Monday, March 15, 2010

Irish Dance Solo Dresses

 (Family photos may not be borrowed or pinned.)

Here is daughter and one of her best friends at an Irish Dance competition at Gaelic Park in Chicago a few years ago.   They met in an Irish dance class when they were about 9 or 10 years old and have been friends ever  since.  

I wanted to show you some of the fantastic dresses Irish dancers wear when they compete on stage.  These are "solo dresses".  Each one is different.  Some are designed by the girls themselves.  These dresses have to be earned.  Girls have to advance to a certain level in competition before they are allowed to wear a solo dress.  Each girl will also have a school costume, which they wear for their first few years of dancing (before they qualify for a solo dress), and later for team dances when uniformity in look is important.

These pictures represent various styles of solo dresses from the past 10 years of Irish dance.  Note the different fabrics and styles as fads came and went in the competition world.

   




Have you picked out a favorite? Or two? Or three?

(Only two of the dresses above belonged to my daughter.   The others were owned by other dancers.  I found most of these pictures at the websites that sell new or used solo dresses.)


I am linking to Mary's Mosaic Monday.    And Cuisine Kathleen's St Patrick's Blog Crawl.  




  

54 comments:

  1. I really couldn't pick a favorite, all are stunning!

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  2. They are all beautiful! And so are the girls.

    Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

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  3. Oh, Gayle! Those dresses are each one STUNNING in their own right. Were any of them designed by your daughter? And I have to ask this question...did you make any of them were they special ordered? I can not imagine how long it took you do that beautiful mosaic for today!

    I have more than one or two favorites though...and ironically, they are all in the last set that I viewed.

    On the third row, second from left.
    On the fourth row, the first and third from left.

    Thanks so much for the time and effort you put forth for us to be able to enjoy these today.

    And thank you for the special way you displayed your Sunshine Award. ~wink~

    Hugs to you, my friend,
    Dianna

    ps...I'm calling the oral surgeon's office in the morning since I've not heard anything at all from them to this point. I'm expecting good news though since I've not heard anything otherwise.

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  4. Oh, what fun!! The dresses are gorgeous, so many colors and styles! I love the pic of your daughter and friend, they look like forever buddies!
    Cindy

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  5. My daughters used to do Irish Dancing...oh those nights of hair curling!

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  6. Your daughter and her friend look stunning! I LOVE your post! The dresses are so very, very pretty! Happy St. Patrick's Day1

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  7. It is much too hard to pick a favorite, they are all so beautiful!
    Your daughter and her friend are beautiful too!
    Jane

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  8. wow! what pretty dresses! thanks for sharing that interesting tidbit! the girls are just beaming!

    i just read about someone else just signing up for 39 squares so it's definitely not too late!

    xo
    elyse

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  9. What a lot of creativity goes into each and every one of those wonderful costumes! I had no idea - thanks for sharing these!


    Amanda

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  10. I cannot believe those gorgeous dresses. I have never seen such dresses. Your daughter and her friend are just so lovely. Thanks for posting.

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  11. The girls are darling!
    Those are very fancy dresses. I remember the ones my nieces had as navy blue with colored embroidery.
    I love watching the dancing..oh to be young..
    Thanks so much for joining the party!
    Have a wonderful SPD!
    Slainte'

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  12. Oh My! Gayle, They are all absolutely gorgeous! So much detail, and the colors are stunning. I bet they look so pretty on the dancing girls. I loved seeing these. laurie

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  13. Oh my oh my! Those dresses are amazing in detail and color. How sweet that the girls have been friends for so long...

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  14. Those dresses are just stunning. The details are amazing! I am so impressed. What lovely memories those girls are saving up. Hey I was born in Evanston. We could have been neighbors!!

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  15. Oh my goodness! These are so beautiful. Did you sew some of them?

    There are so many gorgeous dresses I couldn't possibly pick a favorite.

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  16. Oh my goodness...lovely dresses...lovely young ladies!

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  17. Two lovely girls.and so many different dresses and you have kept a photo of them over so many years. Just beautiful.

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  18. Holy cow! What a collection! I was studying the first batch to pick a favorite then I realized there was another batch and another. So I didn't pick a favorite after all. There are just too many! They are all beautiful in one way or another.

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  19. These are outstanding mosaics! I am going to enlarge your pics to study them more.

    On your last post, did you cross stitch the blessing? I would like to find this pattern.

    Thanks for stopping by Applejack Lane.

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  20. My friends daughter takes Irish dance in Dallas, I hope she is keeping all her outfits. They are beautiful and quite and investment I'm sure.

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  21. Hello Gayle,

    These dresses are works of art, beautiful to see! It must be great to dance like that as well ...
    Thanks for sharing!

    Bye, Carolien

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  22. Oh My Goodness! What a beautiful collection of dresses! The colors and patterns are beautiful and each one is unique! I am intrigued by Irish dancing. Both girls are beauties! How wonderful that a hobby has lead them to a lasting friendship!

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  23. Hi Gayle!!

    What a display...these dresses are breathtaking! Thank you for sharing :)

    Happy St. Paddy's to you!

    Blessings!
    Gail

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  24. The dresses are so beautiful and so is your Daughter and her friend. I have always loved watching the dances.

    Willow

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  25. What a fantastic post! thank you so much for sharing. All of the dresses are just beautiful! Happy Saint Patrick's Day ♥

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  26. Such beautiful and happy girls! I wish I could see them dance. The dresses are so intricate and amazing! Wow, I never knew how beautiful they were. Thanks so much for sharing.
    Patricia :o)
    PSP: Happy Satin Patrick's Day!

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  27. These are just super photos of your girl's outfit! My smocking friend has 2 DD's that take Irish step-dance lessons. They will both be marching/dancing in tomorrow's parade. She helps to sew some of the costumes, so I'm sending her your link for her to enjoy. Thanks for sharing!

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  28. Just realized that my poor choice of wording may have caused you to think that these dresses all had been worn by my daughter. Nope. Only two belonged to my kid. The rest belong to other dancers.

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  29. Gorgeous dresses and your daughter and her friend are beautiful in their costumes.

    I know how much those dresses cost and it's a lot! My seamstress friend does embroidery work for some of the Irish dancers in the Milwaukee area and she told me what some of them are worth.

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  30. Amazing dresses!

    My nieces do Irish Dancing here in N Ireland.

    Happy St Patrick's Day from Ireland :)

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  31. Wow, they are all beautiful dresses. The girls, too.

    Happy St Pats day!

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  32. Just wanted to let you know that I'm sending my readers here for your posts on St. Patrick's Day.
    I told them about you in today's post at Dreaming. :)

    Melinda

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  33. What lovely dresses. They look very complicated to sew. Did you sew the ones for your daughters?

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  34. Beautiful dresses and girls! I've a friend whose granddaughter does this dancing here in VA and is just as lovely in her dress as are your girls. How wonderful to see young folks having such a grand time.

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  35. Such a colorful and fitting mosaic for St. Patrick's day. The detail in the dresses are amazing and I could not pick one because they are all so lovely. Thanks for sharing this with me.
    Joyce

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  36. All I can say is wow! They are all spectacular. I just wanted to thank you for all your sweet comments and hoppin' on my blog. I sure hope ya'll enjoy the ride.

    God bless and ya'll enjoy St. Patrick's day! :o)

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  37. Those dresses are stunning, i'm going to have another look now :) xx

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  38. What pretty girls and dresses ! I wish you could like a video of thier dancing - I bet it is wonderful !
    Ksmmy

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  39. Hi i just followed through your comment somewhere. These dresses are all so stunning, how wonderful creativities, every one is unique. And you have the chance to get all their photos, all very beautiful.

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  40. those are brilliantly coloured masterful little works of art in themselves! wow

    culture and tradition...can't beat the combination...

    thanks for coming by today bella!

    ciao
    carmelina

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  41. I had no idea that they could be so ornate - each is a work of art!

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  42. so fab dresses... i love the intricate details... my fave is on the first set, last photo on the second row!
    Thanks for commenting on my post btw...hope you'll visit again soon=)

    Flory

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  43. so fab dresses... i love the intricate details... my fave is on the first set, last photo on the second row!
    Thanks for commenting on my post btw...hope you'll visit again soon=)

    Flory

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  44. That's incredible collection of dresses..They are so beautiful, colorful and fantastic!

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  45. Beautiful! Great idea for a mosaic. I had no idea of the variety of designs. Lovely girls!

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  46. Thank you, Gayle, for your prayers. Hubby surprised me by taking the entire day off from work and will be taking me to the appointment...then we are going to spend the rest of the day doing "fun" things!

    I'm so excited to see what is coming in the mail! You are so special.

    hugs to you
    Dianna

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  47. gayle, the detail....AH-mazing!

    i like every one of them. The colors and details are mind-boggling. thank you for sharing.

    i could watch them dance forever. is it because of my irish-welsh heritage? dunno, just adore it.

    happy st patricks day!!

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  48. These are absolutely gorgeous -- so detailed and colorful. It must cost families a pretty penny to keep their daughters in Solo Dresses.

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  49. What beautiful dresses. Such vibrant colors.

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  50. the dresses are amazing...When I lived in Wa. state, I went to a St patricks day Celebration and saw all the dancers...I admired the dresses then....and they all wear curly hairpieces.....I was wondering why...
    There was a newspaper challenge on Project runway last season...I am such a fan of the show!!!!

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  51. Your daughter and her friends definitely look like BFF!! I live not far from Gaelic Park. And I love watching the Irish dancers in the parades.

    All of the dresses are stunning!! How proud you must be of her!

    Happy St. Paddy's Day! :-)

    xoxo
    Janie

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  52. So pretty, all of them! Reminds me of when I was younger and I was enrolled in a Polish dance class. We learned a lot about the culture and wore really pretty costumes.

    I'm really glad I did it, and I'm sure your daughter's glad she did too!

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  53. Oh my goodness those are all gorgeous dresses. The girls are so cute too. I just want to thank you for stopping by and leaving such nice comments.

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THANK YOU for your thoughtful comments. Replies to your questions will be posted here, so be sure to check back soon. Have a wonderful day! - Gayle, Garden Of Daisies