Competing is expensive. Getting your "equipment" is 1/2 the battle - your dresses, smooth and Latin as well as open toe and closed toe shoes. Competition shoes need to be in flesh tone, tan or copper depending upon your skin coloration. The idea is to elongate your legs. Dark and colored shoes will cut your leg line and make you look short. Go for a good quality shoe with good padding - your feet will thank you after 50 heats! You can dance bare legged or use fishnet pantiehose. I can tell you Nordstrum's carries great fishnet pantiehose that has small netting and thin material so your feet don't burn after wearing them all day long. Capezios fishnets feels like Brillo pads between your legs.
Try and get used dresses to save on the costs. Many studios have a cork board where students can listed dresses for sale on. Your local dance shoe shop may have an area for consigned dresses.
It's better for you if your instructor takes a string of student to a competition. This way you all can share his/her expenses: room, travel, meals, entry fees to the ballroom.
The New Comer Division is less strict on new students. Meaning you can get away without having to have costumes as long as you dance in a dress in the style of the section you are dancing. Remember too...if you and another competitor dancing equally, the judges will fall to the costumes to break the placement tie.
I like local competitions so I don't have to stay at the hotel. BUT dancing off package you can count your heat fees to be about $10/$15 more. The competition will provide a room for the off package dancers to change in. You will have to ask where that room is located. Just remember the competition is NOT responsible for safeguarding any costumes left unattended these changing rooms. Dancing off package means too as a group you all need to find a restaurant to eat at.
I do my own hair, makeup and nail polish to save on cost. The drug store or a beauty supply carries fake eyelashes and glue. Mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow, blush and lipstick, fingernail polish ARE part of the costume look. Remember you are not going for a soft business type look, this is a stage look. Many girls wear crystal eyelashes. (Halloween is coming up, you can stock up on these when they go on sale.) I go to a tanning salon for a spray tan so I have that fresh off the beach look.
With hair in Latin/Rhythm your hair must be out of your eyes/face. Most times girls can just have their bangs pulled back and banded.
In smooth your hairCAN NOT move. Put it in a bun, a French roll, braided and tucked under, etc. Crystal combs can be used as well as screw in hair crystals. Just make sure they are not too heavy, you don't want them to fall out when you do tango.
If your hair is too short to look good pulled back and braided you can always use a hair peace. Just be sure to put a hair net over that one area (not your entire head) and attach ccrystal combs and crystals hair screws. Get a good instant freeze hair spray and use liberally.
You should make up a floor bag to take with you. Bottled water, a package of dried fruit for pick me up snack, breath mints, aspirin, extra hair pins, safety pins, band aides, (and mole skin with a small pr of scissors never know when your shoes might rub blisters) a small hand towel to wipe the sweat off your face, your shoe brush, an extra pr of dance shoes if you have them. I also take a sewing needle and a spool of dark as well as light colored thread, you never know what might happen. I also have a highligher to mark my heats as well as check off where we are in the competition in the catalog. If you don't have a team jacket/robe you will need a wrap of some sort to keep your muscles warm between heats. The ballroom is kept cool for the dancers.
Have Fun!!