Three features may not sound like a lot, but these three things actually make a huge difference. Let me tell you what turns a typical leotard into athleticwear.
Enclosed seams
Typical leotards have exposed serged seams on the inside, and exposed serged and coverstitched seams on the neck and legholes. If you’re not familiar with sewing, both serged and coverstitched seams are overlock seams, meaning there are lots of looping layers of thread around the edge of the fabric. That is great, because it keeps the fabric from fraying. But it can also be irritating to your skin, especially if the thread is not soft.
This irritation of the skin gets worse on neck and legholes, where there are more layers of stitching and also tight elastic pressing that stitching into your skin.
Tia’s Leos are completely lined and have only one exposed seam; the rest of them are enclosed. This means your side seams, shoulder seams, and sleeve seams are all totally smooth and silky. Rather than the overlock stitch,.
Perhaps more importantly, on Tia’s Leos the neck and legholes are also enclosed. Rather than the overlock stitch, you’ve got just a smooth, straight double-needle stitch. The elastic and all of the overlock stitching are still there, making your leotard secure, but they’re all on the inside—as in, between the layers of fabric in your leotard, where you’ll never see them, and you’ll certainly never feel them digging into your skin.
Coverage and support, no thin straps
Have you ever watched a dance performance where the most memorable thing was how many times the dancers tugged their costumes back into place so they’d be covered while they were dancing? Where that motion was the most repeated, but definitely not choreographed movement? 😅😆🤣 I have.
Tia’s Leos are designed to provide you coverage and support as an athlete, so that you can move and dance without worrying about falling out of your leotard.
One thing that means for me that is no thin straps—maybe as a design feature, but not as a structural part of the leotard that holds it on your body. Besides not being terribly secure, they also are much less comfortable because so much strain from a tight, stretchy piece of clothing is put on such a tiny little strap. That means more digging into your skin and leaving red marks! No thank you.
Having thicker traps, or even sleeves, spreads that pressure out over more surface area and makes your leotard much more comfortable and secure. That, plus not having a super low neckline in the front or back, also means that in many cases you can wear a sports bra underneath for more support without your bra showing.
These elements help ensure that you can move securely—and not ruin your choreography by throwing in extra moves to adjust your leo. 😉😄
Custom-fit
Not all athleticwear is custom-fit—but Tia’s Leos are!! This supports you as an athlete because your leotard is made to fit YOUR body just right, rather than expecting you to fit in a standardized leo.
I’ve heard complaints from dancers whose torsos are long, and standard leotards really have to stretch to fit them, making their leotards feel really tight and uncomfortable. I have a short torso, so I tend to have the opposite problem!
I’ve also heard from dancers who are one size on top, and another size on bottom. This means they have to choose a size, and either find a way to deal with it being too loose, or too tight and constricting.
Tia’s Leos fix all of these problems because you and I start from scratch with YOUR measurements, not standardized measurements, in order to make a pattern just for your body. That means it will be nice and snug and secure, but it won’t be painfully tight and constricting. This all makes dancing a more comfortable experience for you!
Do these sound like features you want in a leotard?
If you’re ready to stop settling for typical leotards and try a leotard constructed to support an athlete, take my free course! It’s broken up into 3 days, and by the end of the course, you’ll have an athletic leotard made just for your body!
