Thread: Mirror costume $995? Are you kidding?

I went looking for inspiration to complete my design for a costume. Low and behold, I found this at the bellydancestore. Are you kidding?? How easy is this--go to AC Moore, pick up a pack of different size mirrors and E6000-- voile-A Disco Ball costume- I saved over $900.00 LOL

Belly Dance Costumes | Belly Dance Store.com: gallery

I must agree, this is probably one of my least favorite Sahar's. : )

wow...i knew designer costumes tack on more cost for the designer name but...really? that's a bit excessive!! lol

This is one of my costume projects - I love this costume after seeing it on Amartia (bhuzzer Latriamou). I know Sahar can't make it in my size, and I'd hesitate to spend that much anyway, so I'm going to try to make one like this myself.

I know my version won't be an exact copy, but I want a Sahar feel with some of my own ideas mixed in. And I had fun ordering the mirrors - I think I spent under $50 for them.

I love this one, I thought it was unique and delightful the first time I saw a dancer in it (it was Dina, of course). I wouldn't pay that much for it, either, but I'm not much of a fashionista in my daily life either.

I do get it though. It's about design. Many of us could -- theoretically -- paint a melting clock shape. But we didn't. Dali did.

I wouldn't personally pay hundreds of dollars for a simple silk scarf just because it came from Hermes. Or the $400 skirts I see in Vogue all the time that are... ta daaa! ... black pencil skirts.

It's how designer fashion works, inside and outside the bellydance world. I don't really participate in it, but I'm not shocked or surprised by it either.

Sahar Okasha is a HUGE driving force in the fashion of Egyptian style costumes. She (along with Eman) has reinvented Egyptian costume design among the stars and changed the way we all costume ourselves. I wouldn't expect to be able to buy one of her costumes for the same price as anyone else's, regardless of the materials used.

I hear what you're saying, Lauren.

I just have to say that Sahar and Eman and Raqia have NOT changed the way I costume, because their designs are not flattering on my body type. Plus I don't really like a lot of them.

This one is fun and fresh but looks ridiculously easy to copy. I love looking at all the designs, I just know that most of them don't work on me. But for others who have the big bucks and the bod to rock it, hey, cool, go for it!

It's a hot little number, don't get me wrong! But really....$995? I don't even think my fancy-schmancy Bella cost that much.

This costume kind of makes me think of that old cliche, "You're not selling the steak. You're selling the sizzle."

I don't want to open a can of worms here but for such a simple style, you could look into stripper/exotic dancer gowns..there's some gorgeous stuff out there and they are about half the price of the designer bellydance costumes

Originally Posted by jesennia

I don't want to open a can of worms here but for such a simple style, you could look into stripper/exotic dancer gowns..there's some gorgeous stuff out there and they are about half the price of the designer bellydance costumes

No kidding. I've seen far classier and better quality stuff in stripper and clubwear stores than I have in many of Sahar and Eman's recent collections!

Originally Posted by jesennia

I don't want to open a can of worms here but for such a simple style, you could look into stripper/exotic dancer gowns..there's some gorgeous stuff out there and they are about half the price of the designer bellydance costumes

You could definitely makes some nice tips in this Disco a Go Go dance costume ..l;,..l;,..l;,
Hope enought to pay the $995 price tag!!

Originally Posted by phillyraqs

This is one of my costume projects - I love this costume after seeing it on Amartia (bhuzzer Latriamou). I know Sahar can't make it in my size, and I'd hesitate to spend that much anyway, so I'm going to try to make one like this myself.

I know my version won't be an exact copy, but I want a Sahar feel with some of my own ideas mixed in. And I had fun ordering the mirrors - I think I spent under $50 for them.

Hey Miss, Fatima Basmah! I fell in love with this when I saw Amartia perform in it as well and have been dying to try to make one. Where did you order your mirrors from?

Sorry for the thread hijack.

Originally Posted by jesennia

I don't want to open a can of worms here but for such a simple style, you could look into stripper/exotic dancer gowns..there's some gorgeous stuff out there and they are about half the price of the designer bellydance costumes

Really? Let's see some (I'm not sure how to research this stuff without coming up with a bunch of things I don't want to see)!

I'm too much of a klutz to own a costume like that anyway. Imagine my bad luck after I break a few of those mirrors!

Originally Posted by Karnak

I'm too much of a klutz to own a costume like that anyway. Imagine my bad luck after I break a few of those mirrors!

ROFL. I'm sure if you paired it with some rabbit foot earrings, you'd be good to go

1: that's def a venue specific costume. combining it with the strobe lights at the persian club could blind the patrons :/

2: its always surprising what the market will bear.

3: i wish sahar would sell reasonably priced "blanks"; just the bras-of-wonder and a plain skirt we could decorate ourselves.

Actually, from looking at the way the edges stick out, I'd be concerned how well the mirrors were attached. Gluing flat glass to a rounded shape strikes me as a recipe for disaster, or at least, a nonstop opportunity to catch your veil on your costume. I suspect this is one of those outfits that looked better on the drawing board than it works in real life.

What happens if you sit down and crack the mirrors? That's the first thing I think of when I see it.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Actually, from looking at the way the edges stick out, I'd be concerned how well the mirrors were attached. Gluing flat glass to a rounded shape strikes me as a recipe for disaster, or at least, a nonstop opportunity to catch your veil on your costume. I suspect this is one of those outfits that looked better on the drawing board than it works in real life.

actually, they look great in person! i honestly don't know HOW she managed the mirrors.....not my cup of tea, personally, but it's an engineering feat, and well constructed......my issue is like eshta, i'd be afraid of sitting down or bumping into someone, and keeping the mirrors sparkling :p

I kinda love it and would love to own it.

Would I pay that price? No...but I have made costumes inspired by Sahars I wouldn't buy (my Poppy costume in particular) because I am cheap and because I can.

If it was a Mamdouh or Asai Haskan (sp?) I'd be worried about the mirrors due to the fact that both have rather uneven construction issues at times...but I have never heard anything but praise for Sahar in regards to construction.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I suspect this is one of those outfits that looked better on the drawing board than it works in real life.

I can see what you mean. I personally couldn't own it, I'm too clumsy and don't take good care of my costumes. I wouldn't want to figure out how to hang/fold/transport it, and I wouldn't want to clean all those mirrors. ..l;, But then, I can't have white costumes in general, or anything with feathers, for the same reason.

From an audience POV, it does work in real life. Dina dances in it at a wedding in the bonus footage on the Bellydancers of Cairo documentary. It moves well and has that famous Sahar cut that fits and flatters the dancer and moves like a dream. The design is subtle and elegant with great swish and swirl and proportions, and the motif is charming and delightful and surprising.

I am beginning to wonder if there is some American (or maybe turkish) costume designer paying people to come on bhuz once a week and slag off a successful modern egyptian designer.

I used to have a "disco-ball" costume, which was one of the paillette dresses covered in large silver paillettes . . . and I mean covered . . . not sparsely scattered but almost solid over the whole dress.

A bag of large silver paillettes isn't too expensive and it would do the trick without all the fears of cutting and breaking. And you could have get them in many colours so you might possibly have several disco-ball dresses or bedla/bra/skirt combinations if you so choose. And it would be a lot less heavy than mirrors!

I think it's awesome. And it reminds me of "anyone can do that" art. Try doing some of those pictures and you find that no, not anybody can.

Yeah, it's expensive but it's what you pay for her costumes. Don't like, don't buy.

i gotta tell ya, when i first saw it at bellydancestore, i was like 'wtf?', then i had it in my hands. that sucker has got some weight, and i was also impressed with how she engineered the bra. i STILL don't know how she did it....the edges weren't pokey or sharp, and when i saw it in motion on a vid of Dina, i blinked a little and said 'i know that costume....', cuz on a moving body it's nothing short of amazing...

i'm not a huge fan of sahar......there was only ONE costume of hers that looked good on me....i just can't pull off those styles, but ladies who can and have the money, more power to 'em.....they're made very, very well and look pretty phenominal...when sahar's flower costume first came out, i thought it would overwhelm ANY dancer, but thalia got it and ROCKED it, and i hope she'll never let it go :p

I am the proud owner of a purple metallic mirror sahar. the mirrors aren't thin mirrors that you'd see on some cholis. They are thick! heavy heavy, smooth edged mirrors. I dont know how she got them to stay on, but they do. I sat in the costume- no problem.
I don't love every sahar I see but the thought of having something that went disco crazy once lights hit it (which khaleela and fatima can attest to) and it's PURPLE!, made me want it. Sahar even included extra mirrors of various sizes, in case one was lost. I'm thinking of making another accessory with them.

Does anyone have a link to Dina's mirror costume for comparison? I thought there was a video of her dancing in it on YouTube but I can't find it now. I also thought I read somewhere that Dina does much of her own designing and embellishing work for her costumes herself, so her outfit may have been constructed differently than this later Sahar.

I really want to see this in motion! I have the BD of Cairo DVD - am going to watch it again when I get home. As an aside, I just came back from Cairo where I got (my first) 2 Sahars - yes, $$$, but so, so beautiful! And the quality of the work seems fantastic to me. Sahar took some pics of me in the costumes (with no makeup, aargh!), so I may appear on her facebook album soon...

mine:

another version:

here is one of Dina

still looking for the one of her in the circular mirrors...

Wow, those look great! You look fab in yours, and I think that is one of the most flattering costumes I've seen Dina in!

I think it's cutely different, and I'd wear it but not at that price. Are those really glass mirrors? Because it looks like holographic foil to me.

I want to see some of those stripper costumes, if they can be converted to bellydance costumes!