Irish dancing has a long history of sparkling costumes that have the sole purpose of standing out from the crowd and adding to the memorable and skilful dance that takes place whilst wearing the costume.
One of the best ways to help your Irish dance dress stand out is by adding rhinestones to it. Adding either flatback rhinestones or sew on crystals to your dress is an awesome way to spruce up your Irish dance dress and helps add some sparkle. The added sparkle and texture can help to dazzle the audience and attract more attention. Generally, the more you sparkle and shine during your Irish dancing competition, the more points you will receive from the judges.
Hotfix rhinestones can also be used to create different colourways and themes when added to your Irish dance dress. This is great for the likes of team events. Rhinestones can also be used to help accentuate certain parts of your dress. For example, many competitors will use rhinestones on the collar or waistline to help enhance these parts of the dress. Rhinestones can also be used in things like hairbands or tiaras as well as shoes to help further add some rhinestone sparkle to your Irish dance costume.
What Differences Are Noticeable Between Brands?
When it comes to rhinestones, there are three main brands which include Swarovski crystals, Preciosa crystals and Zodiac crystals. These brands are extremely high quality and you can’t go wrong if you’re searching for a rhinestone wholesale purchase.
Swarovski crystals are often the most expensive type of rhinestone crystals and have the most facets whilst Zodiac crystals tend to be slightly cheaper and remain of a high quality. Both manufacture a wide variety of different colours, shapes and sizes. Preciosa crystals are middle of the pack when it comes to price. They tend to have much fewer facets than their Swarovski counterparts but remain of a similar high quality.
Overall, there is very little to differentiate these brands in terms of their appearance. It is best to avoid using cheap rhinestone crystals if you plan on embellishing them onto your Irish dance dress. Plastic or acrylic rhinestones will be more likely to fall off, break or end up getting scratched. They also have much less sparkle, which is not what you want when it comes to dazzling your audience.
What Sizes Are the Most Popular for Dance Costumes?
The most common sizes of flatback rhinestone crystals that are used in Irish dance dresses and waistcoats tend to be SS30, SS34 and SS40. These sizes will allow you to cover a much larger surface area as well as enabling you to stand out more when you’re under the spotlight, ensuring the crowd will be able to pick you out.
Size SS34 is often the better selling size as there are much more colours available in this size. Larger crystals are normally more desirable, such as 14mm rivolis, 28mm pear drops and 22mm squares and are a good choice if you’re searching for wholesale rhinestones.
How Many Rhinestones Are Needed to Create the Ultimate Sparkle?
The more rhinestones that you implement in your Irish dance dress will ensure that it sparkles and stands out more. If you plan on completely covering your dress, you will want to consider using multiple packets of wholesale rhinestones. This will of course depend on the size of the rhinestone crystals that you choose, but you can’t go wrong with trying to achieve maximum sparkle.
Using SS20’s for your sleeves is recommended, although fiddly, they will be best for adding a lot of sparkle. If you want to add rhinestones to the body of your dress, then using 4 packs of SS34 with a minimum of 72 x 14mm Rivoli’s will look great under the spotlights and ensure your costume stands out. Adding rhinestones around the neckline, cuffs or hemlines can also be a great way to add sparkle, we recommend using 36 x 28mm pear drops.
Choosing The Perfect Colour for Your Dress
First, you will want to decide upon a colour theme that matches your Irish dance dress and coincides with the existing colours on the dress. Equally you could choose rhinestone colours to contrast the existing colours on your dress. Choose a colour theme that will help your dress stand out, there are many to choose from including the likes of pearls, opals, metallic rhinestones such as gold and silver and even pastel or neon coloured rhinestones can be used.
You could choose one colour or a range of colours, or even create an ombre or shading like effect by using different variations and shades of the same colour.
If you want to find the best colour to pair with your Irish dance dress, you could order a colour chart from Crystal Parade and check out the available colours. Our team will be more than happy to offer advice and send you some samples. Or, feel free to send us a sample or picture of the fabric and we will pair some colours for you.
Top Tips for Choosing the Perfect Rhinestones for Your Irish Dancing Dress
- Be sure to buy quality rhinestones as opposed to cheaper rhinestones to ensure your rhinestones don’t get scratched or damaged easily.
- Use our colour chart or ask the wonderful staff at Crystal Parade to help match the best rhinestone colours with your fabric or dress.
- Be sure to measure the various spaces you want to fill with rhinestones on your dress to ensure you choose the correct size.
- Choose from Swarovski, Zodiac or Preciosa crystals to ensure you get rhinestones that will make your dress sparkle and stand out from the crowd.
Contact Us
If you would like any further information or advice on choosing the right rhinestones for your Irish dance dress, contact our team today, we’ll be happy to help.