Thread: Opinions on belly chains and arm cuffs

What do you think of belly chains and arm cuffs? I have seen and liked them on some dancers, not so much on others.

All opinions welcome, I'm on the fence here!

I love combining accessories with costumes and belly chains and arm cuffs are a nice way to add extra bling to any costume. For me, the arm cuffs need elastic on the inside. There's no need to consider underarm flab for me (yet) but if the time comes, I might use gloves and sleeves instead.

I also want a belly chain, but I'm afraid that it will dig into my belly fat and it will look like I'm cut in half in the middle. So I'm also curious how you all feel about belly chains!

bellychains: on most dancers, they look tacky. but some can pull them off really well...i think it really depends on the rest of the costume. if, say, you're wearing a high end Eman Zaki, a thin bellychain can't really do much harm. however, if you're wearing a student costume, a bellychain will probably make it look cheap. personally i would never wear one because i have a less than perfect mid-section :P

arm cuffs: only dancers with very thin arms can pull those off. the slightest ammount of extra fat makes these very unflattering in my opinion. also, they can slide down your arm during a performance unless you glue/tape them onto your skin

xx
Athena

As for arm cuffs, I think something on the arm kind of ties together the entire costume. They're also great for me because I have proportionally long, skinny arms and I find that arm accessories help me to avoid looking like a belly dancing spider monkey ,r:;

I like belly chains, as long as they're not too tight. It's a very Modern Cairo look, especially if you get a chain with rhinestones! Belly chains can also be a really nice way to de-emphasize a long torso if that's something you like to downplay.

belly chains: i love 'em but you gotta wear them with the right costume and the right body shape (shape, not size). so if it's gonna dig in and make you feel self conscious, ditch it. i wear them occasionally if i'm wearing a costume that's not super blingy to add bling - see photo

armbands: i really like them - sometimes without themt he costume doesn't look complete, like there's too much naked skin. if your armbands are the right size and not too small there shouldn't be much oozing or fat pinching. plus, when you're dancing your arms are usually in (constant) motion and not always going to look droopy. furthermore, sometimes they just don't help make the costume look compete or the dancer looks like she's being over covered. i find the look of sim costumes with their gloves/sleeves totally overwhelming on myself, personally.

Depends on the dancer I think. I don't think belly chains look good on everyone (like me - no need to trick out the stretch marks) Arm bands are nice but if you're self conscious about you arms then they would not be so great.

Anyone ever see Una's "signature" bellychain act - it's pretty impressive :) She only wears the chain for one part of her routine - makes a big show of taking it out, putting it on and then doing various belly tricks to move it around. I'll have to see if I can find any video...

I have a straight figure and am not-so-tall so conventional belly chains cut me in half.

I've been using my custom full-body belly chain made by this woman for years (picture of mine here) and it suits me better. She's just got a ton of great stuff:

Belly Chains

Originally Posted by Khalilah

Anyone ever see Una's "signature" bellychain act - it's pretty impressive :) She only wears the chain for one part of her routine - makes a big show of taking it out, putting it on and then doing various belly tricks to move it around. I'll have to see if I can find any video...

I was going to bring this up as well. I've seen her do this -- it's pretty amazing!

I'm with the general consensus here. I like arm cuffs because often the arms seem too "empty" without something on them, and any accessories (arm cuffs or other, such as headbands, ankle pieces, etc.) that match the costume really help make it look more complete. I think belly chains are kind of cool, but they don't look good on everyone or with every costume.

Yeah - it really just varies from costume to costume and dancer to dancer. Sometimes cuffs cut off the arms - maybe it's the color, cut, lighting, length of arm/armcuff, etc.

Same with belly chains - sometimes they create a harsh cut off midway up the torso, which IMO should really be lengthened any way possible. But sometimes they work great - again the dancer, costume, and color/thickness/whatever of the chain are going to vary.

I like a belly chain on a body like Dina's where it accentuates a small waist and draws the eye into the movements.

Love Randa, hate her bellychain. Her waist is more thick/muscular and she wears the chain so tight it cuts into her skin. Not a good look.

If your waist is narrow enough that you can let the chain have some slack without it sliding off you, you can wear one IMO. The front of the chain will dip slightly creating a very flattering curve.

(I'm built like a sausage, no belly chain for me!)

Cuffs I like if they're the upper arm kind. I like them wide and made from soft stretchy fabric. In the same color as the bra, they'll draw the eye across the body making the bust seem wider, and can help create the illusion of a narrower waist or balance wide hips. (for that reason maybe wide-shouldered dancers should avoid them?) Sadly, most costumes that come with cuffs come with narrow stiff ill-fitting ones that cut into arm flesh or won't stay on. Grrr.

The Wonder Woman kind that go on the wrists are another critter altogether. I actually like them, but I can't articulate why.

I love belly chains on other dancers,but not on me...when doing corkscrews the chain disappears:D

The "snake"armlets don´t go very well with cabaret style costumes IMO,
but I´ve seen these jeweled in action and like them:
INDO-MALL BELLY DANCE RHINESTONE ARMLET CUFF JEWELRY - eBay (item 280489056346 end time Apr-12-10 08:21:17 PDT)

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

As for arm cuffs, I think something on the arm kind of ties together the entire costume. They're also great for me because I have proportionally long, skinny arms and I find that arm accessories help me to avoid looking like a belly dancing spider monkey ,r:;

lmao. just got the funniest mental image ..l;,

I love arm cuffs, though it depends on the costume. One of our troupe costumes is very old school am cab and we all wear cuffs-for me I have SUPER skinny arms and mine are actually bracelets...I can only wear them as cuffs cause they are too big and will slide right off otherwise:( As for the arm gauntlet thingies that usually come with the costumes...again depends on the style, sometimes I wear them.
A few members:


Edited to take pic down...it was embarrassingly huge...lol!!! Thanks for the confirmation everyone! I'll continue to wear it;)

sorry, that last picture is HUGE. Can someone tell me if I can resize in photobucket? Or do I need to resize before they go in potobucket?

Originally Posted by zfejzic

lmao. just got the funniest mental image ..l;,

It's better than my usual tendency to compare my body to a hot dog! .w.:..l;,

Depending on the costume, some require arm decoration to complete the look and some are busy enough that you don't need to decorate every exposed piece of skin. It also depends on the balance of jewelry. If you're carrying a lot of bling on your wrists, you may not need decoration elsewhere on the arms, and vice versa. Personally, I'm not always in love with the "arm warmers." When they're nicely decorated, I don't mind, but when they're tubes of fabric with a few sequins glued on, they look like fancy elastic bandages to me--especially the elbow cuffs.

With arm bands, it is important to balance a design that doesn't accentuate an unflattering body issue (nothing too tight that calls attention to untoned arms) with getting a design that stays in place. If you can't find something that is tight enough to stay in place without making your arms look flabby, I would rather see bare arms. It's distracting to watch a dancer fidgeting with sleeves on stage.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Love Randa, hate her bellychain. Her waist is more thick/muscular and she wears the chain so tight it cuts into her skin. Not a good look.

If your waist is narrow enough that you can let the chain have some slack without it sliding off you, you can wear one IMO. The front of the chain will dip slightly creating a very flattering curve.

If you can't get a belly chain that is non-constricting and stable (doesn't do any weird and obvious shifting when you dance), figure out some other kind of belly drape/dangle/decoration. Anything that creates the illusion of a string of fresh mettwurst is a costume fail.

Originally Posted by bdlana

BUT...you guys are scaring me with this belly chain business! I have a VERY short torso and I do still wear them.

Dude, quit your bellyachin' and wear what you want! I think it looks great on you!

It depends on the costume, but I think they look nice most of the time. The big issue I've seen is fit, particularly with the belly chains. I don't like when they do a muffin top thing on the body.

Lana your pic is an example of a bellychain WIN.

Belly chains, I like, unless they have Playboy motifs dangling off them, but I don't wear one because they don't make them big enough.

It's my understanding that Cairo dancers wear the chains to produce muffin top - different taste.

I think bellychains are cute, but only if they flatter the dancer wearing them. I like arm cuffs, but personally, arm cuffs and those metal snake arms cuffs make my arms look like exploding sausages! :D

Originally Posted by Azhia

I have a straight figure and am not-so-tall so conventional belly chains cut me in half.

I've been using my custom full-body belly chain made by this woman for years (picture of mine here) and it suits me better. She's just got a ton of great stuff:

Belly Chains

oooh Azhia, i've been eyeing some of these for a while. been wondering, where is the clasp (for the 'waist' part)? is it in the middle of the back? or is it made so it clips into where the waist bit connects to the torso bit, and hence is more or less invisible? (same question for the neck part -- is it like a normal necklace, with clasp at the back of the neck, or does it clasp shut where the neck part connects to the torso part?)

Originally Posted by Kathiya

oooh Azhia, i've been eyeing some of these for a while. been wondering, where is the clasp (for the 'waist' part)? is it in the middle of the back? or is it made so it clips into where the waist bit connects to the torso bit, and hence is more or less invisible? (same question for the neck part -- is it like a normal necklace, with clasp at the back of the neck, or does it clasp shut where the neck part connects to the torso part?)

*trying to remember her own chain, it's in storage*

The necklace clasps like a regular necklace in the back. The waist clasps at the back I believe. She makes them to order so you might be able to have her put the clasp wherever you want. I don't know how she makes this detailed jewelry stuff with those gorgeous porno nails! ..l;, [And that is her modeling most of them!]

Originally Posted by zumarrad

It's my understanding that Cairo dancers wear the chains to produce muffin top - different taste.

Srsly??? .w.:

Belly chains are very dictated by body type and costume its worn with.

I use to frequently wear them:


Now I am more attracted to belly drapes and I think they look good on almost everyone's figure. :




Arm bands- arm decoration- are also great on almost everyone
Getting the right shape and tension on each person is the trick.



I am a fan of head pieces, arm decoration, wrist decoration and necklaces. The more attention to details of your entire presentation makes a huge difference. The balance of all pieces need to be give attention to for each costume. Not all things work for every costume.

Bdlana, you look absolutely gorgious with that bellychain!!! And it's the right costume for that!
If you would wear a cheap snake arm bracelet with that, it would look tacky!

I understood that the belly chain in Cairo also was used as something to get around covering the belly, i.e.: modesty laws. Which is part of the reason why they are worn tight around the smallest part of the waist so they don't shift.

I prefer them to be loose and draped, whether that is in costume or in real life. There is a more sensual feeling to it.

As for arm cuffs and accessories, I am going to agree with those who have said that it depends on the costume, the venue, etc. I have two coin costumes which I LOVE wearing those tacky snake arm thingies with! My purple dress, I only wear one gauntlet. I have other costumes which appear way too naked with out the arm decorations. Ankle as well. And still others where it is completely unnecessary to add anything.

{{{HUGS}}}

I just got a rhinestone bellychain from rakkasah_barbara and I love it! I have a long torso and a tiny waist so it shows any movement even better. But I only wear it with a costume that has hardly any fringe on the bra, to balance things out.

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

I have two coin costumes which I LOVE wearing those tacky snake arm thingies with!

I concur. I have to say, those tacky-assed snakes can be awesome with certain tribaret or vintage looks! With Bella bling? Not so much ..l;,