o4tuna

Hi,
I want to get a a pretty outfit for a woman I know to take photos of her in, and for her to have some fun playing dress up as it were (she isn't a dancer). She is in her mid 40's, has a little belly thing going on ,which i think is very, umm, hot , and other charms that are equally intoxicating. I'm a budding photographer and love taking pictures of her, and I thought a belly dancing outfit would be perfect for her. (she really loves to see proof that she is still attractive and still has the "power" to make men fall to their knees.)

I was thinking of harem pants, a bra and belt, a long dance veil, a little square face veil, hip scarf, and head piece (a kind of hat thing with something hanging over her forehead), and a necklace/choker to hide a couple of neck wrinkles. and hand/foot/ear rings, etc. things for her arms, the whole thing.

She has a very pretty face/smile, but her eyes are the time stoppers, hence shots with a face veil. She has long black hair, green eyes. She loves black.

The costume should accentuate her eyes/face, her ample bust, her belly, her body/figure in general. But the costume should detract from her. She likes silver over gold, But silver presents problems in photographs as being the brightest things in the photo. which draws the eye away from whatever body feature I'm trying to capture, so it sould be kept to a minimum.

I'm hoping to get from you all suggestions here I can find the things I've talked about. I want to get good things, not cheap looking. I want the costume to look as rich and lush has she is, but not to over power her. So, if you have any suggestions for anything, I would love to hear them.

Oh, money is a concern, but I'm willing to spend (or burn onto my overwhelming credit card debt) a few/couple hundred bucks. the less the better. I still have to buy a few other props.

Thanks for your time.

Shanazel

o4tuna. Ve et luna. Statu mariabilis. (Can't find my sheet music so don't know if I spelled everything right.)

Have you talked to the lady about this or are you going to spring it on her? Go over to the marketing threads and see what you can find there.

gisela

IMO skirts are more becoming than harem pants. And you would need to choose between belt and hip scarf. Would look strange with both I think. The problem is that costumes are soooo different in cut and shape so it's pretty hard to pick one out for someone else. Because of the revealing nature of this kind of costume one can feel VERY awkward and sleazy if it's a bad fit, and like a million bucks if it's a perfect fit. You would need to involve her.

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Amulya

I agree with Gizela, I also want to add that it's better not to use a face veil, it makes it look kind of sleezy and not classy.
As for costumes they come in many price categories, the more expensive the nicer they look. However for a couple of hundred bucks you can still get a pretty nice looking costume. Try to find out first what kind of costume would suit her, by looking at pictures of belly dancers and then you can search the internet for a costume. It's not an easy task though, because when you buy online you're not sure if it really fits.

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o4tuna

It would be a surprise. I hope. Thanks for your reply. I'll look in that section.

o4tuna

Thanks for telling me about the belt and hip scarf thing. I wasn't sure if they were worn together or not. Does a belt go with a skirt more than a hip scarf does? Or does that matter? I guess I need to figure out what goes with what.

gisela

If there is a bellydance school or shop in the area you live you could make it a surprise trip to take her there and get to try different costumes on. I think it would be a success to present to her a wall of hanging sparkly costumes to try. You wouldn´t want to buy a bad one, give it to her, and make her feel ugly because of the bad quality and fit. That would destroy everything you intended to build up. There might be a possibility of renting or borrowing???

Also it could be nice to maybe have a short private class with a dance teacher so she could learn to pose as a dancer if she wants to. The costumes and the body are more becoming from certain angles and in certain positions and posing as a model is VERY different from posing as a dancer.
Just trying to give some advice so she doesn't end up looking slutty instead of sensual and sexy.

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gisela

A bra and belt are matched and goes with a skirt (or harempants or both), that either comes with the bra/belt set or that you get someplace else. It can match or be of contrasting colour. It can be tight with a flare, tight with a slit(usually lycra or velvet), or flowing, with lots of fabric and layers(usually chiffon), or a panelskirt.

A hipscarf in my experience is usually for practice, on top of your usual exercise clothing or for beginners performing that have not yet found a costume.

then there is the costume which has no belt but consists of a bra and skirt. The skirt is then tight and has decoration such as beading and sequins, mostly concentrated around the hips. This costume often has some armthings and headband.

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Salome

If you don't want something cheap looking but are not planning on laying 1200 on a costume I'd suggest Neckelmanns costumes, they are 2 to 3 hundred bucks and look pretty. http://www.neckelmanns.com/id36.htm