Brand Spotlight: Capezio

Capezio has been around for over 100 years.  Salvatore Capezio was an Italian cobbler, and when he opened a shoe shop in NYC near the Met, he began repairing and producing theatrical shoes.  Salvatore Capezio produced Capezio pointe shoes for Anna Pavlova, and his reputation grew from there.  Today, Capezio is a well-known brand that makes all kinds of dancewear for all styles of dance.

pronunciation	Kuh-pee-zee-oh
website	capezio.com
styles of dance included	ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip-hop, ballroom, modern/contemporary/lyrical, acrobatic/gymnastics
types of items	shoes, bodywear, warm-ups, accessories
country of origin	USA
price point	Generally moderate, but ranges from economy (“team basics” collection) to luxury  (“Vintage whisper” and other fancier collections)
quality	Generally decent.  Tights and “hard” shoes (tap, ballroom, etc.) are excellent.  Pointe shoes are not as good.  Leotards, ballet shoes, and modern footwear are fair.
availability	Very broad availability in the US.  Easy to find in local dancewear stores, online (discountdance.com, etc.), and in flagship stores.  Decent availability overseas as well.
sizing	shoes (including pointe): generally small, go up at least 1 size from street size leotards/bodywear: long and narrow, but true to size (most fabrics very stretchy) (Bradon collection: runs big all over) tights: size chart is accurate warmups: on the baggier side
Jillian’s top pick	“1816” convertible tights are super soft, durable, and have an awesome color selection.
Jillian’s item to avoid	Most pointe shoes are rather disappointing, including the much-hyped-about Airess.