Thread: custom Hallah

Has anyone ever bought from Hallah? If so how did the ordering process go? How much can I expect to pay for a design?

ohhhh..... god. :/ I almost hate to say it, because hallah's costumes can be SO AWESOME. I have seen some absolutely incredible ones, on the bellydance superstars and on other dancers. the quality of materials, crystals, and workmanship are fantastic. and her original designs are stunning (I especially love her pharaonic and assuit styles). if you ever come across an off-the-rack hallah, snatch it up, because you will love it. I think her designs run $700-800ish at the lowest.

that said: I met with hallah in person and had her measure me herself. we went over her design sketches and I asked her guidance on what she thought would work best on my figure (I'm a size 6ish, long torso short legs, cup size 5, narrow ribcage. I pretty much have to order all my costumes custom because I'm an odd proportion).

several months later, my costume came. it was so pretty I could cry. it was also way too big (size 10/12ish) and the design was way out of scale for my figure - even if it would have fit, it would have looked awful. fortunately, it fit one of my friends perfectly and she bought it. the next time hallah was in town, she had a ready made costume that I could tell would look good on me, so I ordered that one in a different color. 3 other dancers ordered costumes from her at the same time.

when they all came: mine, again, was gorgeous, but unwearable for me. bra too small, skirt too sheer, top of the skirt cut so short my butt hung out the bottom. and it did NOT look like the costume I had asked her to copy, at all! HOWEVER, on my tall leggy short torsoed friend, it looked like a dream and she snatched it up. another costume was the wrong color, and another was so large that the dancer that ordered it could put her hand in the hip and hold it out 4-5" from her body. the third costume was pretty and fit ok (bra too big but stuffable), but it was not the color she expected it to be. I'm not sure if she kept it or if she's ever worn it. another wierd thing: on the three costumes I saw (she sent them all in one box to save on shipping), all the bras were the exact same size. but the dancers that ordered them were cup sizes 2, 3 and 5. I asked hallah about that and she insisted that she used the correct bra sizes for each costume.

this whole process took a year, and after the second one came, I gave up. I know other people have had better luck. but that's my story, for what it's worth.

I have also heard similar stories. I also spend a lot of time fixing Hallah costumes for people. Some fit and construction issues for sure. But her designs are awesome. I think she is mainly beading jeans now.

This is so interesting, I was planning on going to Hallah's next month to have a costume made. I'm not so sure now...

hmmm.. thatch interesting. Well thanks for the heads up. maybe Ill just save my money and get a bella instead. Im not sure I want to spend that much money on something that I wont be able to wear... :/

My experience was a an expensive disaster-months late and nothing like the original design I'd chosen and UGLY.Oh and it didn't fit either. I'd seen the most lovely work on other people but not on mine.

I just placed a custom-order, but bought one here on Bhuz because it was too big for the dancer who ordered it. I hope this is not also the case with me!

sounds like hit and miss in the ordering then? i've seen gorgeous stuff from her on yasmina though