This paper examines the politics of national dance dress in twenty-first century Jordan by exploring the intersections between authenticity, entrepreneurialism, and political legitimacy. Methodologically, I focus on the repertoire of two national dance companies and use a practice-based approach that combines descriptive analysis, participant observation, and in-depth interviews. Investigating the relationships between materiality and meaning, I look into the design philosophy behind the production of national dance and dress and provide analysis of the larger structures of its meaning beyond the performance space. Inspired by Ronald Barthes conceptualization of dress as a generator of meaning (1990), I argue that the national dress articulates its own state institutional system of identity production, that at once performs and problematizes the political legitimacy of an authoritarian regime. The relatively little, yet subtly active space, for vestimentary contributions of company choreographers not only highlight critical issues around notions of artistry and authenticity, but also throw into sharp relief the complexities and contradictions in monarchal-supported state efforts at aligning values of tradition and authenticity with the themes of creativity, entrepreneurship, and individualism as new differentiating hallmarks of King Abdullah II’s vision of a modern Jordan. This paper builds on dance studies perspectives by framing dress both as a bodily practice and discoursing subject/object and moves beyond Eurocentric approaches in dress studies that privilege western dress culture and history.