Summer ’26 was a very busy and happy time here at Obsession Dancewear. I have taken and completed lots of orders, particularly for Made-to-Measure and Bespoke dresses and particularly Ballroom. One valued customer literally ordered a ‘pick and mix’ of dresses; a Ballroom practice dress based on an old, beloved DSI design which I refreshed and produced in a soft Bluebell colour, a Made-to-Measure replica of one of my current Ballroom designs in stunning Teal and a Bespoke, unstoned Ballroom dress in Hematite grey with a choice of detachable floats. My customer is a very active, high-level dancer who attends practice nights and events multiple times a week and so her practice dress has already had many outings and many compliments. When she collected her dresses she was literally overwhelmed and hugged me repeatedly, it was such a joyous experience. Beautiful, flattering and well-fitting dancewear really does make women very happy!
What an absolute pleasure it was to see so many beautiful dancers this July at The Winter Gardens, Blackpool, in their stunning Obsession dresses. The magic of dancing at The Winter Gardens never fades and my customers were particularly excited this year as their Obsession dresses all made a Blackpool debut.
Three of the stunning ladies featured here bought Ready-to-Wear dresses during fitting appointments at the Obsession boutique in Oundle. At Obsession, we use high quality, performance fabrics that offer fantastic stretch. This means that dancers can try many dresses, often in two or more size ranges, and achieve the fit they are looking for in a standard Obsession size. Purchasing a Ready-to-Wear dress is a very cost effective approach and also offers immediate gratification! A dancer can try, buy and take-away all in the space of a couple of hours. The remaining competitor in the image took a current design, customised it and ordered a Made-to-Measure. This is an exciting way to obtain an Obsession dress. By choosing an existing design that they have already fallen in love with, a dancer knows that they will be delighted with the dress but they also get to add some extras, in this case Aqua Blue Ostrich Feather Cuffs and a fun Aqua Blue frill in the underskirt that is only visible during spins. All four look absolutely stunning, I’m sure you’ll agree. I was feeling very proud and happy that day and I think that shows too (I’m the one in black in the middle).
A hugely exciting and rewarding experience for me was producing a Bespoke dress for Blackpool. My customer was super keen to commission a unique Latin dress but she was concerned that the timescale was too tight for Blackpool this year. Working together, we pulled it off in exactly four weeks which included all initial discussions, appointments at the Obsession Boutique, design time and consultations, production and a final fit. Whilst I don’t recommend rushing a Bespoke project, this one was super exciting and it proves that it can be done.
The design brief was ‘LBD’, aka Little Black Dress. The customer is very glamorous and she wanted a timeless, sophisticated dress that was both dramatic and sexy. We wanted the dress to be something that looked like it could be worn to a cocktail party but, by using performance fabrics, was perfect for the dance floor. Using an image the customer sent me for inspiration, I began to design something that fitted the brief and that she would be excited to wear.
It is a joy to work in all black but it is also a challenge. Black dresses stoned in Jet only, can appear heavy and so it was important to create lightness in the dress. This is reflected in the low back, thin shoulder straps and the light-touch fringe skirt which also has bugle bead tassels and stoned lycra strips to add sparkle. Once I had designed the skirt, I wanted to balance the top of the dress with similar spiky, organic shapes. The rooster feathers look spectacular, I think, and balance the dress perfectly. The addition of stoned, mesh gloves adds further glamour too but also makes the dress more of a ‘costume’ which can help dancers get into character when dancing on the competition dance floor. I am absolutely delighted with this dress and more importantly, so is my customer. I also provided her with matching stoned Latin shoes, which she claims are the most comfortable dance shoes she has ever owned. I stock shoes at the Obsession Boutique (but not on my website) and I am happy to stone them to match your dress. I also make a range of men’s Latin shirts which I can also stone to match my Obsession dresses. These will be available to view, soon, in the Boutique and on the website.
My gorgeous Obsession Dancewear model now owns the Ultra Coral Ballroom dress that she modelled as part of my first photoshoot for Obsession and I was thrilled that she wore it to dance in Blackpool this summer. Her beauty and professionalism during that shoot helped create the Obsession Dancewear look and I am so grateful to her for giving me her time and energy as my new business took shape. I was overjoyed, and not a little emotional, to watch her dance in this dress that appears on my banners, website and business cards. This dress will always have a special place in my heart and it is quite the most unbelievable colour that computer screens and mobile phones simply can’t capture. Watch out for a new design coming soon in Ultra Coral – I’m excited to use it again.
Wishing you all a successful Autumn 2026. I hope your training is fulfilling and that you bring home some trophies at comp – good luck!
With love
Ruth x
