let DD's air dry, but I hang them on a hanger that has clips and it kind of stretches out the waistband.

 

Good luck! I feel your frustration

[Balletlove]

Gaynor Minden tights and buy the ladies sizes!!!!!

 

My DD loathes tights and this has always been a bit of a fight until I bought some gaynor minden tights... they are soooo soft and the waist band is very generous and soft (It appears to be made of the same material as the tights).

 

Another brand to try are the sansha tights... they are sold as one size fits all and are comfortable and soft, but my recommendation is Gaynor Minden; admittedly they dont seem to last quite as long as some of the other brands.

[julisha]

I posted before, but like the recent posters, I just wanted to emphasize purchasing the adult/ladies sizes and not child sizes, particular as DKs approach the ages of 8, 9, 10. DD is 11 and for the last two years, I frantically tried every brand of "child" tights. Nothing would fit! DD would get these tights, stand on the feet and stretch them or I would hold one end and she would hold the other and we would walk away from each other pulling as much as we could! Still could not get them to stretch so DD would feel comfortable moving in them. So then it finally dawned on me that maybe DD should try the adult smalls. DD is just under 4'9" and only weighs xx pounds, so I'm thinking that she would be swimming in adult smalls, but they actually fit better than any child tights.

[dancemaven]

I would second the 'buy adult sizes' recommendation. I recall DD's Joy of Movement/pre-ballet teacher telling us with a smile that tights should be long enough to go to DD's armpits---then they would be comfortable and fit better. Once we made that (seemingly incongruous) switch, DD totally agreed with her first teacher.

[gator_mama]

My DD had an easier time with tights when we "sized up" even though her old size fit "ok". Good to hear the advice re the adult tights... will def look into it as DD is growing taller at a rapid rate!

[emz123]

Can anyone help me with whether the 'sizing up' works for adult sizes too? My dd is 12, almost 5'2" and is x lbs. Clearly on the lower end of the adult S/M size. We have to use a mesh Capezio tight (#9) that is pretty salmon-colored and the waist band digs in (unfortunately not the nicer ultra soft waistband!). Though the tights themselves seem to fit just fine, I've been wondering if I should order up and get the L/XL size to help with the waistband issue, but am worried that the extra fabric will look even more orange-y.

[Albini]

No idea. Sorry. We use Mondor tights and go up a size from her street clothes size. Ex she is a kids size 8. We buy the 10-12 tights.

[trythis]

I used to order up a size for myself (figure skating) in black to keep them more opaque. So you are right in thinking that they would look more orange-y. But Capezio 9 now makes a "theater pink" color which we like better. I would say give it a shot, order one pair in M/L in that theater pink, and see if it helps.

 

My 11 year old DD says the same thing. I think I might try it too.