Thread: Beledi dress--make or buy?

I need a beledi dress to cycle into my dance wardrobe, but am not sure whether it's better to buy one or make one. I'm tall, but curvy with a small waist, so I'm anxious as to whether or not an off-the-rack dress would fit. Anyone with a similar body shape have good experiences with a certain dress, or with a certain dress pattern?

I guess it depends on how quickly you need it and how fancy you want it and what your sewing skills are. I made mine for me and my student troupe. It wasn't very hard and you can make it fit you better than an off the rack, IMO. I didn't bead the hem or add pailettes to mine. I just added bling to the collar area. V neck and 3/4 sleeves. Pretty easy. Here's a pic of two of them.

Of course LRose will make a beledi dress to your specs. Lots of sleeve types.

Eshta makes great ones with rhinestone bling at the neckline and slits... at a great price!

http://www.bhuz.com/forum/566082-post115.html

I am going to agree with the above. It also depends on how individualized you want the dress and if you have some fabric which is just screaming to become one. If not, I might opt to buy something, through either of the sources mentioned or Dahlal, etc.

{{{HUGS}}}

Baladi dresses are very easy to make. You can purchase patterns or you use any commercial pattern for a long straight summer dress and add the sleeve type you want, change necklines if you want and add some length. There are so many patterns for straight shift type dresses with side slits. You can get a slinkier fit by adding torso darts.

But if you want something inexpensive and glitzy, I would go with the Hannan fancy gallabyia/baladi dresses at Belly Dance Costumes | Belly Dance Store.com: Designer Egyptian Costumes at Affordable Prices. Just click the selection for Folkloric costumes and you will see lots of them in many colors. The prices are very reasonable and the dresses are very stretchy. They tend to run big but are easy to take in if you need to. And they are glammed up with sequins, beads and paillettes. Dahlal also carries them as "saidi" dresses.

Originally Posted by showtime

Of course LRose will make a beledi dress to your specs. Lots of sleeve types.

I second this recommendation! L.Rose is great, especially if you have a hard time finding dresses that fit off the rack. As a thin, petite dancer, it's nearly impossible to find economical, ready-to-wear belly dance gear that fits me presentably. L.Rose has been such a godsend for me! And their prices are great, considering that everything is made to order.

I ordered one of her beledi dresses with a medium neckline for a corporate event. This neckline is great because it dips down just below the bust so you can wear a blingy bra underneath.

I'm super-cheap, er, thrifty I've made several beledi dresses out of long stretchy dresses from the thrift store. Add slits and bling and a hipscarf and voila.

Some of those on the BellyDanceStore link are pretty cute, though.

Wow! Love your creativity dunyah, what a great idea! Now I'm inspired! :)