Your costumes have been in storage long enough

Show season is nearly here. And if you're anything like most of the dance teachers we work with, your own show costumes have been sitting in bags and boxes since last spring – a little crumpled, a little musty, and developing an interesting smell...

We thought it was time to help.

Introducing Costume Care

Behind the scenes at Costume Source, we've been running our own specialist cleaning operation for years – it's how we keep our hire costumes in show-ready condition. What started as an internal necessity has become something rather larger.

It's grown. A lot.

That operation is Costume Care – now one of the largest specialist costume cleaning facilities in the UK – and we're opening it up to you.

Before the show: the freshen-up

Costumes that have been packed away for a year aren't always ready to wear straight off the rail. Fabric settles. That faint smell of last year's hairspray and stage makeup doesn't shift on its own.

The temptation is to bung them in the machine, hang them on the line, and hope for a sunny day. It feels like the cheap option. The problem is that dance costumes aren't built for that. Sequins, mesh, structured bodices, delicate trims – home washing can distort, shrink, or outright ruin the very things that make a costume look good on stage. Ruin one costume and you've spent far more than you saved. And if it rains, you're back to square one with a damp pile and a rehearsal looming.

Our freshen-up wash is just £2.75 per costume – with 10% off if you're a Costume Source customer, and further discounts available for larger quantities. Twenty costumes, cleaned properly and ready to wear, for less than £50. Against the cost of replacing even a single ruined piece, that's not a cleaning bill. It's insurance.

Why we clean differently

We've spent a long time getting this right. We work closely with Miele – whose professional equipment sits at the heart of our facility – and we've developed our cleaning process in partnership with the UK's leading detergent manufacturer. They helped us create a unique blend of gentle detergents formulated specifically for performance fabrics.

"That's not something you can replicate at home. Not even close."

We dry everything professionally, indoors, without exposing your costumes to pollen or other allergens. And the whole facility runs on 100% renewable energy – no fossil fuels, no compromise.

After the show: the full clean

The post-show pile is a different beast entirely. Sweat, stage makeup, fake tan, hairspray – costumes take a lot. Packing them away without a proper clean is how you end up with problems you discover twelve months too late.

And again, home washing isn't the answer. What seems fine on a cotton school shirt can be quietly catastrophic on a performance costume. The fabrics are different, the construction is different, and the risks are real.

Our process is built specifically for dancewear and stage costumes – the kind of pieces that have to look good under stage lighting, year after year. We'll clean them, return them to you, and you can pack them away knowing they're genuinely ready for your next show – whenever that might be.

How it works

Send your costumes to us and we'll return them once they're done – clean, and ready to go.

If you're already hiring from Costume Source, it gets even easier. At the end of your show, pack your own costumes in with the hire returns. They come to us anyway – your pieces just come along for the ride. One collection, no extra logistics, no separate trip to the post office.

Get in touch

If you've got costumes that need attention before your show – or a pile waiting to be sorted after it – head to Costume Care to find out more or book them in.

Your costumes deserve better than a 40-degree cycle and a prayer for dry weather!