Thought Provoking Belly Dance Costumes: the good, the bad and the hideous

Amulya

Moderator
I came across this but I can’t work out how this is worn
 

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Amulya

Moderator
Two more of those. Still can’t figure it out. Wish the seller had just laid them down on a surface
 

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Tourbeau

Active member
Looks like:

skirt on hanger
belt clipped on top of skirt (green belt is hung backward?)
bra looped over hanger hook
accessory pieces (green scarf? yellow arm band? white veil?) piled on top of everything else

I agree it's weird to show everything in a layered blob instead of displaying it better...
 

Ariadne

Well-known member
Nope. Not a chance.

Why would you do that? Unless someone already knew what you were trying to sell?:think:
 

Amulya

Moderator
Oh dear. Not the best way to photograph a set. :confused:

such a shame, I never got to figure out what it really looked like. If you can’t wear it, at least lay it down flat so people know what is what. I’ve once bought a set that was photographed on a flat surface and it was fine
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Re: costume with green overskirt.

Interesting print and the narrow trim at the hem of the skirt is nice. I'd like the overall effect better if the cups were connected by a bit of the trim used for the back of the bra. As it is, the bra looks unfinished. (Oops, ran out of materials to connect the cups.) The short skirt has some horizontal fold issues that need to be addressed. Between the folds and the angled jeweled hip straps, the skirt looks like it's sagging in the front. The overskirt looks like an afterthought and the hook in front doesn't sit straight. The acid green of the chiffon is an interesting addition to the print but might look better as a full underskirt. That would extend the line of the costume instead of cutting the dancer in half at the waist.
 

Tourbeau

Active member
The short skirt has some horizontal fold issues that need to be addressed. Between the folds and the angled jeweled hip straps, the skirt looks like it's sagging in the front.

I don't understand the horizontal gathers on the skirt, but it bothers me less than the weird, high, wide, crooked belt and the low-visibility cup connector.

The overskirt looks like an afterthought...

Between the strap things (are those large stones or metal disks?) and the accent skirt, the contrast pieces feel sort of random to me. I assume the green matches something in the print, but it doesn't pop the way the white or blue does. I could see orange working for the overskirt, too, although it would be less dramatic. Or maybe keep the green and use lime green stones or enameled links on the straps to tie it together more?

Also, is that some sort of edge pleat on the outer boundary of the bra, or a really shallow, small cup that doesn't fit her and is gapping so badly you can see a shadow between her and it? Ugh. Don't wear a costume that's going to fight your personality and your dancing for the audience's attention. If they spend your whole performance wondering if you're going to have a costume malfunction or how in the world you covered yourself in crazy scraps of fabric, they're not paying attention to your dancing.
 

Daimona

Moderator
But is the green overskirt really a skirt, and not just a veil tucked in under the waistband? Just a tought...
 

Tourbeau

Active member
I thought it might be a separate veil at first, too, but wouldn't you probably tuck a veil over instead of under a strap like that? There's nothing sticking out at the top of the belt. The old-school up-and-lots-over poof tucks not only provided extra vibration reflectors, but they helped keep the veil from creeping away. If the green thing was "just there," wouldn't it work its way off as you danced, especially if it was there so you could pick it up and swan around like Samia Gamal with it?

I agree the bottom hem looks weird and uneven enough to be a tucked veil (or maybe it's just a badly cut circle panel), but I'm also looking at the way the attachment of the green thing seems like it's at the top belt on her left hip and the lower belt on her right hip, and who would tuck a veil like that? I mean, who would design it that way in general, but the skirt clearly has an asymmetrical hem, so the designer could have thought making it off balance was a good thing...or maybe it's just the angle of the photo and it's positioned the same way on both sides.

Do we have a consensus on what the green fabric is? Looking at the rolled edge and the way it seems to be trying to lettuce a little in spots, I'm guessing it's synthetic chiffon or organza. From the way it hangs, wouldn't silk of that weight be more opaque?
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Polyester organza, perhaps. I thought chiffon at first, but it looks pretty stiff. The whole thing is kind of a disaster. Maybe a novice attempt at costuming?
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
Definitely an Organza. I love Organza as a veil fabric - but it needs to be beat in the washing machine a few times to lose that stiffness.
 

Amulya

Moderator
Found a new one on Facebook. It’s all rather clashing I think. One long sleeve and boob with target on it.
btw what happened to the design of the forum? It’s so hard to read now :(
 

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Shanazel

Moderator
Okay. That is not my favorite costume. Given the exuberance of the fabric, the dress design needs to be pretty simple. Start by removing the starfish that has adhered itself to the bra cup, perhaps. Put it and the one on the belt in a dark place filled with salt water so they can make baby starfish while the single too-long sleeve is removed and used to finish the upper part of the dress.

Try using the belly dance green color option, Amulya. I don't find it as hard to look at as the default skin.
 
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