Thread: To fringe or not to fringe...

So I want to bling up the first costume that I made because I feel like it just needs a little more. I am just a little torn on putting fringe on the bra. My girls are not little and I am just a little concerned that they will end up looking like a wall of fringe coming at you. I would do it in the same gold as the belt. Here is a pic to give you an idea of what it looks like right now. Let me know what you think.

ETA: If I put fringe on it, how long? 3 inches? 4? more?

how bout some looped fringe in the center and at the top of the cups? ah but then u would have to put looped fringe on the belt to match. but just a thought...
btw, the pic won't enlarge when i click on it :-/

No, I couldn't get it to do it either. It is hard to see in the pic but there are stones and sequence along the top of the cups. I will look around to see if I have a better pic. Maybe I will take one tonight if I can't find one.

ETA: This one is a bit better but not much. Please ignore the horrific pose. My cousin has NO sense of timing with a camera.

check out some of eshta's costumes for fringe-placement inspiration. her designs are very flattering

what about just a narrow piece hanging from in between the cups?

It is hard to tell what the costume details look like from the small pictures. Generally speaking, it is a good idea to keep the bra fringe consistent with the belt fringe to unify the look. If you are concerned about too much extra weight on the bra, perhaps a small swag of the same fringe in the center of the cups would be sufficient. I can't tell if the fringe you are using is bead or fiber, but I am guessing it is the latter.

At any rate, I think I would like to see more of the color of the belt fringe integrated into the design. From a distance (small pictures), I'm not seeing the same gold color elsewhere, and actually, it doesn't entirely look like the bra and the belt came from the same fabric, although I am sure they did. If I look closely, I think I am seeing the same motifs at the tops of the bra cups that are at the bottom of the belt, but I am not sure about that, either. All in all, the problem is that the devil is in the details, quite literally. The details don't stand out enough, and as a result, they don't have the power they need to really unify the top and bottom. If it were just a matter of small pictures on the Internet, it wouldn't be a big deal, but anyone watching you dance from any distance is going to see the same issue. You want the audience to appreciate that the costume you are wearing is a matched set of compatible pieces, and optimally, to be convinced that you are wearing a professionally designed creation, and not a homemade beginner's outfit. That doesn't necessarily mean that you have to put a lot more work into it. A lot of very minimalist styles are on the market now. It does mean that you may have to hit the craft store looking for a few more accent beads/stones/sequins/trims/whatever to pull everything a bit more together, though.

I'd suggest a bit of fringe in the middle of the cups, that matches the belt fringe. Personally I'd add some big old swarovski crystals to both pieces and change out the gold fringe for 4 inch red beaded fringe on the belt and between the cups.

gold fringe a few strands between the cups. And on the belt, gold fringe but not too long.

i just finished a custom job for one of my dancers. hung the fring from the top of the cups...looks good

How about spot fringe? You could add the same to the belt?

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

It is hard to tell what the costume details look like from the small pictures. Generally speaking, it is a good idea to keep the bra fringe consistent with the belt fringe to unify the look. If you are concerned about too much extra weight on the bra, perhaps a small swag of the same fringe in the center of the cups would be sufficient. I can't tell if the fringe you are using is bead or fiber, but I am guessing it is the latter.

At any rate, I think I would like to see more of the color of the belt fringe integrated into the design. From a distance (small pictures), I'm not seeing the same gold color elsewhere, and actually, it doesn't entirely look like the bra and the belt came from the same fabric, although I am sure they did. If I look closely, I think I am seeing the same motifs at the tops of the bra cups that are at the bottom of the belt, but I am not sure about that, either. All in all, the problem is that the devil is in the details, quite literally. The details don't stand out enough, and as a result, they don't have the power they need to really unify the top and bottom. If it were just a matter of small pictures on the Internet, it wouldn't be a big deal, but anyone watching you dance from any distance is going to see the same issue. You want the audience to appreciate that the costume you are wearing is a matched set of compatible pieces, and optimally, to be convinced that you are wearing a professionally designed creation, and not a homemade beginner's outfit. That doesn't necessarily mean that you have to put a lot more work into it. A lot of very minimalist styles are on the market now. It does mean that you may have to hit the craft store looking for a few more accent beads/stones/sequins/trims/whatever to pull everything a bit more together, though.

This is why I am amping it up a bit now. It was my first try and I was scared to make it look to busy. Little did I know! I am amping up the design on the top of the cups and the belt to make it stand out more (they do match). The fringe is actually beads (did every strand myself).

ETA: The fabric is the same. It is a velvet that morphs into different colors kind of like tyedye but not.

I like the idea of the spot fringe. I have a hard time with fringe that comes down near my belly cause it just sits on my belly insteading of hanging. Keep em coming ladies. You are really making me think.

Originally Posted by Linnyg

This is why I am amping it up a bit now. It was my first try and I was scared to make it look to busy. Little did I know! I am amping up the design on the top of the cups and the belt to make it stand out more (they do match). The fringe is actually beads (did every strand myself).

That is quite impressive to make your own fringe! I would have guessed it was rayon chainette from the closeness and evenness of the strands. You did a really nice job on it.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of spot fringe. It looks too much like burlesque tassels to me; however, it certainly is less work than making a 18-inch solid run of fringe to span the cups. Personally, I still vote for a smaller run of fringe between the cups. If you are worried about it hanging over your stomach, maybe you could attach it higher up where the cups meet in a V?

ETA: The fabric is the same. It is a velvet that morphs into different colors kind of like tyedye but not.

I thought it was probably just the way the pattern worked out on the pieces. I'd still like to see a little extra design to break up the large, light area on the left cup, though.

So here is what I have done so far. I am adding beads and crystals to the main design to make it pop a bit more. I am going to extend the red looped fringe on the belt and I am going to try adding fringe across the cups mid way and just see how it looks. I may have decided not to do it at first cause I was tired of making the fringe and just convinced myself that it would look bad. If you all have any other suggestions, I am always game.

Gorgeous beading on the belt!!!

It really makes a difference to see the detailing! I didn't realize the motifs with the stones were hand beaded. From a distance, I would have guessed that you had found some wide red and gold trim and cut it into pieces like they sometimes do with beaded lace motifs on wedding gowns.

I think part of the problem is that with the pattern on the fabric, it might have been better to go up a size on the gold sequins so that they stood out more, but hindsight is 20/20. I like the idea of the red loops over the gold base fringe, but from a distance they are totally getting lost. It will be additional work, but more and/or longer loops would make them more visible.

With the design you have so far (now that I can see it), spot fringe might actually be the best way to go. One idea might be to get rid of the red loops and replace them with tassels of straight fringe that ended in red and gold paillettes. Using both colors would unify the roundness of the accents and the fabric, while also giving you more visibility of design and movement. You could use short strands (an inch or so?) on the body of the pieces and longer strands on the hanging edges, with the tops of the tassels originating where the stones are. I'd still like to see some of the gold base fringe on the bra, though, just to reinforce the idea that the pieces are a set and not mix-and-match separates from the same fabric.

So here is the progress I have made. I think the spot fringe turned out okay. I was a little nervous about it looking to nipple tassel like. I blinged up the pattern of sequence, added the spot fringe and I changed the center decoration from the beaded poppy to a pendant I found on clearance at Michaels.

very nice

Yes, that definitely helps to extend the design into the previously bare areas on the cups, and it gives you some more motion on the bra. How does it look from a distance? Does it read better to the audience than the first phase of the design? I'm still tending to think you need a little more weight (fringe) in the center, especially since the new medallion is a stronger element than what you had before, though. I really like the new metal piece, but those three strands of beads look so lonely underneath it.

Are you going to add the same kind of spot fringe onto the belt?