ABOUT BARRETO
DANCEWEAR
Ballerina - Designer - Seamstress
When I was kid, I was enchanted with my mother's ancient Singer sewing machine. I would try to make dresses, jazz pants, ballet skirts, you name it. I didn't have the patience for patterns, so I would just cut and sew and seam rip, fitting the clothes to my body by trial and error. Dancing has always been my passion, so I pursued that and have been fortunate enough to succeed and live the dream. Several years ago, I worked in customer service at one of the largest dancewear retailers in the country (dancing didn't always exactly pay the bills). After a few months, the VP of Product Development took notice of me and started using me as a fit model for her designs. That led to a promotion to designer's assistant. I learned so much during my years there and it rekindled my childhood love of making clothes.
A few years ago, when I moved to Boise to dance with Ballet Idaho, I bought a cheap sewing machine and started playing around with making sun dresses and skirts. I began to dabble with leotards and realized that I would need some new machinery, so I started building a collection. I still have my childhood dislike of store-bought patterns, so I make all my own based off of measurements and make adjustments until they are perfect. Now, after a lot of trial and error, I have a product that I am confident in. I love the leotards I make. They fit well, are great for partnering, and can get me through a hard day of rehearsals while making me feel pretty and unique. I hope they will make you feel the same.
- Elizabeth Barreto