Has anyone ever bought a Mainstreet Skatewear dress? I am thinking of buying one for a practice dress that could be possibly used for testing. They look relatively inexpensive compared to many of the other brands, but I was wondering about the quality, fabric, and durablilty of the dress. I was looking at the site, and they also make dancewear, and I'm worried about the fabric used. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

The quality is very good. (I have one for myself, and I've stoned several for other people.) The sizing seems to be very close to street sizing, also.

There is some loose glitter on the slip dresses with glitter, but that's very common with glittered fabric in general.

What I like best of Mainstreet's stuff is their dance tights, which I like to wear for skating. I find the waistband very comfortable, none of the "fit through the legs and hips" and suck the waist in super tight like with some of the other brands of tights.

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If you do get one, would you post a review in this thread? I recently found a few dresses by them and am really interested in buying some. They seem very affordable for skating dresses.

(I also found a custom skatewear site that recommends mainstreet for base dresses for "semi-custom" work, so I figured that was a good sign)

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-Jessi
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I have bought from them. Their quality is very good--sizing on the slightly big size--a bit bigger than gk-elite. Their fabrics are very nice and workmanship is excellent. I only wish they would put some support in the chest area of the dresses. Some of the dresses come in very nice color combinations, with a tricot-like fabric on top and a nice quality velvet on the bottom. Any skater with a bustline needs something lining and supporting the top, other than just fabric, and I don't know how to deal with it for my skater.

Most skating dresses have a lining and not much else (no shelf bra etc.) to provide support for those needing it. Have you tried sewing a bra into any of your skater's dresses? Usually a molded cup bra, like those that used to be called "t-shirt bras" works best.

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Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Consider looking into a backless convertible bra. The closure is around the waist- so you can wear it with a completely open back, and then the straps can be worn regular, crisscross, halter, just one, etc depending on the dress. I can wear mine without any straps at all, although I don't think most are designed for that so a larger woman might not be able to pull that off.

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-Jessi
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Take her, and the dress, to a specialist bra-fitters and ask for help.

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Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Judy is an amazing dressmaker. She is actually making a semicustom dress for me as we speak. Her dress sizes are much closer to actual sizes, and are good for skaters like me who are tall, but skinny, instead of like the normal skating dresses where girth is 56 and bust is 34.

I have two of the mainstreet dresses and they fit me perfectly, and I have yet to come across an off the rack dress that is gorgeous, but fits me beautifully at the same time.

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Well, it looks like I'm getting one for Christmas YAY!

I got a medium, as I usually do in skatewear- so hopefully it won't be too big. I'm usually a small in real clothes, but the high end of small. The size chart made it look like medium would be okay.

It worries me that you say they are good for tall- because I am definetly neither tall nor long torso'd.

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-Jessi
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The slinky fabric used in some of the dresses has a lot of vertical stretch compared to normal spandex, which makes it good for individuals needing a bit more in the girth.

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Yeah, I just got one too! Thanks for the info that the dresses do run long (I need the extra girth).

Got my dress today! I got the triple keyhole dress in black with pink piping. It's beautiful and fits perfectly. I think it looks really nice too (long enough skirt in back) but I need to tone up my back and abs a little bit to look really good in this material.

The front of the dress is lined- which I seemed to think it wouldn't be from what I read- so some people might want to know that.

For $50- it's an affordable skating dress. I'll definetly buy from them in the future!

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-Jessi
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The other cool thing about that slinky fabric is that it has a lot of swing to it--it's heavier than chiffon and has more swing in it than velvet, so it looks really cool during spins, jumps, and other movements.

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I just went on thier website and I agree, the dresses look great!! But, thier return policy says you can only return on 'dancewear' ? So I called them up to see if the 'skatewear' was returnable too. (I've had situations with other companies where you could not return OR exchange. )

They were vague in thier response. It could be returned or exchanged but in the background someone mentioned a 'restocking fee'? And one of the women asked if I had something I wanted to return and the woman I was speaking with said 'no, she hasn't ordered yet just looking on line'. They started laughing!! I explained that I've had some bad experiences with other companies. But now I'm second guessing ordering from this company. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today but the being laughed at and vageness kind of annoys me!


Anyone have experience with returns?

ooh- that type of customer service would have made me mad too! Makes me kind of sad- because I really wanted to order from them again, but now I have to wonder about their company.

When I read their return policy, I (perhaps wrongly) assumed skatewear was a subcategory of dancewear- and that the exclusion was for things like "gifts" and "fabric" that they sell.

Before I order again, I will email and ask. I guess I'm lucky the first dress fit really well, since I didn't check!

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-Jessi
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Skittl...

And please let us know what they tell you. I didn't want to discourage anyone from using them but just to be aware and double check their policy. So please let us know what you find out too.

I had ordered once from a Capezio company in New york City. I ordered a unitard and discussed with them over the phone the sizing. They assured me the size I chose would fit. When I got it, it did NOT fit. Maybe it would have fit a 12 year old but not me. They would not exchange it. Forget about a complete return. Thier return policy was vague too. They said because it was a custom piece they would not return or exchange it. Anyway, I learned my lesson.

I just got an email back and they said you can return skatewear. (Sorry the reply took so long- it was me, not them- I was in Mexico!)

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Cool! A new place to order dresses from.

I got my semicustom dress back, it's the purple dress with the keyhole in the front, and it is absolutely gorgeous! the crystals are beautiful and it looks really nice on the ice. Oh and it fits me great!

if you wanna see: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KbWKG6L6zHM

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Dress looks great and so does your skating!!! loved the split on the ice!

The dress is nice.. but your extension is beautiful!

oh haha thanks so much! I worked hard for that flexibility. I couldn't bend over and touch my toes in the beginning of 2006!

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Wow---- that makes it DOUBLY impressive!

Thought I'd bump this up to add that Rainbo sports is now carrying a few of the mainstreet dresses.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)