The "I Hate All My Costumes" Thread!

[SatinWorship19]

Is anyone else in the same boat? .w.:

I've tried a thousand times to explain this to my boyfriend, but he thinks I'm going off the deep end (or looking for an excuse to buy new stuff)

B-b-b-but...I swear it's normal!

It's not that I hate my costumes, because I really don't. It's just that I have way too much stuff that either doesn't fit like a glove, is the wrong color, or just doesn't move well with me now that my dancing has taken on a more Turkish flair.

Has anyone else had a similar epiphany? If so, how did you deal? Did you sell off all your old stuff en masse and order new costumes? Seek psychotherapy? ..l;,

Who wants to start a support group?

[Darbla]

I haven't suffered with this yet but one of my troupe mates has! She brought her entire load of stuff, bags and bags of it, to my house a couple weeks ago to get me to help her decide what to wear. I think her problem is a lot what you said ("It's just that I have way too much stuff that either doesn't fit like a glove, is the wrong color, or just doesn't move well with me").

Sell all you don't really love / can't use / can't convert to something more suitable and get more!

[SatinWorship19]

I can relate to your troupemate. My costume collection's down to a meager 6 pieces, and I'm still thinking of letting 2 more go. It really is a terrible, terrible affliction!

[Nazarah]

Hmm, can't say this has hit me yet, I love mine beyond reason. But what I think I would do if I wanted to change my style is sell off enough to have money ready to pounce on my dream costume.

[ozma]

Hating all my costumes would take too much effort, there's just too many of them.

[SatinWorship19]

Hating all my costumes would take too much effort, there's just too many of them.

Truer words have never been spoken!

And you put so much effort and talent into creating new costumes and beautifying existing ones. I'd imagine that hating your costumes would be akin to hating your children!

[SatinWorship19]

Hmm, can't say this has hit me yet, I love mine beyond reason. But what I think I would do if I wanted to change my style is sell off enough to have money ready to pounce on my dream costume.

Yeah, I'm gradually selling off the ones I can do without, and acquiring new ones. Since a lot of mine are custom orders, I figured it would be best to clean my closet in the slow winter season when I'm not gigging much. I wanna be ready in time for all the spring gigs!

[shems]

It isn't that I don't love my costumes...it is that I don't always love them on me. But a few of them are too valuable to sell. It just hurts to take a costume that was near $1000 in materials, with my hours labor on top of that and sell it for what many nice costumes are going for right now just because it doesn't fit me right anymore.

[SatinWorship19]

It isn't that I don't love my costumes...it is that I don't always love them on me.

Bingo.

[ozma]

Truer words have never been spoken!

And you put so much effort and talent into creating new costumes and beautifying existing ones. I'd imagine that hating your costumes would be akin to hating your children!

Nowadays, when I sell a costume, it's sort of "It's time for you to live with a new family...ok? Trust me, they are going to love you. It's just that time."

But, because SOME people are very quick on the draw and regularly keep tabs on my costumes, they often go to live with other costumes that have moved on from me (Bernie V and Eshe have multiples...there's a box for Eshe behind me riiiight now with two costumes in it).

[BreaMorgiane]

I went through this and am now rebuilding my collection. Well, that is, I would be if I could be. ..g.: I think, much like any other kind of fashion, we end up changing our tastes for whatever reason.

[jewelbellydance]

I'm feeling that way too. Something to do with having eaten too much chocolate and not danced it off and now I've only got one flattering belt left...The obvious solution, of course, is to go shopping, rather than stop eating crap!

Last time I hated all my costumes (because they didn't fit perfectly), my bellydance buddies and I got together for a big sewing bee. It was good to tell each other that the costumes really were gorgeous, and just needed a re-fit here or some extra sequinnage there. And it's much easier to motivate yourself to sew when there's someone else beside you doing the same.

[Darbla]

Yeah, I'm gradually selling off the ones I can do without, and acquiring new ones. Since a lot of mine are custom orders, I figured it would be best to clean my closet in the slow winter season when I'm not gigging much. I wanna be ready in time for all the spring gigs!

I bet it's difficult to find buyers for your stuff. Aren't you really tiny?

[SatinWorship19]

Nowadays, when I sell a costume, it's sort of "It's time for you to live with a new family...ok? Trust me, they are going to love you. It's just that time."

But, because SOME people are very quick on the draw and regularly keep tabs on my costumes, they often go to live with other costumes that have moved on from me (Bernie V and Eshe have multiples...there's a box for Eshe behind me riiiight now with two costumes in it).

Things do tend to go around in circles. That's what makes it easy for me to send my costumes off to see the world. There are such a small handful of petite dancers out there, so odds are pretty good that my "babies" will be reunited once they go live with, say, PetiteFifi or SaNoorah

But yeah, it is kind of nice to think of sharing the love with somebody who will give your costume new life...

[Karnak]

This summer, I realized that none of my bedlahs fit anymore. I majorly revamped one (thanks to some help from other Bhuzzers), but I should face reality and try to sell 2 of them that will never fit again. I really am reluctant to part with my costumes because they take about 100 hours to make, and I never got to wear them that much.

[ANA_bellydancer]

This happens to me when I feel I have to wear the "perfect" costume for a specific occasion. Although my costumes are pretty, I feel I have to buy a "perfect" one...

[tahiradancer]

I go both ways. there are times when I love EVERY thing i own and can't even think about parting with one. Other times I am thinking of having a fire sale!

Now, that having been said, I know a lot for me has to do with my relationship with my body at any given time. I do not make major decisions regarding clothing 3 days either side of my period!

Now, am I holding on to a few pieces which I need to shrink into for no other reason than I am totally in love with them and what will happen if I sell all my costumes and then loose weight and have to dance? Yes, absolutely. Have I been ruthless and sold things which I love but I know will 1) bring me money and 2) can be replaced when I am in a better spot both physically and financially? Absolutely!

{{{HUGS}}}

{{{HUGS}}}

[jocelyn]

Ugh. I've been having this problem. I've just realized that my costume bras do not fit the way I want them to. They aren't big enough, and I've been deluding myself size wise.

It's painful to let them go.

[SatinWorship19]

Glad to know it's not just me! ,r:;

I guess it's all a good sign. My dancing is changing for the better and I'm getting to know myself and my preferences!

Not to mention, I've been embracing my milky complexion lately and need more cool jewel-toned hues to complement my "winter"-ness ..g.:

Hardest part is having an empty closet! Oh well - at least I'm doing the purge during the slow winter season when I'm normally not gigging much!

[beafarhana]

Hating all my costumes would take too much effort, there's just too many of them.

Also, how could you possibly hate all those babies of yours?!

[ozma]

Also, how could you possibly hate all those babies of yours?!

It's far easier to part with the few "brandname" items I have.

[SatinWorship19]

It's far easier to part with the few "brandname" items I have.

Yes. The greater the likelihood that somebody will show up at a hafla wearing the same thing, the easier it is to let go. There's something about one-of-a-kind items that really is special.

[raqFariha]

It isn't that I don't love my costumes...it is that I don't always love them on me.

almost ditto... more i don't love me in them T_T d@mn stress hormones

[emma-bessa]

*whispers*
I love all my costumes but have gained so much weight I can´t fit into them.

[nadira82]

Yea I go through phases where I hate all my costumes. But I never sell anything. I just cycle them. If I'm sick of one I don't dance in it for a while, and then just when I'm thinking "Maybe I should sell this..." I do a show and it's new to me and I'm like "What was I thinking?"

I hear you on the nothing fits perfect/is the perfect color. But that's also me. It's the same with clothes. I am the girl who has TONS of clothes but NOTHING to wear. I am a total bargain shopper - sales, TJMaxx, thrift stores, always out for the next deal. It's like that with costume - I always try and get a good deal, but that means sometimes things aren't perfect lol.

I just need to remember not to buy the bras so big. My boobs are not getting any bigger, no matter how much wishing I do in my head...

[SatinWorship19]

I just need to remember not to buy the bras so big. My boobs are not getting any bigger, no matter how much wishing I do in my head...

This is my biggest problem. I'm gonna suck it up and start getting more stuff custom made. It's hard to find A-cup costumes that really fit like an A. I keep buying C's and padding them....wishful thinking, I know!

And those Eman "Dina" bras? Forget it!!!

[SuzanneAzhaar]

This is a timely thread. Had dramatic changes in life style recently, the costumes don't currently reflect who I am (& happy to be).

Nor have I had the time to post them for sale. Stacked in protective containers, feel like they're the characters from the Island of Misfits just waiting for someone to love them. Darn I feel guilty.

[SatinWorship19]

This is a timely thread. Had dramatic changes in life style recently, the costumes don't currently reflect who I am (& happy to be).

I think this can be a very significant factor.

For many of us, our costumes reflect who we are - or even who we aspire to be. My values, my goals and my style have all shifted in the past year and, of course, my dance style has matured. I'd venture to say that we all go through the equivalent of our "awkward teen years" as we figure out who we are as dancers. I attached a lot of my ideals to what I was wearing, yet I've abandoned a lot of those ideals in recent months. Therefore, many of my costumes no longer "fit" me on a spiritual level.

I've said it once and I'll say it again. It really is amazing how much emotional baggage we attach to these stupid pieces of chiffon and Lycra. But sometimes, change can be a very liberating thing...

[SuzanneAzhaar]

I've said it once and I'll say it again. It really is amazing how much emotional baggage we attach to these stupid pieces of chiffon and Lycra.

And rhinestones.

The changes are wonderful reasons for a few new costumes. Currently shopping via internet for fabric & thinking there are a couple that need to come live with me. (Thank-you Anala for recommending those sites).

Also planning to reorganize and clean out the sewing room today (again).