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Making your own flamenco skirt is tempting, but it's not that easy. The multiple panels and long hem mean you'll be sewing for hours! For practice and student recitals, a skirt like the Bal Togs flamenco skirt is perfect and only costs around $40 (see picture on right), so it's hard to see why you would give yourself so much grief!
Even if you're up for all that work, it's almost impossible to find a ready-made pattern. Go to your local fabric store and you may find some labelled 'flamenco skirt' - but chances are they're for fancy dress, and won't have nearly enough material for dancing, unless you don't mind showing your knickers!
If you really want to make your own, buy an ordinary 6- or 8-panelled skirt pattern. If you can find one with godets (triangles of material around the hem to make it flounce), even better. Godets in streetwear are normally quite small, so you'll probably need to make them much longer for a flamenco skirt.
If you have an ordinary panelled skirt pattern, there are a few ways to modify it:
- Make the pattern exactly "as is" to just below the knee, then add one or two ruffles to the hem. This style will be similar to a sevillanas style skirt - just be careful it's not too tight around the thighs to dance in. If the original pattern was A-line rather than dead straight, it should be fine.
- Cut the pattern exactly "as is", to ankle length - but don't sew it together. Then cut long, narrow, triangular pieces of material (godets) to insert between each panel. Be warned - when you add godets to a skirt that's not designed for them, getting a straight hem can be a headache!
- You can modify each panel by flaring it out at the bottom before cutting.
I've been lucky to have access to a specialist flamenco dressmaker for most of my flamenco outfits - but once or twice, I've had to resort to an ordinary dressmaker, with mixed results. 
Don't get me wrong, a good bridal dressmaker will know exactly how to go about making you a beautiful flamenco dress, given a few photos and the right material - but there's one place where she's almost guaranteed to get it wrong.
The sleeves.
When you're dancing, you have to move your arms through a far wider range than you do in everyday life. Both times I've had dresses made by non-specialists, I've been unable to get my arms above my head!
The easy solution is to choose a sleeveless design, of course. Or choose a cape or puff style instead of the tight elbow length version.
You'll also reduce the problem by using a stretch fabric - if not for the whole dress, at least for the sleeves (for instance, you could have lace sleeves in the same color, made of stretch lace).
If you're determined to have tight sleeves in the same fabric as the dress, you'll need to allow more ease in the armpit area. If you have an existing dress that's too tight, you can achieve this by adding a diamond-shaped gusset.
Flamenco skirts and dresses require a lot of material - allow 2 metres (2.5 yards) for a simple skirt and 3 or 4 metres for a dress. That much fabric is heavy! Bear that in mind when buying fabric to make a flamenco dress, and look for materials that are on the lighter side.
Don't go too far, though - very light material won't move well (or will fly up too easily!), unless you add a lot of ruffles to add weight at the hem. It may also be see-through - and voila, you have to add a lining, which adds to the weight, so you're back where you started.
Many professionally-made dresses have a cotton lining, for strength and sweat absorption - but make your own decision as to whether you need one. Modern polyester fabrics hold their shape much better and don't really need a lining to support them, especially if you reinforce your seams.
As for sweat absorption - if you wear a separate cotton-lycra cami under your dress, it will absorb sweat just as well, and is easier to wash - and you don't have to worry about it shrinking out of synch with the dress. If the dress has sleeves, you can also sew sweat guards under the arms.
Thanks to the many Californians who've told me that Mexican Folklorico shoes are a good - and economical - substitute for flamenco shoes, for those on a budget.
Although I've never examined a pair of Mexican dance shoes, I can understand why they would stand up well to the rigours of flamenco.
I remember some years ago, a native of Mexico joined our flamenco school and I was amazed how quickly he mastered the steps - until he gave us a short demonstration of Mexican dance, and I realized he was already accustomed to stamping his feet at high speed!
As we all know, flamenco dresses are horribly expensive. Of course, we offer some good value flamenco dresses here on Dress for Flamenco, but what if you don't like buying online?
One option is to go to Spain. I know that sounds like an expensive solution, but what a marvellous excuse to take a flamenco holiday! If you book yourself into a course at one of the flamenco schools, you can kill two birds with one stone, so you can still say you saved money 
Schedule your visit to just after the Feria de Abril in Sevilla, and you'll find some bargains in the flamenco stores in Andalusia. Flamenco dancers follow fashion as much as the rest of us, and the stores sell off this season's styles at a discount. Back home in your own country, no one will know you're wearing last year's style, and you'll have an authentic flamenco dress at a fraction of the price.
Incidentally, if you decide to go to Seville for the Feria and stay for the sales, make sure you have accommodation before you go. During the Feria, hotels book out far in advance (and are very expensive).
Photo by Robven
I've had several enquiries about adding tacks to character shoes - including a couple from people who were sold character shoes as flamenco shoes, and didn't discover their mistake until too late.
I have bad news, I'm afraid - you can't add nails to character shoes, or any other normal shoe for that matter.
The soles of most shoes are too thin to take tacks - the points will eventually poke right through and into your foot. If the shoemaker uses smaller tacks to avoid that problem, they're unlikely to stay in the shoe for long! The average sole isn't strong enough to take the stress of all that extra metal, either.
You might get away with adding nails to tap shoes or Irish dancing shoes, both of which have stronger soles to support the weight of metal plates. However, finding a cobbler who understands how to layer flamenco tacks is another challenge altogether!
If you want to make a flamenco sound with your feet, there really is no substitute for proper flamenco shoes.
Flamenco skirts can be cut several different ways. The best skirts for flamenco are slim-fitting around the hips and flare generously towards the hem. This is usually achieved by using panels, which are very narrow near the waist and get wider as they go down to the hem.
Some skirts have more v-shaped panels (called godets) added round the hem for even more width. A nice touch is to have the godets in a different fabric, which accentuates the movement to the hem. A popular combination is a plain fabric for the skirt, with toning polka-dotted godets (or vice versa).
Another option is a circle skirt, but avoid styles where the circle starts at the waist - the bulk of fabric around the waistline isn't flattering, and it's not a flamenco look!. Instead, choose a skirt that starts on the hip (rociera), or one with a tight-fitting basque around the hips and the circle starting from the bottom edge of the basque.
I just came across this article in the New York Times .
I like Eva Yerbabuena's comment about good shoes making her feet feel as if she's not wearing any shoes! Next time I'm in Alicante, I must check out her shoemaker - I'd love to find a pair of flamenco shoes like that!
Photo by eschipul
Traditionally, female flamenco dancers wear their hair long - and that's one tradition that doesn't appear to have changed in nuevo flamenco. It's rare to see a flamenca with a short hair style!
Also traditional is the use of hair ornamentation. The stereotypical image of a flamenco dancer is a women with a red rose and an ornate comb in her hair. Contemporary dancers may wear no ornaments at all, but if you're in a more traditional school, chances are you will still be expected to put your hair up and decorate it appropriately.
The simplest decoration is a beautiful fake rose - or perhaps two or three in a cluster. Make sure they're well secured by several pins!
I don't recommend using hair combs unless you can be sure they're anchored securely - I've seen too many of them fall out on stage, causing a hazard for other performers. If you're dancing up on a stage, they're not that visible anyway.
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Photo credit: Hair comb by iliturgitana, flamenco roses by Elliott Moore
Flamenco costumes can be expensive, and if you're just taking your first class, you probably aren't ready to invest in a genuine flamenco skirt.
Unfortunately, High Street gypsy-style or Boho tiered skirt may look suitable for flamenco, but they often don't have enough material (unless they're a circle skirt, in which case they'll have that bulky-round-the-waist look).
As you progress in flamenco, you'll discover that the skirt isn't just something that hangs down around you - you'll be asked to pick up an edge of the skirt in each hand and move it around as you dance. While holding the skirt, you may have to put your hands on your hips, or swing one hand in front of you and one behind at waist level. If the skirt doesn't have enough fabric, these moves will reveal all of your thighs and, quite likely, more of your butt than you'd like! In fact, even proper flamenco skirts tend to lift up with the momentum of the movement in fast dances - I've been surprised how much leg I've shown in pictures of performances! So dancing in a skirt that doesn't cover your legs, even when you're moving slowly, isn't a good idea.
A compromise is to wear a pair of leggings under a boho skirt for practice, so it doesn't matter if your legs are on display when you lift the hem - in fact, quite a few teachers use this option. Personally I don't like this idea unless you're into nuevo flamenco (where the skirt is lighter and isn't used so much). If you get too used to dancing in pants, it's quite an adjustment to get used to dancing in a heavy skirt.
So when buying an ordinary skirt to use for flamenco, remember to pick up the hem and move it around when you try it on. Look in the mirror and make sure you're not revealing more than you want to!
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Photo credit: Nessa Land
