Thread: Champagne taste, beer budget

I maintain that I have great taste in costumes, but very little budget for the ones I would buy! Does anyone else feel the same way? If so, how do you get around that? I'm not much of a DIY when it comes to the sewing arts. ..g.:

I wrote a quasi-helpful little guide to recession-proofing your wardrobe not long ago:

Hot Costume Tips for Bombshells on a Budget | Carrara Nour

You're talking to a girl who flunked Basic Sewing Techniques in college . DIY is not in the cards for me. I personally keep it fresh by constantly buying and selling, and keeping my accessories up to date.

Thanks, Satin! Since I will be winging my way to the homeland of Cover Girls Like Us pretty soon, I'm also leery of taking on too many things I can't pack in my suitcase. ..g.:

I agree with what Satin said. I try to find costumes that are nice looking and have a nice comfortable price. I don't have a gig every week or every month. I work a full time job to pay my bills, so high end price costumes I cannot afford. SOmetimes I even ask myself, how can these gals afford a $600-$1,000 costumes when the economy is so bad these days.

You're not alone! I can't even sew a straight line, so DIY is not for me. So I cozied up to a friend who's into other types of costuming, showed her what I was looking for and got her hooked before she knew what she was getting into! ;) It works out well for both of us--I end up with one-of-a-kind costumes for less than I'd have to spend otherwise and she gets a hobby that makes a little cash on the side. We're working on a super sexy Eman-inspired costume right now that I can't WAIT to get my hands on!

One suggestion is to learn to do basic beading. I know, I know, but trust me, I just revamped a bedlah that I had bought for $60 on ebay so that the bra would fit. The cost for the revamped bra and a skirt was about $20. Total $80. (I am wearing it for my Alt Comp at WotW.)

Doing something like the Eman big appliques and chunky beads should cost you about the same! You either need to find someone to make the base or figure out how to do it yourself!

{{{HUGS}}}

Hi there, Brea! You know, I am right there with you when it comes to not being able to afford the opulent, over-the-top, to-die-for costumes. And to be honest, (in my experience, working 4 restaurant gigs a weekend in Atlanta), you are definitely going to want to fill your closet with nice looking but inexpensive pro belly dance costumes. I mean, what if you pay $900 for a custom-made Bella, and a customer accidentally spills wine all over it during a restaurant gig? Restaurant costumes get torn to shreds over time. The fringe comes undone, the sequins come out, they smell FOUL (cleaning them with Everclear works well to kill bacteria), and every night they get soaked with sweat and covered in debris from hookah smoke.

For me, (and most belly dancers I know), restaurant gigs are the main source of belly dance income. Each Friday/Saturday night gig pays anywhere from $60-$120 for dinner performances. Including tips, that's ~$300 a weekend. I am currently a student in Dental Hygiene school, and have relied on belly dance money to pay for rent/school/instruments. It would be utterly IRRESPONSIBLE of me to spend $900 on a costume that was going to get destroyed. Now, of course, if you want to perform in shows and dance at weddings/special events, it is necessary to have at least ONE very nice professional costume, but you shouldn't have to eat Ramen for a year just to afford it!

Darling, your best bet is EBAY! Quite often, you can get a lovely (and lightly used) costume off of ebay for $90-$150. Also, be sure to check out Belly Dance costumes - buy Belly Dance Costumes every now and again, because they have INCREDIBLE deals on Pharonics costumes.

I paid only $180 for this Pharonics show-stopper, direct from Exotic Belly Dance (Original price: $600):



Also, an ebay store called Sparkling4Queen has great bedlahs for $100, in a variety of colors and sizes.

I wish you the best of luck in costume bargain hunting, Miss Brea! If you have any other questions, feel free to shoot me a PM!

Thanks for the tips on your site, Satin. Very useful!

Your picture looks like straight from heaven!

Bellydance SWAP MEET here on Bhuz!!!
I bought most amazing deals here! you must be patient and often on-line :)

and e-bay too, but man must be really patient until something amazing comes. now in times of crisis also the bdancers deduct their prices for costumes..
my friend bought this cute costume for 50EUR on ebay.de:

Wow, guys, thanks! I do use the Bhuz Swap meet and ebay. The thing about ebay is that sometimes there are some strange things on there. I love your costume, Passion!

My best friend makes her costumes and they are spectacular. I wish I had that kind of talent!

Hi Brea,

I went through what you are going through. At the time, I was just starting to work at the restaurant in town & needed a lot of costumes, fast, and couldn't throw down a ton of money. Here's my advice:

Stock up on 2 nice bedlahs in basic colors you like (needn't be gold & silver, but should be something that will go with a variety of things...i.e. a nice multi-color or black, or green). Scout out the swapmeet for a variety of skirts that will match those bedlahs so it "looks" like you have a lot of costumes. Also invest in a nice pair of black jazz pants for those floorwork moments. Buy a few nice interchangeable accessories. Then STOP BUYING costumes and begin saving.

You can get by with the interchangeable wardrobe while you save up for a really nice, expensive cossie from your favorite designer. Keep an eye here on Bhuz for the best deals. Once you get your first one, start saving for the next. Once you have 2 high-quality cossies, you can start swapping with other dancers or play the "buy and sell" game that most of us play. That will keep your wardrobe fresh.

Take it from someone who spent a lot of money trying to wrangle together cheap costumes or wasting money on sewing projects that never went anywhere...you'll end up spending the same amount of money on a closet full of costumes you really don't like, that don't fit well, and don't make you feel your best as you will on one costume you feel fabulous in and love....and the cheap cossies won't have the same sell-ability as the designers do, so why not save up and make an investment in yourself when you can. Trust me, the GP won't notice your interchangeable wardrobe in the meantime, just like your friends probably don't notice if you wear the same pair of jeans 5 days in a row... ;-)

i haunted ebay, going through all the crap to come to the gems. i have gotten absolutely glorious costumes off there, brand new and professional. you just have to keep a sharp eye out. lots of sellers will give you a discount if you buy more than one item. everyone who admires my costumes, even other pro bders are amazed when i tell them that i bought the stuff off ebay.

another tip is to keep an eye out on bellydancestore.com's clearance page. this one costume i had been eying for like six months suddenly went on sale. i still had a full wardrobe and no savings so i didn't buy it. it then went on an even bigger sale which no one in their right belly dancing heart could resist. it's one of my favorites.

then again, there's always bhuz for great costumes.

also, i second Sonja's advice. buying two or three bedlahs with interchangeable skirts is a great idea for keeping a wardrobe fresh. For one costume, you could have four different skirts. two straight, two circle skirts.

another trick to fancying up a bedlah so that it looks different is attaching fake flowers to it. attach a flower accent on the bra strap and one on the hip. not only does it look saucy but it makes the costume look different from time to time.

hip scarf accents also work. you can go for the bohemian gypsy look if you layer your scarves under your belt and tuck in the sides of a circle skirt.

when all else fails, invest in some differently themed costume jewelry. some pieces have a very tribal look while others are full on glamor. that can also create some change in your wardrobe.

Originally Posted by Sonja2

Hi Brea,

I went through what you are going through. At the time, I was just starting to work at the restaurant in town & needed a lot of costumes, fast, and couldn't throw down a ton of money. Here's my advice:

Stock up on 2 nice bedlahs in basic colors you like (needn't be gold & silver, but should be something that will go with a variety of things...i.e. a nice multi-color or black, or green). Scout out the swapmeet for a variety of skirts that will match those bedlahs so it "looks" like you have a lot of costumes. Also invest in a nice pair of black jazz pants for those floorwork moments. Buy a few nice interchangeable accessories. Then STOP BUYING costumes and begin saving.

I must absolutely agree. If you use straight velvet skirt and then full circle chiffon, it will look totaly different.

I will add also my advice, how to make simple bedlah look always different: buy some vest, with short or long sleeves. It will add very earthy or tribalish feeling even to very cabarety bedlah:





I agree also with the rest of Sonja's idea. I am not full-time dancer, and I am not dancing very often, so I can keep only 2-3 profi costumes. But if I change them time to time on e-bay or bhuz, usualy one sold costume pays me for "new" used costume. So my warderobe keep changing without too much money invest.
You just have to save money for the first costumes.

for example, I bought this here on bhuz for 300USD. I think it's a bargain for Eman Zaki, which costs at least 550USD new.


year ago I bought this very used vintage bedlah for 250USD. it so original and everybody loves it!

If you can survive that the lining is damaged and the costume shows some wear, you can spare more money.

Get a gold bedlah and a silver bedlah and then go L Rose with everthing else. Very classy. Affordable. Machine wash! Circle skirts, trumpet skirts, straight skirts, gauntlets, headbands, U tops, beledi dresses. You can take an L Rose three panel circle skirt and added beaded and sequined hem while you watch tv with little or no sewing experience and you have glammed it up big time!

2nd L Rose. Buy various tops and armbands with a trumpet skirt, $110.

Originally Posted by SandraCZ

year ago I bought this very used vintage bedlah for 250USD. it so original and everybody loves it!

Seen this in the Vintage Costume thread! It is lovely.

I agree with mixing and matching.

I figured I will put something I am really interested in at the Belly Dance Store. You just put 1/3 down.

Be thankful for the tacky 80s style that plagues us these days. I've made parts of 2 costumes taking apart sequin shirts and dresses. Be a bit picky, but you can find some tasteful color combos. Just sew em onto a bra and belt base, add a skirt, and bingo!!!

I'll try and post some pics of my new black and gold set (not quite done). But you can see a bra I made of a mauve sequin moo moo (scroll down)

Cleoflaptra's Costuming

Oh yeah, I made the fringe skirt (at the bottom) from a $15 dress i got on ebay.

Save your pennies for a Great Loop (preferably in gold or silver), and it'll be really tough not to look like a million bucks! It screams "bellydancer!" to the GP, and other dancers recognize it as a quality professional costume, too. If I had to sell every bedlah in my closet but one, my gold Great Loop is the one I'd keep.

Even with the simplest skirt or harem pants, that costume looks fantastic. And you can create so many different looks with it! So while you're buying just one bra/belt set, you're really buying a closet full of costumes because after that initial investment, you can change it up very easily with inexpensive skirts and accessories from the Swap Meet or eBay.

Bellydancestore.biz was selling Great Loops recently for less than Dahlal ($395, instead of Dahlal's $499), so it'd be worth it to check them out! Or wait until Dahlal's Customer Appreciation sale in January, and snag one at 25% off.

Originally Posted by Anjela

Save your pennies for a Great Loop (preferably in gold or silver), and it'll be really tough not to look like a million bucks! It screams "bellydancer!" to the GP, and other dancers recognize it as a quality professional costume, too. If I had to sell every bedlah in my closet but one, my gold Great Loop is the one I'd keep.

Bellydancestore.biz was selling Great Loops recently for less than Dahlal ($395, instead of Dahlal's $499), so it'd be worth it to check them out! Or wait until Dahlal's Customer Appreciation sale in January, and snag one at 25% off.

Yes, and the Bellydancestore.biz does law away! Which is awesome!

That is exactly what I would like a Great Loop. They are really really pretty.

Thanks for the customer appreciation sale info. I can also buy another one, when January comes around. They seem to have more color selections than Bellydancestore.biz. As well as the mermaid skirt options, unless I look into L.Rose, or find one on the Swap Meet.

I can't wait!

Thanks everyone! I have been intending to get myself a Great Loop one of these days.

I like dahlal or audrena cause you can make payments you usually have 4-6 months to pay off so it you save tips or $100.00-150.00 a month you could afford a really nice one or wait until someone here needs money and they lower the price of a really nice costume. i love used costumes!

Originally Posted by Nadirah007

I like dahlal or audrena cause you can make payments you usually have 4-6 months to pay off so it you save tips or $100.00-150.00 a month you could afford a really nice one or wait until someone here needs money and they lower the price of a really nice costume. i love used costumes!

Dahlal and Audrena does this too?

I can't find that anywhere on their site, do you have to contact them by phone or email in order to do this?

I think it really depends on your goals.

I'm forever reassuring my students that they don't *need* $600 costumes. If I took up ballroom dancing or ice skating as a hobby, I wouldn't feel like I had to invest in professional costuming.

I don't think anyone *needs* a $900 costume, and only a very small percentage of us can even make a case for *needing* $600 ones. If you can afford it, then great, enjoy! If not.. well, it's just like pining after fancy convertibles or million dollar mansions. Why make yourself miserable? One good thing that's hopefully coming from the recession is that we can let go of our materialism.

If you're going to be teaching and primarily dancing at haflas and other studio events, you want a good solid piece or two that looks great. One good used bra/belt set and three skirts ought to be plenty. I still strongly prefer bra/belt sets to the lycra sets for their versatility, unless a dancer is going to own a lot of costumes. A teacher will also probably need one folkloric style, either a galabeya or something like the L Rose beledi dress that can be worn with your bra/belt set.

A beginning restaurant dancer should absolutely follow Sonja's advice above, I won't bother repeating it because it was perfect.

Someone who's making a full-time career out of dancing, performing multiple times per week needs more durable costumes, and that means more expensive ones. This is the dancer who needs a full wardrobe of looks. She'll want some well-made bra belt sets, a variety of skirts, some lycra sets if they appeal to her, and a stunning dress. If she's getting 'in' with an Arab crowd, she'll need to stay current with the styles, which right now means sleek and novelty looks and she'll need a dress or two for weddings. This is the one dancer who probably *needs* $600+ costumes to stay competitive in her area.

There's nothing wrong with a hobbyist dancer owning a $1,000 Sahar, if she happens to have the money to spend and that's what she enjoys.

I wish bhuz had a "like" option like Facebook. Because I really like what Lauren just said... ^^

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

I wish bhuz had a "like" option like Facebook. Because I really like what Lauren just said... ^^

Exactly! Agreed...

I don't dance professionally, but as the years have gone on, I just want something that will last, will look good on stage, and for myself. I only dance once a year and I do not attend workshops or haflas in my area.

I have beginner items and I have put them on the Swap Meet. Anything that I make I consider one of a kind and I wouldn't get rid of those.

I must say I have spent way too much money on my daughter's dance costumes that I could of purchased something of a much better quality than the dance school requires. I hate that!

Originally Posted by bdaddiction

Dahlal and Audrena does this too?

I can't find that anywhere on their site, do you have to contact them by phone or email in order to do this?

Thats how I paid off my new pharonics Audrena will do payment plans with you.I never ordered from Dahlal. But Audrena has been very good to deal with (at least for me) over the years.

Alrana

Originally Posted by mehndidancer

Thats how I paid off my new pharonics Audrena will do payment plans with you.I never ordered from Dahlal. But Audrena has been very good to deal with (at least for me) over the years.

Alrana

Going to start browsing! ..g.:

There are a lot of great ideas here. I would say if you're dancing pro, or even semi-pro then quality is absolutely imperative. When I bought my first costume, 10 years ago, I was a starving college student. I didn't know how far I'd go in this dance but I knew I wanted to keep going. I was doing student shows & getting invited to bigger things w/my teacher and so I saved up and bought a Madame Abla. It was pricey but after all these years, its never shed a bead, never lost a sequin, Its gained and lost 20 lbs with me, it still looks fantastic & I still feel fantastic wearing it.
I say buy something that is well made, high quality, & that you love. Don't be penny wise and dollar foolish. If you buy a cheap "airport special", you'll just end up looking & feeling amatuerish. I'm not saying you need a $1000 costume, but buy quality. Its an investment. From what I read of your posts, you are marketing yourself as a professional, so you should have a costume that reflects that.
If saving is hard for you, and you're not over spent in credit card debt consider buying an investment piece and setting up a payment plan using your online banking.
I bought my wedding invitations that way. I didn't have the $XYZ in cash but I put them on the card and set up a payment direct from my bank acct for $XY/month & they were paid off within a year.