Thread: What would you pay to have your bra/belt refurbished?

Hello all - well I've been unemployed for five months and one of my projects besides painting and retiling bathroom was what I call a "retrofit and refurbish" of a dancer's coin costume. This was a birthday gift to her and it included refitting shoulder and back straps, replacing old worn-out trim - refitting belt and relining both bra and belt. I also extended the coin belt which meant I had to take off most of the coins (they were falling off anyway) and reposition them and sew them back on. Oh, and I made 12 large yarn tassles and attached them to belt with my hand crocheted and matching "ropes".

I've always had a way with refitting bras & belts, both coin and beaded because of wanting to extend the life of my costumes and resale value. This was the second project of this type I've completed and it took about 15 hours on the belt and 10 on the bra, not including 2 fittings with dancer.

So, I'm thinking of letting people know that I am available to "R&R" (retrofit and refurbish) their bra and belts and was wondering what bhuzzers would pay to have this done and whether I need to quote a range "plus materials". It cost me $16 for the new trim alone, and $10 for enough yarn to make the tassels. Also, this is not just "basic" sewing skills; even without making the yarn tassels, it involves skill with structure of costume bra/belt and how to fit in the most flattering way. I even put in elastic between the cups of bra (as I do my own bras) so the dancer has a snug secure fit that is also comfy and reduces stress on fabric and I disguise the elastic with trim so it is not visible.,

So far, one dancer I asked who saw the before and after coin/bra project said "in this economy I would pay $25", which obviously doesn't begin to cover the expense of trim, yarn, let alone felt for lining, button thread, new hooks, etc. ,f::,f::

Any thoughts? Because I'm sure not willing to do this much work for $25 when I spent that much on yarn, felt, trim, hooks, etc. and economy be damned, I'm not doing 25 hours of work for $25!

I'll be interested to see what value people put on this. I do this for myself and have always declined working on others as I don't need any extra stress or projects. If I did do work for others I would feel it was worth $20 per hour plus any materials.

$25 seems reasonable...for an hourly rate. :) Anything less than that, then you are selling yourself short.

Take my copper set..please...

No really, the pix are on my gallery. It is open heart surgury that has stopped in the middle of the operation. I estimate another 40 hours of work That would mean 40 x 20 = OMG! There are some projects I just wouldnt take on...like mine...

The problem is, I know the "going rate" for seamstress work is $20/hour and even $25/hour is fair for the specialized and hard work involved in belly dance bra/belts but my question is what would you be willing to pay to have a treasure costume restored, refitted and relined? I suspect the work is so time-consuming that it would have to be a project price agreed on in advance depending on what dancer wants done to costume. Sadly, I don't think anyone is going to be willing to pay $20/hour even for a 10-hour project = $250 when they can just buy a new costume for about that.

I think you are right. Unless it fit like a dream and the owner had an odd body, it had sentimental value, or was a valuable vintage, most people would just sell it and start over. A very limited cliental, I fear. But for those people who were determined to hang onto the set, no matter what...they would pay the same as a mid range new set ($200 -300) for the privilage.

I believe you are right also - that is one reason that I won't do it I realize people don't want to spend that much and don't realize the time involved.

I have a different take on this.
If I really loved a set and it was in really bad shape I would be willing to pay beaucoup bucks to restore it. I think the amount I'd be willing to pay for a restoration would be proportional to the value of the costume set. I don't think $20-25/hr is too much to ask.
Maybe not everyone feels the same way, but I bet some others do- those of us with very little time on our hands that still need to wear non-falling-apart costumes to our gigs. If someone around me was willing to do this, I would save up to take advantage of it. I have some costuming items that are unwearable (too large) and I don't have the skills or time to alter them myself. It makes me really sad because some of this stuff is really beautiful.
If it will cost you only time and effort to start a business like this up, you might as well go for it! What do you have to lose? Even if you don't end up making a ton of money, you will probably establish relationships with people and learn about what it takes to be a small scale entrepreneur.
I would suggest that you get people to give you a deposit up front to cover the cost of materials- otherwise you might get jerked around. And you'll probably need to draw up a general contract that you can tweak for each job too.
Good luck!

I'm so glad I can do my own R&R in jewelry and costumes.
But I would charge $25.00 an hour and they supply materials. You don't want your client to come back and say I wanted oval crystals instead of round ones. And get exactly what they want done in writing a mini contract helps so there is no issue if they don't like end result after the hours you put into fixing it. I also would place a no-refunds and cash only policy. 50% deposit down.
I would also have a list of cost of services offered.Also in writing.Also put repair will take about 4-6 weeks depending on repair. Why you ask because what happens an emergency comes up and can't get it done on time. Also if they need costume by certain date charge extra for "rush orders". You can have it done in 2 but its some clients you tell them 2 weeks they will call you that morning to the day and ask if its ready. So it saves your butt in case you ordered fringe from internet sometimes its back ordered not shipped right away etc. You need time for that.
Don't let my retail thinking scare you.

Alrana

I would say $20-25/hour. When it costs that much, people may also pick what they want done. I have no idea hot to refit a bra (pay to have it done) but I can baste a lining into the finished project, so I won't pay for that part. Perhaps have a fee that's just for consultations, where you can tell people what changes to make (i.e. remove strap stitches here, pin straps there, resew, when done line with cotton flannel), maybe with a fitting, so someone who can work a needle or machine can do the work themselves but has guidance on the conceptual part of the job.

Though I am sentimentally attached to every single costume I have, I cannot imagine spending $200 plus to R&R in this economy. Now, I do this all myself so it costs me nothing but my own time and cost of necessities...however, there are so many dancers out there that cannot even thread a needle, that the service you provide has value. Though the average rate for expert seamstresses is in the mid to high twenties range per hour..you should consider the following: You have been out of work for months and any extra income is better then none, I am sure you enjoy restoring costumes so even though you would be building a business out of it - it would be something you like to do, Your prices can go up when the economy begins to bounce back and even then your prices will be better then most. Consider: $10/hour, this should include your time shopping for supplies (they can always bring you what you need to cut down on the expense) and also the time you take to fit them. This may not seem like a lot of money, but in today's market - a business owner needs to be able to lower their prices in order to maintain business flow.

I'm a newbie, so forgive me if I'm butting in. But what is the harm in hanging your shingle? If you say, "This is what I do and this is what it costs" it is up to customers to decide if they want to purchase your services.

In this economy, you have the advantage of low to no overhead. They provide the supplies, you provide the expertise and labor. You work from home, you take a few pics of stuff you've done, post them in your profile, make a listing on the swap and off you go. The interweb lowers your promotion cost to practically nil.

What do you have to lose?

Also, if you have these skills, you may also want to post for general sewing on Craig's List. People are trying to save all of their clothing now and most don't even know how to sew a hem.

forgive me if I'm butting in

Nay, Sasinach you're not butting in. We just trying to help with a bit of market research, thinking out loud if you will.

Originally Posted by Amaryllis

Though I am sentimentally attached to every single costume I have, I cannot imagine spending $200 plus to R&R in this economy. Now, I do this all myself so it costs me nothing but my own time and cost of necessities...however, there are so many dancers out there that cannot even thread a needle, that the service you provide has value. Though the average rate for expert seamstresses is in the mid to high twenties range per hour..you should consider the following: You have been out of work for months and any extra income is better then none, I am sure you enjoy restoring costumes so even though you would be building a business out of it - it would be something you like to do, Your prices can go up when the economy begins to bounce back and even then your prices will be better then most. Consider: $10/hour, this should include your time shopping for supplies (they can always bring you what you need to cut down on the expense) and also the time you take to fit them. This may not seem like a lot of money, but in today's market - a business owner needs to be able to lower their prices in order to maintain business flow.

I surrender!!! It no use great belly dance Goddess in the sky. They just don't hear the words......cr.:..cr.:..cr.:

Something else to consider: are you only tapping into the local market? I ask because you said you were including fittings with the dancer, so that doesn't work, if, say, I want you to do a costume for me.

This might mean less income than actually doing the R&R yourself, but what about teaching a series of classes on how to do costume repair and maintenance? As was noted above, there are a lot of dancers who can't thread a needle to save their lives who might appreciate being walked through the process. And you never know, once having been walked through it, they might gain a new appreciation for how much work it takes and be willing to pay you a fair wage to do the work for them. I know that was the end result of my one and only attempt at beading a belt myself--acceptance of the cost of paying somebody else to do it for you :-)

Classes on sewing and repair is a great idea.
You could go check out your local adult continuing ed high school programs. I do this with making jewelry sometimes and my 2 friends got me doing this.It won't make much money but its an idea.

Alrana

It's nice and sisterly to hold classes, but I question. Who will need your services as a seamstress if you taught all your potential customers? Think business...

My two seamstresses have more work than they can handle cause they do top dollar work. Really it is cheaper to pay 200-300 dollars to refurbish a 800-900 dollar costume than it is to replace it cause the same costume type from the same maker will now cost 900 to 1100. I'm a Sim Moda Evi kinda gal.

Originally Posted by SaraKat

I have a different take on this.

If it will cost you only time and effort to start a business like this up, you might as well go for it! What do you have to lose? Even if you don't end up making a ton of money, you will probably establish relationships with people and learn about what it takes to be a small scale entrepreneur.
I would suggest that you get people to give you a deposit up front to cover the cost of materials- otherwise you might get jerked around. And you'll probably need to draw up a general contract that you can tweak for each job too.
Good luck!

I love your take on this! I am going for it and will google up a template "brochure" form for my little store front side business to describe what I do. I will ask for a cash deposit of 25% up front for a "not to exceed' number of hours to work on whatever the dancer needs done to costume - whether just alteration or repair and any addition of trim; beads or coins or my hand made yarn tassels in colors dancer wants. That way it is very individualized. The sticky point is the hourly rate but I've decided since I am starting out, I will just charge $10/hour plus cost of materials and once I get a few "paid" projects done I can take another look at pricing - economy will be better then and I think even the hobbyist dancers can handle $100 plus cost of materials to get their falling apart, ill-fitting bra/belt updated so they feel and look better at troupe gigs and get years of wear out of the costume. Most simply do not have the sewing skills and made lots of mistakes when they made their bras and belts and invested money in the materials; they do not want to have to start all over; they want their bra/belt updated because they can't sell it anyway in the shape it's in.

I already have started on my last "birthday gift" free project which I estimate will take me at least 10 hours - includes coin belt and bra that needs to be refitted, buckram and felt lining, coins added to both bra and belt and 16 of my hand-made multi-color yarn tassels in colors that complement the fabric covering the bra and belt. I was so excited after I met with dancer yesterday that I got started on the project last night - removing all the old, tired fabric fringe and pom-poms before I realized I forgot to take the "before" picture for my brochure! .w.:

I think I have nothing to loose by starting on this business - and even when I do get a job I plan on taking on projects occasionally - I actually love doing it! Oh, and here's the name I came up with "Bedlah Rescue" - "bedlah" is the Arabic term for "suit a bellydancer wears" and "rescue" says it all......
Thanks to all for your input on this!..g.:

Originally Posted by _Sarai_

Something else to consider: are you only tapping into the local market? I ask because you said you were including fittings with the dancer, so that doesn't work, if, say, I want you to do a costume for me.

Hmm, I hadn't thought about this; well, I would only be able to do local dancers if they need actual "refitting" appointments, certainly everything else can be done with a few consulting e-mails, phone calls, and I can send a sample tassel with yarn dancer sends after we consult on phone so it's clear that what I am making is what dancer wants. I can replace rusty old hooks or even re-position them if the dancer clearly marks where they need to be, or at least says "bra back strape needs to be 2" longer" or "belt needs to be 2" smaller in length" . And I can always strengthen neck, shoulder and back straps with grosgrain ribbon, and reline bra and belt with felt; I do have a nice inventory of felt in basic colors. I can replace coin or Kuchi trim with whatever dancer sends (I don't have an inventory).

I've decided my initial hourly rate will be $10 plus cost of materials, shipping and insurance and dancer needs to send yarn, coins, trim, any fabric for making belt larger, etc. with costume. If sending me costume, they need to send it with signature required and I would do the same when shipping finished costume, plus insure it.

Originally Posted by badriya_al_ahmar

This might mean less income than actually doing the R&R yourself, but what about teaching a series of classes on how to do costume repair and maintenance? As was noted above, there are a lot of dancers who can't thread a needle to save their lives who might appreciate being walked through the process. And you never know, once having been walked through it, they might gain a new appreciation for how much work it takes and be willing to pay you a fair wage to do the work for them. I know that was the end result of my one and only attempt at beading a belt myself--acceptance of the cost of paying somebody else to do it for you :-)

You are so right! I have already done a couple of workshops for troupe - for free, mind you and I supplied pizza, cookies. I did it because so many of the troupe dancers were admiring my costumes and clueless as to how to make their own troupe bra/belt. I broke it up into three separate 3 hour workshops, first one on costume bra, then next one on belt then another once on "E-Z harem pants". Workshops I've seen before that teach all this in one 3 hour session are simply are too much information for dancers with limited sewing skills. Great idea; I am gøing to include "available for private consultation appointments or costume making workshops" on my brochure.

You know what might work would be to put out your shingle to do accessories for specific costumes. Armbands, gauntlets, headbands either to add them for a costume that didn't come with them or to replace missing pieces. Even making replacement bra straps. There seems to be interest in beaded mesh sleeves and tummy covers to match specific costumes similar to what Pharaonics uses in some costumes. Something like that would be a smaller, faster project that wouldn't necessitate fittings and wouldn't take a huge amount of embellishment as you are simply picking up design elements from the costume and not beading the whole thing. There are also things like hemming beaded costume skirts, replacing zippers, etc. that are not terribly time consuming in of themselves, but that some people are reluctant to try with their own costume.

Originally Posted by AngelaDiCaprio

It's nice and sisterly to hold classes, but I question. Who will need your services as a seamstress if you taught all your potential customers? Think business...

My two seamstresses have more work than they can handle cause they do top dollar work. Really it is cheaper to pay 200-300 dollars to refurbish a 800-900 dollar costume than it is to replace it cause the same costume type from the same maker will now cost 900 to 1100. I'm a Sim Moda Evi kinda gal.

For the same reason that exceptionally talented dancers teach classes...it IS good business.

It would be well worth the cost of classes for dancers that can't thread a needle to learn basic repair and maintenance....that doesn't mean they'll have anywhere near the skill level to refurbish a top of the line costume.

~~Kimahri

Originally Posted by Souzan

You know what might work would be to put out your shingle to do accessories for specific costumes. Armbands, gauntlets, headbands either to add them for a costume that didn't come with them or to replace missing pieces.

That's a great idea. I'm sure there would be a demand for this sort of work. One of my few costume-making projects so far has been to create armbands for a bedlah that didn't come with any, and I would definitely consider having some made in future to match other sets if the costume design put the project beyond my own (limited!) sewing capabilities.

I have been doing this for a while now and have found that it is extremely hard to make $. Now - I have a different spin on this. I find damaged costumes and then restore them. So - I have the expense of purchasing the costume, fixing it, and reselling it.

Most of my work for other people has been simple "move the hooks" stuff. Because when it comes down to R&R'ing a costume - there is really no value to the consumer unless

1 - They bought a $800 costume for $200 and want to spend an additional $200-300 to fix it
2 - It is a dearly loved costume they want to save

For my own projects - I have taken costumes and ripped them down to pieces to put then together again - like a puzzle.

I wish you luck on this and I hope it is successful for you. There is a need for this service.

One thing to keep in mind, if you are going to refurbish costumes like Bellas, Madame Albas, etc - you need to be familiar with the stitching and beading styles. Also have a resource for original extra beads and stuff. It is important to keep it original looking. There is huge value in keeping it old school.