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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.
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
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.
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
The flamenco skirt isn't just a piece of clothing, it's a prop. Watch any flamenco dancer and you'll see how she uses her hands and sometimes her legs to throw the skirt around, adding an extra dimension to the drama and movement of the dance.
In the old days, flamenco skirts were made of heavy cotton and a dancer would never be seen dead without at least one petticoat underneath. Dancing in so much fabric was an endurance test because of the weight, and it was essential to practice in costume because you had to learn to pace your movements so the dress could catch up with you! Not to mention that the ironing took hours.
These days, petticoats are rarely worn and skirts are much less voluminous. Nuevo flamenco dancers wear streamlined, simple skirts with no frills, giving a sleek silhouette. The fabric most commonly used is polyester jersey, which moves with the body and doesn't fly up easily. In some ways I feel that's a shame - the older-style heavy skirts often seemed to be doing a dance of their own, which magnified and enhanced the dancer's movements.
All my flamenco skirts are 100% polyester, preferably microfibre. It's comfortable, has a nice sheen, and moves well. Best of all, it can be thrown in the washing machine when I get home from a performance, and come out good as new! However, if you're going to use a lightweight material with no frills and no petticoat, get your legs waxed and buy a nice pair of knickers - it's safe to assume your audience will be getting a good view of both!
Please don't wear your skirt floor-skimming, like an evening dress - it may look nice, but you'll only end up catching your shoe in the hem. It's much safer to have the skirt finish at ankle level. Remember flamenco shoes have tacks in them which can cause a lot more damage than an ordinary high heel!
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Photo credits: Pink skirt by A. www.viajar24h.com; green skirt by Imaji
When you first start getting confident in flamenco, you want to dress the part. It's tempting to rush out and buy yourself a beautiful flamenco dress, to make yourself look like a real flamenca.
Wait! Take a deep breath and let's be realistic here. It's likely to be a few years before you're good enough to dance solo. In the meantime, if you get a chance to perform, it will be in a group. Your teacher will want the group to look like a troupe, which means all of you must be wearing similar costumes.
If she's sympathetic to the financial circumstances of dance students, she'll try to use outfits that students already have - but it's very difficult to make a coherent group out of a bunch of dancers who've all bought dresses separately.
Flamenco dresses come in many different colors and patterns, with sleeves vary from extremely frilly, to tight, to none. The skirts of a flamenco dress may have several frills and multiple petticoats, or be tight and sleek around the hips with no frills at all. The chances of your dress matching what others have chosen is pretty slim.
That's why a flamenco shawl (worn as a top) and skirt combo is the best bet for your first costume: no matter where you buy your shawl and skirt, or what colour you choose, the style is similar enough that it will fit it with everyone else's shawl and skirt.
Look at this photo of a flamenco performance at the Feria in Seville, and notice the dancer on the left is wearing a purple leotard as a top, with a matching skirt. She looks just as good as her partner who's wearing a dress.
The benefit of using separates is the same as in real life - you can mix and match to suit your needs. You can also wear the skirt or leotard separately in class, and use the shawl as your working shawl. If you buy a multi-colored shawl, you can even buy two or three skirts which pick up the colors from the shawl - and probably still have spent less money than if you'd bought a dress!
In any case, your first step should be to ask other students how costumes are arranged for your school performances. At some schools, the teacher will insist that every troupe member wears exactly the same costume (and probably makes them pay to have it made). If that's the case, you may as well be patient - no matter how beautiful a flamenco outfit you buy, you're not going to get a chance to wear it on stage until you're a solo artist.
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Photo by A. www.viajar24h.com
When we think of a flamenco dancer, we think of her wearing something very colourful, very spotty and very frilly. This little cutie is wearing a perfect example - unfortunately, she hasn't quite got the steps yet...
In fact, this style of dress is rarely worn by flamenco dancers these days. You'll still see it in tourist venues and at the annual Feria in Seville, where it's traditional.
If you're in Seville and tempted to buy one, make sure you buy a dress for dancing and not just a Feria (or vestida de gitana) dress. Feria dresses are tight way down past the knees with just a few frills at the bottom, and there's not enough freedom of movement to dance properly.
Photo by qgil on Flickr
A dress designed for professional dancers may look very similar, but it will only be tight to about mid-thigh. You'll also see full-skirted styles.
You can see some examples in this video:
