Thread: Eman Costumes

Well I was going to surprize my troupe mates with the fact that I bought some new costumes, but I'm so curious about this I can't wait to ask.

So I just received two new Emans from Dahlal. They were on sale for pretty much half off, I think Dahlal must be making room for new stock. And my question here is not about Dahlal, because I got the best service from them than I think I ever have with online shopping, and I got my costumes withing less than a week of ordering them, and I live in Canada. So I was so pleased and will definitely order from them again.

And I was so excited because I have never bought "name brand" costumes new before. I do have a legend which I did love when I bought it used, but will be selling because my butt has grown out of it (keep an eye out on the swap meet). And a Noussa that I also bought used and absolutely love. So I was extatic to not only be buying 2 Emans, but buying them new.

Yet, when I opened my box, they looked new, but they certainly did not smell new. And I know they are new. But they reek, and I mean reek, of cigarette smoke. My room stinks of it now. And I know that must be from Egypt, because I highly doubt the people working at Dahlal are sitting there smoking aroung the costumes.

So I'm curious- is that normal for costumes from Egypt? I have gotten costumes from Egypt before and not had this problem. Is it normal for Emans then?

And, the stitching is not all that great, I'm going to have to redo a few of the seams. Plus I instantly lost a rinestone fringe just taking it from the packaging, and I have no idea how to stick back onto the broach it was attached too. On the second costume I'm missing a stone (just a little one) and a lot of the other ones are really loose.

They are all little things that I can easily fix. And besides those little things, I do love love love my costumes. But, I don't know. I'm just really glad I got them on sale because I think I honestly would have cried if I paid regular price for them. Its kinda turned me off of Emans now.

But I'm just curious, has anyone else had this problem with their "name brand" costumes?

Yes, I have. I've bought mostly Eman's and Pharonics new. My other name brand costumes have been used from the swap meet. I've had similar experiences with the smoke smell and I've heard other dancers make the same comments about Bellas. Over in the middle east, I believe it's more common to smoke and the ladies who make our costumes probably do smoke while working on them. I think my Eman's smelled more than my Pharonics. In fact, I'm not certain that my Pharonics have ever arrived with a smoke smell.

I've also had stones fall off while picking them up out of the box. This is one of the main reasons I make alot of my own stuff is because I know I can do just as well if not better.

I've also had to reinforce stitching on new stuff.

I'm interested to hear what others have to say, but so far, I don't think what you've experienced is anything different than what I have.

I agree with Shahla. I have heard this many times about emans. Everything from no hem, stones falling off, beads without knotted ends, cigarette smoke and pen marks everywhere. You have to expect some human error and flaws with handmade garments like this. In some ways it add to the allure and makes them extra special. But the amount of problems seem to be a frequent with emans. I sympathize with your frustration.
However I have seen stunning emans and many dancers love them so you could have just gotten a bad batch. What I have heard is that she is so busy that she can't keep up all the time and sometimes her workers rush. This I understand from a costumers point of view. But if you aren't happy then maybe they are just not for you. Try another designer. I hear Sahars are very sturdy and Aziz and Mumtaz have some great designs.

I've been in Eman's atillier and can tell you for a fact that it's smoke filled. And because they have so many orders, they rush through everything, and that's why the workmanship is not as good as it used to be. Honestly, I would write her a letter of complaint (or concern, if you will). Many people have been complaining recently that the quality of the work is not very good, and that when they order from her, they don't receive their stuff on time. I think they need to know that people are really not having it.

I remember it being smoke filled as well. I am sure if she just emailed and explained needing more time people would be fine with that. Sometimes it just takes longer to make something incredible. Or she should hire more people. Someone told me that the orders she gets from Asia are overwhelming her time.

New costumes that smell like smoke is very common.

I do feel that with certain Egyptian costumes you may need to make several little fixes, like the things you are mentioning. I agree a lot with what Eshta said above.

I have a Bella I custom ordered that is white. When it arrived, it smelled of smoke and even at the top edge of the bra and skirt you could see decent yellow stains.
The seamstress who beaded it was obvious a strong smoker. Well, I didn't mind that much the smell as I was able to air this out. But what really annoyed me was having nicotine finger prints on a brand new costume and I was not able to wash this out.

Does anyone have tips against nicotine stains?

This is a usual problem, because the most of the oriental woman smokes too much! I have had also a Sim, it was smelling....But by the egyptian costumes You find it much more....

Well, I just spent eight hours replacing about forty 4 mm rhinestones that had fallen out of the crappy rhinestone chain on an Eman, as well as securing the knots that had untied on the ends of thread on the inside of the costume.

The costume design is stunning, and the costume is perfect now, but I'm not impressed with the materials and workmanship.

Fionna

eeeeek i have an eman on layaway from dahlal, i hope it doesnt come to me reeking of smoke!!

Dahlal comes to Minneapolis and shows her costumes sometimes. I haven't gone in awhile (I prefer bellas now) but it's always so helpful because I can actually try on the costumes. There have been quite a few Emans that I LOVE, but the quality is poor, and there's no way I'm going to shell out that much money for a costume that's already falling apart! I'm sure it's not Dahlal's fault, but the atillier's like Zenubia said.

From looking at Eman's up close, I don't think they are made very well. I make pretty much all my own costumes and only after a year did one strand of beads fall off. So I say no to Egyptian made costumes!

my eman didn't smell like smoke. it is made well. i have the champagne sensation style. the only thing is that i need to reinforce the butt wraps from time to time with a couple of stitches. nothing major

I love the design of the costumes. One of them looks as though it was designed for me it fits so well and suits my square shape to a T, which is really difficult to find in bellydance costumes.

My one and only issue is that I've come to believe that Emans are of the "higher end" costumes. I've gotten Egyptian costumes that were "lower end" and not only did they have only a slight smell of Egypt, but the workmanship was fantastic.

But oh well, live and learn. Perhaps I did get a bad batch. I'm not completely angry because I paid so little for them (who knows maybe that was the reason Dahlal was clearing them out). All I know is I'll probably never buy an Eman again, and go with a costumer who takes a little more care of costumes that retail for $700.