Thread: My 1st costume...

i've decided to make my 1st costume (don't have much expierence...) and started a blog on it... It's mostly so my close BD friends can give me advice (easier than e-mailing around all the time...) but anyone is welcome to have a look and ALSO give me advice, or tips, or whatever :)

Enjoy!

http://costumemadness.blogspot.com/

love your idea for a blinged out bra. i've done a bra they are fun. every month there is a 'what are you working on thread' on bhuz VERY helpful, informative & inspirational. i looked at your blog & your base bra. just wondering if you are planning on covering the bra? that's what i learned here on bhuz cover the bra, & remove the straps & replace them.

There were some threads on all-rhinestone costumes not too long ago. Unfortunately, many of the photo links are dead in this one http://www.bhuz.com/showthread.php?4...estone-costume. The pictures in the sales thread for the costume Shems owned are still good, though http://www.bhuz.com/showthread.php?5...-amp-insurance.

Originally Posted by GypsyStacey

love your idea for a blinged out bra. i've done a bra they are fun. every month there is a 'what are you working on thread' on bhuz VERY helpful, informative & inspirational. i looked at your blog & your base bra. just wondering if you are planning on covering the bra? that's what i learned here on bhuz cover the bra, & remove the straps & replace them.

yea, I'm starting to get concerned about the bra. my friend suggested I use a strong base (like jeans) to cover the fabric, cuz all the stones together will be too heavy for the fabric. I'm gonna look into this (how & such) with her on friday, so I know where I stand :)

Hi Adiva, what a great way to start 2011! I thought some of the articles on www.allesoverbuikdansen.nl might be helpful. Check the costume section for tips on constructing costume items, including covering a bra. It's all Dutch, if you need more or special material there is also a section with links to stores in the EU :)

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

There were some threads on all-rhinestone costumes not too long ago. Unfortunately, many of the photo links are dead in this one http://www.bhuz.com/showthread.php?4...estone-costume. The pictures in the sales thread for the costume Shems owned are still good, though http://www.bhuz.com/showthread.php?5...-amp-insurance.

There are indeed a lot of the photo's unavailable in the first link, but Shems gave a lot of great tips in there! Will need to think twice about the fabrics for the skirt... And the vision of me dancing in it with a red veil is going away slowly rofl... Seems impossible :p

Shira has all sorts of costuming advice on her site (http://www.shira.net/costuming/sitemapc.htm), and Anthea (Kawakib) has a bra tutorial online http://www.kawakib.com/page-16.html. Also, Ozma has a costuming blog on Facebook with picture galleries detailing her costume-making process (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ozmas-...90665?v=photos). Lots of good info online...

i think if your cups are sturdy they should hold the bling. what i did was cover my back strap with denim. took off the shoulder straps & used gross grain ribbon that i covered with my bra fabric that i also used to cover the cups then add the bling. i don't think covering the bra cups with denim is necessary, but there are others on here more experienced than i with making a dancing bra.

Nice blog! I can't wait to see how it turns out. I've got a couple of tutorials on my blog that have to do with building up cups and straps. Here's a link to a few....

http://andaleedance.com/the-glitter-...ddess-costume/
http://andaleedance.com/the-making-of-a-stash-buster/
http://andaleedance.com/the-chunky-blue-costume/

Also, check out Ozma's costuming page on Facebook. For most projects (in the photo albums) she's got close up photos of her construction.

I definitely think you need to cover the bra with a base materials and enforce or create new sides. Good luck!

Oh wow, a quick glimpse at your links Andalee & it looks like it will be very usefull for me!!! I'm not so scared now ;) Thanks!

There is a lovely rhinestone costume in this clip, it's a demi-cup bra but quite a nice design, I think:

Originally Posted by Adiva84

Oh wow, a quick glimpse at your links Andalee & it looks like it will be very usefull for me!!! I'm not so scared now ;) Thanks!

Andalee has great info doing a bra isn't anything to be scared of...lol. you can do it & it actually is lots of fun & very rewarding.

cool blog....

brave using a VS bra- I wouldn't ever- mostly cause they are too damn expensive to cut up and a lot of them have gel in them! But if it fits well- rock on.

My 0.2 cents- I wouldn't stack them on top of each other- I'd do what is called a running bond... - the alternating one- but thats my personal preferance- I don't like the straight line- mostly because I know it wouldn't be straight and it would irk me EVERY time I looked at it.

I haven't used anything to reinforce my bras with and I even have one made of heavy metal and it holds up okay.


you should be totally GTG
I am using jeans on my next base though- that needs work!


Other notes:
> Stop stressing- the first few steps are always stressful just because you are "starting"
(like paining a big white canvas- hard to get started just because there is such a vast expanse of WHITE before you)

> You can always rip it apart and start over. Its the process and its fun :)

> And not your FINAL costume- its your first costume- there will be many more to come.

Originally Posted by Basha

Other notes:
> Stop stressing- the first few steps are always stressful just because you are "starting"
(like paining a big white canvas- hard to get started just because there is such a vast expanse of WHITE before you)

> You can always rip it apart and start over. Its the process and its fun :)

> And not your FINAL costume- its your first costume- there will be many more to come.

great notes. i agree the first steps are always the hardest. once that bra is covered with your base fabric the fun begins the decorating but you can't do anything that can't be ripped out & done over again. just don't use glue...lol.

Sketched some possible bra designs... Added them to the blog

Originally Posted by Adiva84

Sketched some possible bra designs... Added them to the blog

Unless your hair is short or you wear it up when you dance, I'd skip the rhinestone straps on the back. Your hair will both hide them as a decorative element, and get tangled up in them if you are using pronged chain.

Good luck, Adiva! Cool way to start the new year. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Unless your hair is short or you wear it up when you dance, I'd skip the rhinestone straps on the back. Your hair will both hide them as a decorative element, and get tangled up in them if you are using pronged chain.

Very good point! I thought about it, but for a few seconds apparently I ignored I have long hair & drew it like this LOL...

I wanted to post on your blog but I do not posses an proper acount to do so.

Recomendations:
Absoloutly cover the bra with fabric and reinforce the straps and band.
Cover the bra in gold (prefered) or white fabric.
Put the rhinestone chain on horizontely and stagered.


The reasons for covering the bra with gold fabric are emmense. First of all, this is your rhinestone costume. You will want to wear it with EVERYTHING. another reason is that rhinestone on black is really quite blah and all rhinestone costumes that I've seen like the one you are making are on black, it's a very over used color for this style. You really will want it to be different. Plus AB Crystal is so breathtaking on lighter colored golds. Find something that's a metalic gold and put your chain on it and see what I mean.

Thanks for listening and good luck to you.

I would definitely hard cup the bra with buckram. It's a very stiff interface type material which you can find at fabric stores like JoAnns. This makes the cups keep their shape no matter how much bling you sew on. Otherwise, the cups collapse in on themselves when you are decoration.

Good luck and have fun!

Originally Posted by DarkestDesert

Recomendations:
Absoloutly cover the bra with fabric and reinforce the straps and band.
Cover the bra in gold (prefered) or white fabric.
Put the rhinestone chain on horizontely and stagered.


The reasons for covering the bra with gold fabric are emmense. First of all, this is your rhinestone costume. You will want to wear it with EVERYTHING. another reason is that rhinestone on black is really quite blah and all rhinestone costumes that I've seen like the one you are making are on black, it's a very over used color for this style. You really will want it to be different. Plus AB Crystal is so breathtaking on lighter colored golds. Find something that's a metalic gold and put your chain on it and see what I mean.

Thanks for listening and good luck to you.

Using gold as a base sounds great! However, I definitely want my skirt to be black, do you think that's still fine? Or should the skirt be the same color as the base under the rhinestones...

Thanks so much for the advice!!! *runs of to find gold* ;)

Originally Posted by Adiva84

Using gold as a base sounds great! However, I definitely want my skirt to be black, do you think that's still fine? Or should the skirt be the same color as the base under the rhinestones...

Thanks so much for the advice!!! *runs of to find gold* ;)

LOL!

Originally Posted by Adiva84

Using gold as a base sounds great! However, I definitely want my skirt to be black, do you think that's still fine? Or should the skirt be the same color as the base under the rhinestones...

Thanks so much for the advice!!! *runs of to find gold* ;)

Gold goes with everything. So does silver. Basically, you can't go wrong with either color.

meh- I hate gold...


and I wouldn't put the rhinestones on silver either.

she can find a way to adapt a belt to her black skirt if she isn't making it a lycra skirt with them sewing directly on.

let her deciede- I can tell you I woulnd't do it that way- I'd pick a more luxirious black base than just the regular bra- but I wouldn't change the colour any.

I think some of the rationale behind using a metallic base is the same as the thought processes behind jewelry making. Having a metallic base serves two purposes. It makes the stones look larger, because there isn't a contrasting surface for them to recede into. It also camouflages the mechanics of the settings themselves. With the chain here, there is a pretty big gap between the stones that isn't entirely filled by offsetting the chain. There's a lot of "blackspace," but also a lot of visible spacers. Particularly in the second picture where the chain is lined up, I think the black exaggerates how much the stones are fighting with the spacer bars for attention. The first picture gives off sort of a checkerboard effect--I don't know if it's possible to nest the chain closer to eliminate this, or if the extra amount of chain required to do so would be too expensive. On a background with less contrast, these issues wouldn't be so noticeable. If solid gold or silver is too much, any lighter color would be less contrast, as would a pattern like a metallic brocade or a foiled knit (but not much point in investing too much in the background fabric if most of it is going to be covered up, though). Personally, I'd go with silver (hides the settings) or iridescent gold (brings out the AB), but any color is a valid design choice.

I see's your point... butwhat if she likes the checkerboard effect with the stones and the black?

I'm personally a huge fan of utlizing negative space.

Personal taste and complexion determine what you fabrics you choose, as does the style of dance and the venues where you perform. If you lean more towards fusion than traditional, or you dance in well lit spaces instead of gloomier ones, black is a fine choice. No matter how you feel about wearing the color black, if you expect to be performing in dimly lit restaurants or shows with black backdrops and amateur lighting, black (or any other really dark color, for that matter) won't be the best idea from a visibility standpoint. Black doesn't exactly carry the same connotations in ME societies as it does in the West, so that angle may come into play, too, depending on your dance style and your audience's expectations. (Many women wear black modesty garments on a daily basis in the ME, so flashy/fancy clothes are often any color but black, which is why black costumes made there aren't as common as, say, red ones.)

Regardless, if you want to get the most bang for your buck, putting the rhinestones on a bra and separate belt base made from a non-contrasting color will give you more flexibility in wearing options. You can always wear the rhinestone/neutral combination with a black skirt and accessories, but if you change your mind or performing circumstances, you could wear it with lots of other colors, too. Once you commit to a black base, you may be more limited in what you can wear it with (depends on what the other pieces in your wardrobe are--some dancers have a strong preference for costumes in a single color). It also depends on how much you expect to wear the costume. If you can get the mileage out of committing to a single look, then whatever color/texture/print you like will be fine.

Good luck with your costume. Like many others have suggested, I hope that you'll take the time to cover the bra properly to make a real top. You're going to spend a lot of time decorating it, and you'll be so much happier with it in the end if it looks like a costume (not underwear with jewels).

Tourbeau's idea of making a belt that you can mix and match with skirts will make your costume more versatile. Not only can you change the color of the skirt, but you can change the style too!

Congrats on making your first bra. I made my first bedlah two years ago and it took me almost a year to finish it, but it was so worth all the time I put into it and I love it. Good thinking with the VS bra, although they are expensive they hold up well. I have made 4 costumes and all of the tops are VS bras (I don't know how to make my own...YET). My advice is to secure everything very well!!! But not with glue. EVER. lol. You can't undo it like thread. Can't wait to see pictures on your blog!