Thread: How to buy wisely: a beginner's guide to costuming.

Everything Ruta said!

And if you want to save money, then carefully assess what situations you actually "need" costumes for and what you "want" costumes for. Those you need, figure out what is already in your closet and what your minimum requirement is...I'm not saying do everything on the cheap, but figure out what bare essentials you need and then research what are costumes of good quality that fit that need.

As someone who has even worn them in the distant past: stay away from butterfly tops. Stay away! ..g.: Also anything on ebay that is selling for 99 cents to start.

These are the times when the Ugly Bellydance Costume Thread would be helpful?

Coming to the end of my first year in dancing, these are the items that were the best buys for me:

A pair of "fauxlodias" and a pair of jersey palazzo pants from victoria's secret.

Shimmy belts, about 3/4 in different colours with jingly bits get used all the time (my teacher encourages hip jingle) but just recently I have invested in a quiet bead one because often I am the only one in class layering a shimmy on the move we are doing and I would like to do this without drawing attention!

A ballet wrap cardi, and legwarmers for warmup (I love bright leg warmers under split leg pants!)

Vest tops, some short, some longer, some with bling on. Some fitted T shirts too, I would thoroughly recommend the ones in my Zazzle store Bobbins and Broomsticks: Bellydance: Zazzle.com Gallery ;)

A couple of cover up things, a ballet bolero and one of those lace tie front ones.

Dance paws/foot thongs, I am just buying my third pair after dancing through 2! Some people would prefer shoes.

Zills and veil.

I have got a couple of outings from:
my chiffon skirt
my saiidi dress, bought on ebay
both of which only came out when I started performing with the troupe.

I haven't really had any disaster buys, although I have a heavily beaded wrap that sheds tiny glass bead constantly, and I have never worn my vintage kuchi belt or necklace because they are too bulky for class and the wrong style for any performances to date, but they are beautiful :D

Kash13, I had never seen your sales site before, and I have considered myself a nonworded t shirt type of girl since way back, Pat Benetar was probably my last worded shirt-(if anybody doesn't know who that is-please don't ask, and if you do know, well then, you know what I mean) but, I feel the need to sport several yours- so funny, chocolate, sequins, rodents. If I buy all of them, am I going against the purpose of this whole thread?

I'm getting ready to buy some dance shoes (with real soles) because some of the places we (the troupe) dances doesn't work well with paws/ballet shoes (paved or worse).

Some of my best jewelry I get from either estate/yard sales or local stores (BOGO or 75% off sales). Plus, I buy the not so blingy chandelier earrings that I can wear with street clothes.

Gold bedlah (troupe color) goes with just about any color skirt. White/silver bedlah, same deal.

When I clothes shop, I ask: Can I work/skate/dance/workout in this? If the answer is yes and it's my size, color, price...I buy it. If it doesn't pass this test I move on. I don't buy things just because they are on sale (you'll end up with a closet full of crap you don't wear). I also ask: do I NEED this? I'm not a fun shopper.

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

Looking back - it's better to invest in an matched L. Rose set that you jazz up with sequins than to buy a cheap ill-fitting bedlah of any kind. If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn't buy any "pro" costumes until I was ready to really invest in something nice. It's better to have a nice, well-made ensemble in crushed velvet than a badly fitted, unattractively cheap costume.

I agree!

Nobody (IMO) whose current performance opps are recitals and haflas (especially as a member of a group) should be spending money on a real bedlah -- much better the L. Rose skirt-and-top set with hip scarf, or simple top/skirt/hip scarf. As long as everything fits, these are more than just fine.

I have some photos of three of my students and me in matching L. Rose long sleeve pinch tops and straight skirts. We look great and not a bedlah in sight.

We look great because our costumes fit us all really well, from the tall and thin to the short and stocky. We look really pulled together.

Just as Nepentha posted, to give the very plain raspberry crushed velvet set some bling, I purchased some black iris stretch sequin trim and, using black iris beads I already had, made attached beaded-fringe "belts" for the hipline of the skirts. Then, we sewed the remainder of the sequin trim (without fringe) at the wrists of the top. We all wore capezio body stockings (unfortunately, they have seams in the front), some big earrings, put our hair up and we were ready to go. Including a very supportive (regular) bra, I think the total cost per person was about $113. Both the tops and bottoms were worn again by us as a group at least two more times. Each piece can be worn separately just by removing the sequin trim and pairing it with something else. Lots of versatility for very little money. And at L. Rose, everything is custom made.

Now, if somebody has money burning in her pocket and just has to get a *real bedlah,* then, yeah, discuss the options out there and steer her toward the well-made stuff that actually fits, or has the potential to fit with simple movement of hooks, etc. But beginners don't need bedlah.

Deborah

Thanks so much for the info on the coined set, ladies. Will tuck that in my reference folder. Re construction skills: I've never put a coin belt together but I have put together chainmails from rolls galvanized steel thread. I think I should be okay with with putting one together, but I'd prefer not to test that theory with a 300$ belt *g*. Perhaps I should just save my pennies for a Costless or Susie belt. (And maybe I'll play around with the concept of a chainmail accented bedlah. And if anyone was ever a reader of Casus Belli, please no "Thank God I was wearing my armor" jokes, ok? That's *not* what I'm setting out to do! LOL)

Thanks again,

Kem

Originally Posted by cheerybelly

Kash13, I had never seen your sales site before, and I have considered myself a nonworded t shirt type of girl since way back, Pat Benetar was probably my last worded shirt-(if anybody doesn't know who that is-please don't ask, and if you do know, well then, you know what I mean) but, I feel the need to sport several yours- so funny, chocolate, sequins, rodents. If I buy all of them, am I going against the purpose of this whole thread?

Thanks, I did it originally because I wanted some of the shirts for myself, but I got quite into it. I must do some more, I have ideas floating around. I also use it for merchandice for my webcomic, Zazzle rocks!

Originally Posted by kulthum

Keep in mind that these sets are knockoffs of a set originally made by CostLess Imports.
And Ozma is right -- you do need to remember that you will need to attach the pieces to a sturdy, well-fitting base, and you will probably need to do some surgery with pliers to fit the costume to you properly.

I bought a set off Ebay. It does need to be mounted on a base. I mounted the belt to a band of wide webbing. I sewed the coin bra to a choli top. Then I took it off the choli and sewed it to a peasant top with a bra underneath.

Second major point, the jump rings are soft crappy metal and you will be forever fighting to get them to stay together, and they will snag and tear things like chiffon skirt and veils. I had one of these once, and eventually sold it.

If you reeeaaalllyyy want a metal set, save your pennies and get a real coin set from somewhere like Coin belts by Susie which are top quality and just as good as the Costless ones mentioned in this thread. Even these good ones are a huge pain in the rear that I would never recommend as a first (or second) costume, because they still require a bra belt base, except that these are 5X heavier and depending upon your body shape, it can require a real engineering feat just to keep the belt up.[/QUOTE]

My mirror set is nowhere near as heavy as my real coin set. My coin set is copper diamond shaped coins and brassy medallions, purchased back in the 1980s from ....???? can't remember. I updated it a few years ago with kuchi jewelry. It weighs a ton, I reinforced the base bra with coat hanger wire to support the weight of the coins!

Originally Posted by ozma

This is an offshoot from a post that came up on another thread.

Teachers: What advice do you have for your new students when they start getting the itch to buy costume stuff? What are good, multi-purpose basics and what is a waste of cash?

I am a costume-holic. I have 16 pairs of harem pants. I lost count of hipscarves and veils. Sparkly shiny things are addictive!!

Start with a decent quality hip scarf and a compatible multi-color veil. Add a well fitting choli or tie top, skirt and pants. Multi-color or neutral pieces are more flexible than strong or bright colors.

Build on this basic costume by adding a strong or brightly colored hipscarf, or a pair of melodias, or an inexpensive tiered skirt. Shop the thrift stores, look for crop tops, or tops that can be cropped, scarves, jewelry and tiered skirts.

For the first "expensive" piece, I'd suggest a quality bra and belt in silver or gold - unless the student is more into Tribal-ish styles, in which case I'd suggest a tribal-style bra and belt, and I'd really encourage making their own and making it as flexible as possible, such as attaching colorful tassels to a neutral base with velcro or necklace clasps so they can be switched out for different decorations.

I love making my own stuff and encourage students to be creative!

Originally Posted by ozma

Everyone: What were your good and bad (fiscally and aesthetically) costume purchase choices and what should we learn from them?

Well I assure you the thing I paid the most for I wear the least - an expensive lycra dress.

I never dance without extra hair - my favorites are alligator clip pony tails and long braids. So my fake hair is my most used item.

After hair, I think the costume that got the most wear is a multi-color chiffon skirt and tie top. A multi-shade blue tiered skirt, about 12 yards, is probably my most worn separate piece.

My worst purchases were used bedlah that didn't fit.

I firmly believe that you can't have too many hip scarves. They can be layered, worn as head scarves, tops, or sleeves, even made into short overskirts.

This thread is great!

I just bought my first full costume from bellydancestore.com. it's a bra/belt set in hot pink (cause I love it and the color suits me) with a pink skirt underneath.

So as a few people have mentioned before... will I have to pin the skirt to the belt?
Where else should I put pins so that everything looks good and stays in place?

Originally Posted by nitewindz

Second major point, the jump rings are soft crappy metal and you will be forever fighting to get them to stay together, and they will snag and tear things like chiffon skirt and veils. I had one of these once, and eventually sold it.

If you reeeaaalllyyy want a metal set, save your pennies and get a real coin set from somewhere like Coin belts by Susie which are top quality and just as good as the Costless ones mentioned in this thread. Even these good ones are a huge pain in the rear that I would never recommend as a first (or second) costume, because they still require a bra belt base, except that these are 5X heavier and depending upon your body shape, it can require a real engineering feat just to keep the belt up.

My mirror set is nowhere near as heavy as my real coin set. My coin set is copper diamond shaped coins and brassy medallions, purchased back in the 1980s from ....???? can't remember. I updated it a few years ago with kuchi jewelry. It weighs a ton, I reinforced the base bra with coat hanger wire to support the weight of the coins!

I have several coin sets, both vintage and new. The one thing which I have found helpful is to buy split jump rings and replace the existing rings as needed. Some people will sit down and do this all at once. I'm a little lazy in this area, I take care of them as the either come off the set or the start to catch.

{{{HUGS}}}

something to add to the "buy for fit" idea: I beg my students to never buy a costume without me! if you've never bought a bedlah, it can be hard to tell if you'll be able to make it fit or not. it can also be hard to assess the quality or worth of the costume, if you don't have much experience with them. so, BRING SOMEONE ALONG/ASK THE ADVICE OF SOMEONE WHO KNOWS COSTUMES. :)

that said, some cautionary advice: if the belt has no "cuppage", it will probably be very difficult to fit. with the bra, straps and hooks can be moved, but if the cups don't fit, you'll never ever be able to get it to work right.

Originally Posted by bellypixie

... will I have to pin the skirt to the belt?
Where else should I put pins so that everything looks good and stays in place?

Make sure everything fits well first.

Then you can add pins for security. I generally pin the bra closed on the inside for extra security, same for the belt, and then pin through the body stocking/belt/skirt once to keep everything from slipping around -- though if your costume really fits this should be an optional step unless it has a lot of heavy, long fringe or a really slippery skirt.

I bought a coin hip scarf made of stretchy material, where the coins were attached the fabric directly. So there was no jingling going on, and it was a waste of $... At least it was like $12 total ,f::

well I am new to all of this, being a new student, but I do believe I am already addicted to wanting a costume! and i dont need one, yet...

In the class I am currently in, we are not required to have a gypsy skirt but it is encouraged to get one (that and the nefertiti zils). and I am obsessed with trying to figure out if i should get a 15 yard gypsy skirt or a 25 yard, what color and so on...
one moment i want a 15 yard because it is cheaper...then one moment i want a 25 yard skirt because i feel it may look better on me... but that is the problem, i dont know which would look better on my frame....5ft 9in tall and 115lbs soaking wet..maybe lol.

i have been shopping all over the internet looking at different prices for these skirts and in talks with someone in maybe buying hers. depends on what "yard" i finally decide to come to get that would look better .....

so, also, in the process of looking at the different prices, i come across things that i want, like a tribal belt and tribal bra and a choli and harrem pants....

i want to buy all these so bad but i figured i would just make a bra and a belt and a choli if it were that big of an issue....
buy harrem pants since they are rather cheaper than everything else i have looked at.

looked at a couple of DIY's for the bra and the belt and a choli. I figured making these items would get me out cheaper since i know how to sew.

advice?

on the gypsy skirts: if other people in class have them, ask if you can try them on. Then you'll get an idea about which will suit you better.

On the making the bra and belts: it'll depend on what you embellish them with whether they are cheaper or not. One of my dear friends took a mesh bra, mounted it and then added some things she picked up at a fishing store - yes they were lures of some kind. The gran total was probably $30 and it looked great. BUT i easily could have gone over a hundred if she had chosen something more expensive to decorate it with.

Sometimes it is fun to have your choli and your harems match. . .

{{{HUGS}}}

I also told my students that they don't buy a costume without me. We looked everytime in second-hand-basars for good costumes with "norma" price. And because I know nearly every dancer, I know how costume can fit my student. If they found any nice costume in the web, the send me a mail with the link ore a pic and ask me. So every of my students has a very god costume in a fine condition without paying to much.
Best regards
Salima

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

on the gypsy skirts: if other people in class have them, ask if you can try them on. Then you'll get an idea about which will suit you better.

unfortunately, everyone else is in the same boat as i lol.

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

On the making the bra and belts: it'll depend on what you embellish them with whether they are cheaper or not. One of my dear friends took a mesh bra, mounted it and then added some things she picked up at a fishing store - yes they were lures of some kind. The gran total was probably $30 and it looked great. BUT i easily could have gone over a hundred if she had chosen something more expensive to decorate it with.

thanks for the insider!