Thread: Are some costumes too common?

Several times I have come really close to buying a Pharaonics costume, only to see that there are 100 more just like it on Dahlal, bellydancestore.biz, etc. Then I don't want it. I love the 1001 Nights costume and Labyrinth, but Want something more unique.
Am I the only one who thinks this? I wish Pharaonics would make more styles, or make them all different like Bella does.

I hate to be a Bhuzkill, but this is exactly how I feel about Great Loops. My audiences could never tell the difference, and they really are well-made, beautiful sets. I love 'em on other dancers, but I personally wouldn't get one because everyone and their brother has one these days. I'm even getting sick of certain Emans for the same reasons...,f::

Well I'm sick of the sight of desert swirls and I wouldn't want to be found dead in a ditch wearing one, as they say . . . but I did see someone looking great in one recently because it was right for her particular body type and the color was extremely becoming to her.

I think the really important questions are:
1. Does the costume work to enhance your own personal beauty?
2. Will the costume please your audience? Those people you're supposed to be entertaining while you're wearing it?
If the answer is yes to both of those things, then it really doesn't matter if you or other dancers recognize it as a common style or not.
Rosette

Originally Posted by rosette

i think the really important questions are:
1. Does the costume work to enhance your own personal beauty?
2. Will the costume please your audience? Those people you're supposed to be entertaining while you're wearing it?
If the answer is yes to both of those things, then it really doesn't matter if you or other dancers recognize it as a common style or not.
Rosette

ding ding ding ding!!!

..l;, ..l;, ..l;, yes... some costumes became really common...

Yeah I don't care who else has the same costume as long as we don't perform at the same place on the same night and as long as she doesn't look better than me in it.

Anything that looks like a bathing suit top and an A line skirt with a slit. Yawn.

Originally Posted by ozma

ding ding ding ding!!!

yep

I went to a showcase a couple of years ago and three of us show up with great Loops and LRose skirts. I, being completely unable to decide what to wear in advance, decided to wear my beledi dress for the first set and Costless set for the second.

I still want a couple of Great Loops, or other classy work horses!

I think this is also the argument against Turkish Super Fringe costumes. . .

{{{HUGS}}}

As with most things, my answer is 'it depends.'

I live an 'off the rack' sort of life. I don't fret about the blouse i bought at Target and how many just like it were sold right here in my very own town. If the blouse looks great on me, I'm workin' it!

Pro dancers who are mostly performing at restaurants/parties don't have to worry about meeting themselves coming and going -- there usually isn't another dancer there! (unless it's her partner, in which case coordination can be good).

Students dancing at haflas shouldn't need to worry about being haute couture unless they just want to and have the funds. Something like Desert Swirls is such a bargain, and flattering to a certain figure type -- students SHOULD be lining up for it. If four other dancers in your community have the same costume, bling yours up with a couple of brooches or silk flowers and dance proudly in it. (I'd hate for a thread like this one to make a first-time costume buyer feel bad about a purchase she just made. Sometimes lots of people buying the same thing is confirmation that it's just a great thing!)

I can see where dancers who are at the level of marketing themselves to other dancers -- and those who have a fashion-conscious Arab clientele -- would want to set themselves apart. Hence Jillina and her pink snake, or the beanie baby costume from Legend a while back.

I remember when I was a noob and every costume was a pretty costume. After literally hundreds of hours of net surfing, some were starting to look pretty samey to me. Now I've looked at so many that I'm starting to CRAVE the beanie baby costume (seriously). But those who aren't *quite* so compulsive can still be floored by a pretty, sparkly Turkish basic with a nice skirt.

No, probably because I have not ever owned anything this spectacular. I wouldn't mind if someone else was wearing it. To me it would mean they have good taste.

The only truly unique costumes are those made by the dancers themselves I find. Mind you MandyT here in the UK never repeats her shimmyshop designs even though they may be similar in style..each one is unique. If you are looking for unique you really should look at her stuff. I link some.

Oh and if anyone is bored to death of their Emans or Amiras and they are ample enough you can always throw them my way 'cos I have stopped buying and this OAP needs charity.

Oh, I think it depends on how much you like the costume and who your audience is!

I just bought a gold great loop, knowing that it's an extremely popular set. Thing is, I live in a fairly small town and don't perform that often. So, I decided to pare down my costume wardrobe. In doing so, I can wear my great loop with a variety of skirt combinations.

the reason why certain costumes are all over the place is because they're flattering for most body types.. great loops look lovely on everyone I've seen them on (in a wide array of body types)....and the venus, and labryinth.

maybe its just a good investment, rather than something you'll buy once and wear it just a couple times, it could be your staple.

ps.. if you and other dancers in your area have the same costume...duet time!! it will look more polished too!

I love originality, I love to see something different, but I don't have any sense of urgency about it. I am much more disturbed by a dancer wearing a style or color that doesn't suit them or is ill fitting or just too weird (as in that cut out really should be over about 3 inches & why on earth are you wearing a stuffed snake?- not a fan of that one!,r:; )

I am happy if you just have an extra band of fabric or different bit of bling. Especially for a bra & belts set- there are so many ways you can distinguish the costume with skirts, sleeves & accesories! the great loops don't bother me at all because there are so many variations on how they can be worn- but personally, I would probably make sure my full costume is different in some way from the other performers. Then again, I bring back up costumes and a whole bucket load of extra jewelry & sleeves just in case something happens to my original costume, so I also have the option of switching out as needed... and you wonder why I needed a rolling suitcase?.w.:

Or, you can certainly add to them. I plan on doing that with two costumes I purchased on the Swap Meet, just to make them better for my body type and cover some flaws. Then no one will have it.

I agree the most important thing is how the costume looks on a dancer. I'd rather see a dancer in a flattering top, hipscarf, and skirt than in an unflattering, badly fit designer costume.

As for the audience, only some other dancers will recognize a popular costume. It's more important to consider what most of the audience will expect or enjoy seeing - and I am speaking in very broad and general terms. As in Middle Eastern weddings generally expect a cab costume, for a Medieval wedding, a Tribal aesthetic is a better fit. But nobody at either wedding will notice or care if other dancers are running around in the same costume.

It's easy to personalize any costume with jewelry, fringe, puffy fabric paint, flowers. You can add appliques, add beads and sequins, or even cover or remove existing appliques for a cleaner look. There is no rule that says one must wear the accessories that came with the costume - it's ok to mix it up a bit by wearing different sleeves or head pieces or adding a vest or scarves.

The bra/belt/skirt set is a classic outfit because it's versatile. Change the skirt to pants, or wear a different color or style skirt, and it's a whole new costume. Add a layer skirt and a vest and it's new again. A single skirt or pair of pants is much cheaper than a whole costume!

Originally Posted by rakgirl

as long as she doesn't look better than me in it.

..l;,..l;, My feelings exactly !! ..l;,..l;,

i think some of the beginner gold/silver sets are very common, and some of the turkish sets are very common.

As for all the others--there are so many colors, etc..., and each person is gonna look different in it. I guess, to me, it doesn't really matter.

I love Pharaonics (just ordered one), almost as much as I love Bellas, and I don't care who else has them. ..g.:

Why i love pharaonics costumes , the bras fit and look good on large breast . Bella and a lot of the other designers do not make the sides of the bra cups wide enough to cover large D and above breast . And i can always order my costume in a custom color combo or you can make changes to the costume say a v belt cut or add arm treatment . to make it custom to you . And i have to say bellas are beautiful but most look a lot alike to me .

For me the "spiraling jewels" became to common. It's a lovely costume but I've seen it on so many dancers and in so many colors, that it doesn't have the effect on me anymore!



Qamar

I agree that there are some Pharaonics costumes that no longer have "the effect", as Qamar put it. It is very exciting when a dancer breezes in, and you can spend that first minute or so just drinking in her beautiful costume! At the same time, there are so many other things that are more important than that, most of which have already been mentioned.

The Great Loop is so popular because it flatters damn near everybody. I wouldn't care if I saw a whole hafla of people wearing Great Loops, because every dancer has her own personality that comes through in her dance, and even just the skirt style and color she chooses to wear with her GL adds some of that excitement to the costume, and helps me know something about the dancer.

OTOH, I will say that when I see those famous dancers who only ever wear Bellas all the time, even though the Bellas are all different, and magnificent works of art and craftsmanship, part of me is left wanting. I'm wishing they'd choose another style of costume for once, to tell me something about who they are (besides the fact that they like Bellas). That said, I'd have a closet full of Bellas if I could, too, though, LOL...

A lot of Pharaonics and Bellas, common as they are becoming, are great because they say "BELLYDANCER!" to the general public. Lots of sparkles and fringe, big twirly skirts... they're common looks because they are classic looks.

I like the Desert Swirls because they allow newer dancers to enjoy the excitement of having a costume that makes them feel like a million bucks, without actually having to shell out the million bucks (or what feels like it, LOL). I like that they are easily customizable, too. If I ever got one, I'd have fun blinging it out!

Originally Posted by rakgirl

Yeah I don't care who else has the same costume as long as we don't perform at the same place on the same night and as long as she doesn't look better than me in it.

..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,

Originally Posted by azahara

Bella and a lot of the other designers do not make the sides of the bra cups wide enough to cover large D and above breast .

That is good to know! Thanks!

Everytime I see this thread title I think, in a very snooty accent:
"Daaaahling, there are no common costumes, only common dancers."

I think we all know that I am fairly anti-costume-snobbery, so getting me to say what costumes are boring me isn't gonna happen (although, yes, I think some are). Suffice to say that there are "trendy" costumes each year that I get tired of.

What makes me tired is if I see a popular costume on a dancer it does not fit or suit...then I internally sigh and wonder if the popularity overwhelemd better judgement.

I have many styles in my closet and have documented my own costume making extensively.

I think Great Loops will never fall into my dull catagory because it is such a versitile bedlah and what it is worn with is usually what I notice....and then I stop noticing the costume and start noticing the dancer. It's a bedlah, not a complete look someone has bought and worn unchanged.

Originally Posted by azahara

Why i love pharaonics costumes , the bras fit and look good on large breast . Bella and a lot of the other designers do not make the sides of the bra cups wide enough to cover large D and above breast . .

Thanks Azahara for the information! My biggest problem is finding a bra that fits and I love the way the bra fits on the two Pharaonics costumes I have.

i'll never forget my first shopping trip to ameera. here i am, ordering the "empress" costume. i'd never seen anything like it in belgium at that time, and i'm realllly pleased at having a non Bella, cause even though they mostly are one of a kind, everyone here has tons of them and they are recognisable.

so there i am, jumping around of happiness of my new treasure

oh, goes lucy, at least 6 dancers in my town have the same one :-)

so well, it also really depends on WHERE you are... here people where fanning over it like crazeeee, and if i wear yet another bella, never mind how spectacular, it's "oh, bella"...

Originally Posted by Fotia

..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,

..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,

Originally Posted by Qamar60

For me the "spiraling jewels" became to common. It's a lovely costume but I've seen it on so many dancers and in so many colors, that it doesn't have the effect on me anymore!



Qamar

I've never seen that one before. It's beautiful. If there were a smiley face that drooled, I'd put it here.

I don't live in an area with enough belly dancers to have "too common" costumes.

Originally Posted by TexasRuya

I've never seen that one before. It's beautiful. If there were a smiley face that drooled, I'd put it here.

:tongue: