Thread: Modest Costume Ideas for a Student

Hello Everyone,
I have a student who would like to perform, but her family is very conservative and she needs to find a very modest costume or it is a no go.

However, she of course wants it to be flattering and really show off her dancing.

I'd love it if you guys can share some of your favorite really modest options (we have to cover the middle and the cleavage!) And it should work for raqs sharqi too, something a step apart from your average baladi dress would be nice.

I'd love to hear or see your ideas and recommendations

oh, goodness- how conservative? I would send as many options with pictures as you can- having just gone through a why is this conservative & that not bout here.

find out if a mesh body stocking is okay, or if it would need to be opaque. We have upped the coverage on troupe bras by lacing a scarf the same color as the skirt throught the center dip of the bra & tacking it to the shoulder straps- looks really classy. you can also make a tunic out of semi-sheer fabric to go over the costume- this was not conservative enough for some in our community but fine for others. I also like the beledi dress style with the underbust scoop (the ones we used to call gawazee back when I started dancing)

good luck! I really hope you can find a nice, classy compromise!

I love my beledi dress that is made of black nylon with raised gold glitter swirls. It covers everything - arms, bust, it has a modest slit one one side to the knee, but it is one of he sexiest things I own as it is skin tight.

Right now, both Dahlal.com and bellydancestore.biz have a large number of REALLY cute takes on the beledi dress. Some have more cleavage than others, but that's a fairly easy fix usually.

To really showcase the moves, I'd pair a beledi dress with a heavily fringed costume belt. I wonder if King of the Nile or someone else who does custom sizing would be willing to make just a belt? I'll bet they would!

ETA there's also the traditional Saidi dress, but I'd still want to add a fringey belt.
Costumes - Dresses - Saidi Sweetie - Neenee's Imports - CHANGE THIS ON index_enc_zend.php

Check out L. Rose Designs. They have a lot of choices and great quality.

Somebody mentioned a boob dam in another thread sometime ago and the bandeau bras that are really popular right now I think might work for under a more revealing top. As far as the middle goes I wear a long really tight tank under my skirt and top and then i pin everything. But we use what my instructor deems festival with 25 yard skirts and cholis or crop tops. Our costuming tends be pretty low key as it's almost entirely student and most of the performances are during the day at family oriented events.

A fellaha dress!

Originally Posted by bintbeled

A fellaha dress!

hahahahahaha! Brilliant!

What is that?

Anything useful in these threads?

http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...-laugh-me.html
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...costuming.html
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...acilities.html
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...re-modest.html

well, if a mesh body stocking would be ok, that could solve a lot of the problems. Then you could pair a 'regular' costume with body stocking in matching colors. Then you only need to worry about finding a bra that's less revealing or fixing it, but that's not that hard.

If body stocking is not enough, then I think the easiest route is a beledi dress - there are so many designs and they're so pretty!. It can really show off the dancing.

I like this dress from L Rose Designs. You can make it suitable for raqs sharqi through choosing a fancy sleeve option (there are a ton to choose from) and through choosing a shiny metallic fabric.

She could buy the goregous black Hanan dress I have for sale on the swap page. She could add a black mesh body suit underneath so that the neckline, arm, and midriff of the cutaway side are covered but sheer., then she'd be totally covered, but the dress would show movement well.

Or Bellydance Store has quite a few modest Hanan dresses right now.

To begin, I'd find a skin-tight tank top in a color that corresponds with an [I]unpinched/I] L Rose top with whatever sleeve option works best and a matching straight skirt with chiffon-filled slit (the straight skirt only comes with a slit , and the chiffon insert would give the needed modesty plus looks really cool! A neat-o sash or, better yet, costume belt and some jewelry and she's all set!

Good luck!

Deborah

Originally Posted by anala

What is that?

I think they are taking about a fellahin dress, or something which the farm women might wear. Or the Reda interpretation of what farm women might wear!

Th eproblem I am having answering this question is one of budget. How much money is she willing to spend? How "professional" does she want to be?

Eshta wore this amazing black belly cover with long sleeves and bling which matched the black and red bedlah she was wearing in a showcase a couple of weeks ago. That may be a good answer if your student wants to to with a bedlah.


Sahra has done shows where the dancers wear regular leotards with full skirts and hip scarves and looked lovely and modest. So there really is a large range from which to choose.

Good luck!

{{{HUGS}}}

My sister dances and completely covers her belly (She is shy) just by wearing a plain black leotard under her costume, it covers belly and cleavage, and you can buy them with sleeves or without. Then just layer the normal troupe costume on top, and it looks very classy.

Originally Posted by anala

What is that?

A big (muʻumuʻu like) dress with a yoke.


(Image of dancer Mona Farouk of the Reda troupe from this article on Gilded Serpent.

I had a dress along these lines when I was starting out and wanted to keep things well under wraps:
https://www.dahlal.com/default.aspx?...=fancy%20flare
It was very covered but felt very glam. Latifa is selling one or two similar ones from her own stash now, I think, and I have a couple (too small or tall for me) that could also use homes.

I really like the look of a scoop-neck tank dress in a fancy fabric with a glittery, fringey belt and lots of jewelry. Straighter skirt for beledi (usually), flared or trumpet style for oriental. L. Rose could make something gorgeous, but I've found suitable pieces at Ross and thrift stores, too. Souzan has advised here on making beautiful narrow belts with long fringe, very Mona-looking, using a couple of lengths of sparkly Egyptian fringe and some nylon strapping from the fabric store. They're great for beledi or oriental.

Dahlal and Sharifwear both have off-the-rack trumpet skirt sets that come in glam fabrics and layer well with a leotard, a unitard, or mesh middle. I've layered a blue glitter trumpet skirt, matching top with bell sleeves, and a sparkly belt over a blue bodystocking for a comfortable, romantic-looking "dress" option.

Dahlal's black mesh-middle unitards are pretty for layering, too:
https://www.dahlal.com/default.aspx?...7&s1=1306&s2=0

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

Sahra has done shows where the dancers wear regular leotards with full skirts and hip scarves and looked lovely and modest. So there really is a large range from which to choose.
Good luck!
{{{HUGS}}}

For a budget - Early student costumes back in the day: this. A regular leotard, colored is nice, but black will do, with full skirt & hip treatment such as fringed sash, or the current popular coin sashes. Decorate the neckline & cuffs of leotard.
Worried about bathroom breaks? Just pull the crotch aside if it doesn't have snaps. I hate snaps and such there myself.

I like this dress, too. This is one of the ideas I've thought about for myself at times. I would do the sleeveless version, myself, to make it look less beledy, and pick one of the more glittery, metallic fabrics L rose offers. I would add a belt with fringe from one of my bra & belt sets, that went well with the fabric of the dress. Matching gauntlets from L rose might look nice as well. And definitely jewelry.

It would be hard to work a farm in that much fabric!

Someone was selling a few beaded Madame Abla dresses in the swap. They were colorfull, made of mesh material (so could see stomach moves but be covered) full of fringes and beads, and would be full coverage of everything.

Originally Posted by LiesaB.

For a budget - Early student costumes back in the day: this. A regular leotard, colored is nice, but black will do, with full skirt & hip treatment such as fringed sash, or the current popular coin sashes. Decorate the neckline & cuffs of leotard.
Worried about bathroom breaks? Just pull the crotch aside if it doesn't have snaps. I hate snaps and such there myself.

Perhaps a little bolero-type vest,or the Turkish underbust style, might look nice with the leotard/skirt combo. The skirt and vest could be made of the same fabric. A straight skirt would work too if she doesn't like a full circle skirt.

Yes, I think we'd need to know their definition of "modest." A lot of the conservative Christians I know of wouldn't allow a leotard because it's tight. Bras might be considered too evocative of underwear even if something fully-covering were worn underneath. Sleeveless would not be allowed (and some even require elbow-length sleeves). The underbust vest probably wouldn't be allowed because it would "highlight the bust area." Legs would need to be covered, but then again, these types usually prohibit pants. But then yet again, these folks would also prohibit belly dance outright because it would be seen as provocative (they might allow it in an all-women class where no males can observe and would allow dancing for her husband only), so I'm guessing she doesn't belong to such a strict group?

Originally Posted by Lesedi

Someone was selling a few beaded Madame Abla dresses in the swap. They were colorfull, made of mesh material (so could see stomach moves but be covered) full of fringes and beads, and would be full coverage of everything.

Ezma had those, they were absolutely gorgeous. But they were a bit pricey, around $400 (and well worth it). I really wanted one but couldn't justify spending that much...cr.:

Sorry to make the mysterious comment about the fellaha dress and then disappear... Shems saw my troupe dancing in them last weekend so I suggested that as a joke. Here's what they look like:

if it's between the two, i'd recommend leotard rather than a tank top, i've seen dancers wear unpinned tank tops and with the torso movements they end up scrunched around the waist and sloppy looking. like Diyung said you can pin it to the belt, but if you just start with a leotard you don't have to worry about it tearing from being not stretchy enough to be pined or having to get into it to place the pins and hide them, etc.

Originally Posted by Kat144

Yes, I think we'd need to know their definition of "modest." A lot of the conservative Christians I know of wouldn't allow a leotard because it's tight. Bras might be considered too evocative of underwear even if something fully-covering were worn underneath. Sleeveless would not be allowed (and some even require elbow-length sleeves). The underbust vest probably wouldn't be allowed because it would "highlight the bust area." Legs would need to be covered, but then again, these types usually prohibit pants. But then yet again, these folks would also prohibit belly dance outright because it would be seen as provocative (they might allow it in an all-women class where no males can observe and would allow dancing for her husband only), so I'm guessing she doesn't belong to such a strict group?

Is anyone else seeing the irony that the word 'Christian' could have been replaced by the word 'Muslim' without changing another single word in this post?

Originally Posted by bintbeled

Sorry to make the mysterious comment about the fellaha dress and then disappear... Shems saw my troupe dancing in them last weekend so I suggested that as a joke. Here's what they look like:

My favorite part about those dresses is that I can hide underneath one, while it is on another person, they are so full.