Gymnastics Leotards Buyers Guide

Top American Leotard Companies

Here are the American leotard companies that we can recommend. We do not include distribution companies that do not have their own lines of leotards that they design and manufacture (or have manufactured).

GymKin’s Elite Sportswear is the biggest player in the United States gymnastics leotard market, primarily because of their extensive consignment sales program. They allow gyms and non-profit gymnastics organizations to receive shipments of leotards, sell them on consignment and return them about every six weeks for a fresh new collection of leotards.  They are also the official supplier of leotards to USA Gymnastics and the Make It or Break It gymnastics TV drama and sell and manufacture leotards designed by Adidas.  GK has stock training leotards from $20 and up and custom made competition leotards up to $225.00.

Alpha Factor Aerials leotards has had a sterling reputation as a maker of high quality, sophisticated leotards.  They have a new virtual Pro Shop program for gyms where gyms can register and have their gymnasts purchase leotards and other gymnastics apparel from the Alpha Factor web site and get a small percentage of the purchase price.

GMR’s 10.0 leotards are part of that company’s full line of gymnastics equipment, supplies and apparel.  They have about a hundred different leotard styles with matching accessories.  10.0 leotards are primarily training leos with only a couple long sleeve leotards that could be used in competition with prices in the range of $18.00 – $29.00.

Snowflake Designs, Leotards and More has over 120 leotards plus other other apparel and accessories.  Their leotards are moderately priced to expensive ranging from $34.00 to $150.00 for stock competition leotards.  But they have clearance leos as low as $10.00.   And if you like to live dangerously, try their grab bag – $15.00 to buy inexpensive gymnastics leotards, sight unseen.  Just pick your size and see what you get.  Nobody I know has been disappointed with the grab bag.  Free shipping on orders over $100.00.

k-Bee Leotards has about 90 training leotards ranging in price from $28.00 to $38.00 and about a dozen competition leotards ranging in price from $42.00 to $75.00.  They have clearance leos starting at $20.00

TumbleWear Leotards has training leotards and long sleeve leos ranging in price from $28.00 to $50.00.  They have just a few styles and limited colors and patterns.  They have some gymnastics leotards on sale starting from $20.00 (none available at that $20 price when I last checked) to $24.00.  TumbleWear prepares custom orders for individuals and teams from a variety of styles, fabrics, sizes and colors, some that you don’t see on the website.

Gym Digs Leotards has stock training leotards ranging from $22.00 – $38.00.  They also have a system where you can custom design your own leotard online by making choices from 28 styles and over 65 fabric designs/colors. Like many leotard companies they also do embroidery and  rhinestone designs.

Leotard City Leotards has training leotards starting at $20.00 and going up to $28.00.  They offer free shipping if you buy 3 or more leotards. They manufactured leotards under the name of Gold Medal Leotards for 10 years. Their selection includes velvets, holograms, tye-dyes, geometric prints, color splashes, stars, and the ever popular peace sign patterns.

Lizatards leotards range in price from $22.00 to $45.00.  Does the name come from the design and texture of some of the leotards?

Look-it Activewear leotards have a wide range of leotards ranging in price from simple cotton inexpensive gymnastics leotards costing $10.00 to long sleeve leos for $32.00.  They have sale and closeout specials starting as low as $8.00.  It is not an uncommon experience to get loyal customer bonuses from this company.

Motionwear leotards range in price from $34.00 to $41.00.

Quantum Leotards has prices that range from $22.00 to $49.00.  They also allow you to design your own leotard on line.  They will also do custom team leotards.  They can also make leotards for your teddy bear that will match the leotard you order.  Quantum also has tie dye kits you can order with everything you need to tie dye your own leotard.  They also custom make team leotards.

Rebecca’s Mom Leotards has practice leos at prices from $35.00 to $50.00 and sale leotards starting at $22.00.  They produce different print leotards each year.  They can make grip bags and teddy bear leos to match the leotard you order.

Foxy’s Fitness Fashions has prices that range from $20.00 to $38.00 for training leos, mostly prints and special fabrics.  They offer free shipping on orders over $50.00.

Gymnastics Leotards 4 U, formerly Gym Brat Leotards, is a small family-based gymnastics leotard company with cute, inexpensive leotards and reasonable shipping rates. This is the kind of company you can order from and be reasonably sure the leotard you buy for your daughter will be one that nobody else she knows will have.

GK Down East Outlet

If you are anywhere in the Reading, PA area, you will want to stop by and check out the GK Down East Outlet. They have amazingly good prices. If you know the exact details of the GK leotard you want, you can call or email and ask them if they have it in stock. They need the style number, size and color of the leo that you want and then they can let you know if they have it in stock and what the price is. You get the info by going to the GK Elite website and looking at the leos there.

It’s almost worth it to sign up to compete at Berk’s gymnastics annual Dutch Classic Meet, just so you can go to the GK Down East Outlet.

916 N. Ninth Street
Reading, PA 19604
Business Hours:
Monday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Sunday Noon to 5 p.m. Eastern Time
Phone 610-372-1144
E-mail: DownEastPA@aol.com

eBay

eBay.com used to be a great place to buy leotards and you could get some good deals. These days the good deals are few and far between with most leotards selling for retail. It hardly seems worth the effort any more to filter though all the junk to try to find the few good deals.

Check for Coupons

Before you buy, don’t forget to search for online coupons for whatever company from which you choose to buy. Simply type the name of the leo company into any search engine with the word coupon and see if there are any for what you are buying. 10% off is the most common coupon.

A Perspective on Leotards

Gymnasts need to have a very comfortable garment to perform gymnastics skills. Gymnastics leotard are made from a stretchable material and are fairly tight one-piece outfits for women that cover the upper body but leave the legs uncovered and free for performing jumps and a variety of other sequences that involve flexible movements. There are any number of styles including tanks, sleeveless, short-sleeves and long-sleeved leotards. Some leotards, also called leos, are designed just for training. Traditional competition leotards are long sleeve or at least 3/4 sleeve. Recent loosening of the rules for some competitions allow exceptions (like for competitions in excessive heat) to the long sleeve rule.

Teams, both club and National teams, traditionally wear the same leotard for competitions, but sometimes gymnasts wear individual custom leos for individual event and all-around competition sessions. There can be deductions in competitions for underwear being visible in competitions, so special matching briefs are often sold along with leotards and some models of competition leotards have briefs sewn in. Current styles for wearing visible sports bras, notwithstanding, there are still deductions judges can take for that (remember the movie “Stick It”).

For gymnasts, leotard should fit fairly tightly, like a second skin. Big and baggy clothing is thought by some to be a danger to both the gymnast and coach. Gymnasts could fall if their leotard catches on piece of equipment. Some coaches are nervous about spotting gymnasts with loose clothing for fear their hand or fingers may get caught and/or rolled up resulting in injury to either the gymnast, coach or both.

Most leotards worn by gymnasts in this country are one piece designs. Some gyms allow gymnasts to wear biker shorts with their leotards for practices. Some gyms allow gymnasts to wear T-shirts over their leos, with or without T-shirts. Other countries that are more stylish, less conservative in fashion or hotter also wear briefs and sports bras, briefs and 3/4 tank tops, briefs and briefs with other tops.

Some gyms requires that right before competitions, like the week before gymnasts wear only leos (no shorts or T-shirts) so gymnasts get used to exactly what they will wear in competition and are not distracted by false modesty.

Strangely enough, leotards were named after a male acrobatic performer, Jules Léotard, who was born in France in 1842. Supposedly, he was the one about whom the well-known song “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze” was written. The use of the term, leotard, for men’s competition outfits is rarely used.

Leotards are worn by gymnasts, dancers and figure skaters for both practice and competition. Leotards have been adapted for general exercise training and even street wear.

Some of the larger leotard companies produce leotards that are the same each year and add a few new styles, but many smaller leotard companies have totally different pattern leotards each year that depend on the fabrics available to them and chosen by them.

While we are providing this list so you can buy a wider variety of leotards and get some good deals, we want you to also consider buying leotards from your own gym. Support your own gym and they can provide you with a better gymnastics experience. Buying a leotard there lets you try it on and get the perfect size. Make sure that if you order a leo online that you can return it if you are not happy with the fit.

Most gymnasts and parents report that the girth measurement is definitely the most important for getting the best fit when ordering online. If a gymnast is growing, you may want to get the next girth size up to allow for that.