Dance Studio Charges Mom $100 For A Costume That Cost $10 On SHEIN
"Please weigh in cause I need to know how nuclear I can go."
metamoreworks / Shutterstock A mother was stunned when she learned that her daughter’s dance studio charged $100 for the recital outfits. She was even more shocked after a little Googling revealed the actual cost of the outfit, which was ten times less than what the studio was charging for them.
The dance studio claimed that they had to add costs to all of the recital dresses since they tailor and steam the costumes, in addition to taking pains to determine an appropriate outfit for the dance choreography and song choice.
The dance studio charged a mother $100 for her daughter’s recital dress when it only cost $10 on SHEIN.
The frustrated mother took to TikTok to vent about the dance studio’s irrational charges for the cheap dress. Despite the studio charging the mother, Megan $100 for her daughter’s dance recital outfit, she was able to find the same dress on the online clothing site SHEIN for just $10.
Not only did Megan claim that she would never support SHEIN in any way due to allegations of unethical business practices, including child labor, copywriting small businesses, and violating labor laws, but she was also not willing to pay her daughter’s dance studio ten times the price for a dress she could get online.
“I obviously was like, ‘What’s going on?’” Megan said. However, when she confronted the dance studio staff regarding the dress price, they argued that their $100 price was necessary.
“Their response was that there are costs associated with measuring the girls, steaming the outfits, picking a costume that matches the vibe of the song, and hangers and garment bags,” Megan shared, adding that the garment bags for the dresses are just “clear trash bags that they put the costumes in for us to take them home in.”
Megan said she felt like she was being “scammed” and asked other dance teachers if her reaction was valid.
“My daughter has been dancing ever since she was little, and I have never experienced this,” she revealed. “Please weigh in cause I need to know how nuclear I can go.”
Most people agreed with the mother, arguing that it was unnecessary and unfair for the dance studio to jack up the price of the costume.
“I would understand $20 or $30, but that's excessive,” one TikTok user commented.
“My kid's studio buys the costumes and rents them for $20 per costume. They're dry-cleaned and kept by the studio to be reused by future students. All other costs are covered by ticket sales,” another user shared.
DIGITALproshots / Canva Pro
“$90 to measure each kid? I’m in the wrong business,” another user wrote.
Others encouraged the mother to demand a copy of a receipt from the dance studio to determine the actual costs.
“I’d ask for an itemized receipt, and if it doesn’t make sense, request a refund,” one user recommended.
Others believed that given the controversy surrounding SHEIN, parents should be given the option as to whether or not they want to purchase their child’s recital dress from the company.
Yuganov Konstantin / Shutterstock
Dance recital season falls at the same time as school graduations, proms, and end-of-the-year award ceremonies. Parents are likely already spending enough on their children’s attire for those events and should not be forced to fork over $100 for a flimsy dress you could get for under $10 online or even in thrift stores.
Raising kids is expensive, but having kids in extracurricular activities is highway robbery.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.