Thread: Classic style double slit skirts - very revealing

Hi everybody,

I am very desperately searching for the classic 70s/80s skirt style, with two big big slits on the sides.
YOu can pull the skirt together in the front to really reveal almost everything from the legs.
Suheir Zaki wore this style a lot, and Fifi Abdo, too, in young years.
Plus it was immensely popular among American dancers I think judging from video material.

I have been searching this skirt style as an over skirt over harem pants or another skirt A LOT. I LOOOVE the look.

The lovely subhumanly gorgeous Ava Fleming is the only one I see wearing this skirt in a long time (also as an overskirt):

http://www.bellydance.org/movies/combos5.mov

her performance at the very end of the trailer, the pink skirt.

Can someone tell me where to get such a skirt, or wants to sell one of theirs?

Thank you!!

Originally Posted by dinavienna

I have been searching this skirt style as an over skirt over harem pants or another skirt A LOT. I LOOOVE the look.

Totally agreed. I really think most American dancers don't show enough leg. ..g.:

I only own one and I've been wondering where I can find more! I especially love them when they're made of a heavier, more fluid fabric, because they suit my petite physique far better than the chiffon fluffies we also associate with vintage classic costuming.

Mine seems to be a circle skirt where 1/4 of the circle is the front and about 3/4 makes up the back. The waistband is a grosgrain ribbon with a side closure. Hopefully somebody can show us a pattern!

ya ya exactly it s a circle skirt where you can move the slits.
to the side for more coverage (or rather: slightly less exposure :) it s a very sexy style, isn't it!), or to the front for revealing all of the legs.
Suheir Zaki got away with it 30 years ago.
Today no one seems to dare wearing them.

Amira Mor wears them a lot.
This is it on her:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZTMl7nKlPg&feature=PlayList&p=D90EBFCB327 0B147&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5]YouTube - AMIRA MOR LOOP remix[/ame]

Hmm to be honest that s a bit much for me, the way she s wearing it!
but the same skirt can be worn less torn to the front. :)

As always Shira has this covered Belly Dancing: Making A Circle Skirt
I made a quarter circle pattern (for cutting a half circle on the fold) from an old sheet to speed up the process.

The back can be made from 2 or 3 half circles to vary the fullness. My teacher pins the elastic so that she can change the front panel to suit her mood.

oh cool thanks!!!

Very easy to make--it's a basic circle skirt pattern with the skirt panels running on elastic through a casing. A lot of the commercially made circle skirts I've seen lately have the elastic sewn onto the panels, which prohibits being able to slide and move the slits like you want. You can probably fix this by cutting the elastic off, adding a casing, and sliding new elastic through. Voila!

Amira Mor sells them here I can't attest to the quality personally, but I have friends who swear by them.

The chiffon circle skirt I got from Dahlal could be worn like that. Sometimes their skirts come in with one slit, sometimes with two, so I would call to verify which they have in stock if you order.

hello everybody thank you so for you incredibly fast input :)
basina: I asked Dahlal about 9 months ago about this style, and they they did not carry it currently!
as for Amira Mor: a friend of mine got one taking her lessons. It is indeed very beautiful! she later tried to get another one for herself and for me, but Amira Mor apparently had very few left and sold them with the matching bedleh only. Which would have been more than I would have wanted to spend, especially ordering from overseas from a seller whose bras and belts I do not know..
But she seems to have new stock of these skirts!!
thanks for pointing me to it!!

Hmm the sewing tips are great. but I am the last person on the planet who could sew something in I fear :)

Oh btw - the Amira Mor shop skirt my friend has - it is nice, fabric and colour wise.
But very much see-through, and little fabric used.
The luscious, heavy style which I've for example admired in Shamira's videos (in pastel colours! soo nice), that s not it! Maybe her new skirts are, but the pics looks pretty much like the older ones.
They're still nice, and one of the few places to get them apparently.
I wished someone produced the much chiffon fabric style again!
Anyone seen Shamira's I am talking about?

I think if you order a chiffon or satin circle skirt from L. Rose, you can request that the material at the waistband not be sewn down, so they can be slid around.

I do this with three half circles. Two in back, one in front. How tight you can get it in the front will depend on the fabric.

Personally, I <3 these skirts! They are very easy to make. If you don't sew, you can easily find a seamstress to make them for you.

{{{HUGS}}}

I have an Lrose chiffon skirt that you can do that with. The elastic runs through a casing so you can pull the front panel in and show leg is you want.

oh so that s the second voice for Lrose!!
do you remember what the name of the skirt style was and whether you had to specify not to sew the fabric to a particular fit on the elastic?

Originally Posted by dinavienna

oh so that s the second voice for Lrose!!
do you remember what the name of the skirt style was and whether you had to specify not to sew the fabric to a particular fit on the elastic?

Here is a link to the LRose site and page.

L. Rose Designs - Online Catalog

There is an explanation of the different types of skirts, etc.

I personally like the professional ones because of the swish factor. . .

{{{HUGS}}}

I like this look a lot and will layer 3 of them at a time. A satin with no slits, an embellished chiffon with slits and a Persian lace made to be the top layer and worn very narrow in front. I gives the same effect without the legs. Mine are just not that good.

This sounds like an excellent look, Anala :)
I personally love the layered look way more than outright showing the legs. Guards the mystery.
As perfect as Ava's legs are, I adore her layered covered look! She herself says she likes the timeless elegance in it - I agree very much.

Hmm may I ask where to get such a Persian lace piece? :)

Thank you very much for the lrose link, Tahira!! I'll definitely contact them for options available!

Ps Have you ever tried velvet instead of chiffon?
A mocca latte velvet over black satin and with black lace would be gorgeous..
I'm drooling for mocca latte (hmm is that the right denomination? iced beige could also be it, or frosty beige - I am using lipstick color denominations in lack of better ones :) ) velvet dancing clothes, anyway. I thougth lrose carried a gorgeous colour like this some time ago, but light brown to beige shades are not available at the moment..
I could imagine your look with such a colour in velvet very well!

Originally Posted by dinavienna

Hmm may I ask where to get such a Persian lace piece? :)

At this point, retiring dancers. That is about the only place you can find Persian lace skirts. And many of them will only let go of their Persian lace skirts when someone pries them out of their cold, dead hands! ..g.:

{{{HUGS}}}

AAWWEE - fashion wise I am so born into the wrong time :(

So:
If there is a dancer who is not wearing such a Persian lace skirt these days - and wants to make a nice Mideastern European woman with a ridiculous affinity for glamorous clothes VEERY happy ,r:;
- you know where to reach me!

My red chiffon skirt has slits up both sides. I bought it from Ravena (www.ravenadesigns.com), and I love it. My "fire" skirt from A'kai Silks has slits on both sides too. ..g.:

I did the skirt for my leopard tribaret costume with just plain rectangular panels (a super-skinny one in the front, a bigger one to cover everything else), and it worked quite nicely and was super-quick to make....whole'lotta'leg! (gotta have matching undies, for sure!) I actually stitched it up a tiny bit for a little more modesty, but then again, my family was in the audience, including granny.....

pic!

I also have an LRose skirt like this. I agree with Tahira's advice of ordering it professional style for the full skirt look. I wear mine over matching LRose harem pants, full cut with front slits so the slits in the pants fall where the slits in the skirt are- that way your legs still show but the harem pants provide some modesty.

My Lrose skirt also came like this, I can move the panels about however I want.

I just had a pair of LRose skirts made for an old bra and belt. Full circle underskirt so half circle in front and half circle in back, totally split. Overskirt "professional style" with half circle in front and full circle (two half circles sewn together) in back. You get a lot of fullness in the back and you can pull the front panels between your legs to get that open over the legs look. I *love* the way this moved. It had been so long since I rocked that look and it felt fabulous! You should totally go for it. It's why the classics are classic!

I love this look too, but how do you do it and not show the goodies??

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

At this point, retiring dancers. That is about the only place you can find Persian lace skirts. And many of them will only let go of their Persian lace skirts when someone pries them out of their cold, dead hands! ..g.:

{{{HUGS}}}

What exactly is Persian lace?

the cheepest is making a circle chiffon skirt or having some one make it all the 2 or 3 pannel skirts are made this way and you decide how much leg you wnat to show.

Originally Posted by dinavienna

oh so that s the second voice for Lrose!!
do you remember what the name of the skirt style was and whether you had to specify not to sew the fabric to a particular fit on the elastic?

L. Rose Designs - Online Catalog

You'd want to ask for the "professional" version.

The circle skirt instructions on my web site are also this style of skirt. The look you talked about in your original post was achieved by making three of the half-circle panels, sewing the back two to each other, while not sewing the front panel to either. That's exactly how the L Rose "professional" style is made. I've made a bunch of these myself over the years. I suppose one of these days I should pose for some photos of one with the slits arranged in the leg-exposing way, just to illustrate that as a way to wear it.

I too like L Rose as a supplier. I'll admit I haven't bought circle skirts from L Rose, but I've bought a lot of veils, trumpet skirts, and dresses, and was very happy with all of those.