Thread: And on the subject of wow costuming

http://www.etsy.com/listing/5693363/...facet=handmade

Do you think anyone will pop up with $3500 to buy it?

Originally Posted by tigerb

Do you think anyone will pop up with $3500 to buy it?

Not without seeing the back of the bra and the lining!

Originally Posted by tigerb

Do you think anyone will pop up with $3500 to buy it?

No.

it's pretty enough, but compared to some of the stunners I've seen created by bhuzzers, it's not really doing much for me. I'm bothered by the lack of fringe as well- does not compute!

I get the impression from the listing though that this is as much a piece of art for the creator as it is an actual costume.

It's pretty, but I'd like it more as a work of art rather than a costume too.

Originally Posted by LilithNoor

it's pretty enough, but compared to some of the stunners I've seen created by bhuzzers, it's not really doing much for me. I'm bothered by the lack of fringe as well- does not compute!

I get the impression from the listing though that this is as much a piece of art for the creator as it is an actual costume.

That was my impression- that this is a work of art done by the artist. I do wonder if the creator is a belly dancer?

It's pretty. It's not a "wow" costume for me, but I'm also not tribal fusion. For my tastes, it's too sparse- I would like to see fringe (same type of beading or jewelry-type something- just...more).

For the price, I could get 8-15 costumes on Bhuz, or 4-6 high-end, brand new, custom-made Bellas. So...no, I'd be really surprised if it sold. But it is pretty. If I saw it in a show, I'm sure I'd admire it.

Yeah it was a wow price comment. Not that I don't appreciate the work, but not as a costume.

$3,500 could buy quite a Bella masterpiece or three really nice Bellas.

I don't see anything there even remotely worth $3500. I don't even see $350 there. More like $35 for each piece, and I still wouldn't be interested in it for that.

Either this costume, or one very much like it, was up on Etsy before (LONG ago). Hehe, the price might be why ;-)

i9f you look at the materials, it looks as though the beads are real jade, bone, etc. Which might be a large part of the price tag. I think as a piece of wearable art, it's beautiful. As a belly dance costume, it needs more work. But this does support the reason why we get our costumes from the Middle East where labour is cheap. How may hours do you think were put into beading this?

{{{HUGS}}}

It sure was a lot of work - but from a distance of a few meters nobody will see it.
For performing we need beadwork that is visible from far. And some dangly stuff always helps.
More art than actual dance costume.

MEISSOUN

"the beads include glass, Japanese and Czech seed beads, eye shell cabochons collected in Europe during WWII, freshwater pearls, sterling silver, base metals"
... real pearls, and if you look at the close ups- there's not a single gap. This thing is completely encrusted and mostly with tiny tiny beads, which takes even more TIME.
I see it as art, painstaking and lovingly created art to wear.

The beadwork is lovely, but as a concept, the costume isn't working for me. Why does the belt tie like an adjustable student costume? Why aren't the sides and straps of the bra integrated into the cups and decorated to match? (Personally, I don't love the highlighted, brown underwire, but that's a different aesthetic preference.)

To me, the overall effect is that it looks like the designer got tired of beading and took the easy way out on the rest of the outfit with the mismatched black chiffon. It would be a pretty start to a different finished costume, though.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

The beadwork is lovely, but as a concept, the costume isn't working for me. Why does the belt tie like an adjustable student costume? Why aren't the sides and straps of the bra integrated into the cups and decorated to match? (Personally, I don't love the highlighted, brown underwire, but that's a different aesthetic preference.)

To me, the overall effect is that it looks like the designer got tired of beading and took the easy way out on the rest of the outfit with the mismatched black chiffon. It would be a pretty start to a different finished costume, though.

That's why I wondered if it was made by a belly dancer or if it was created by someone who thought they know what a belly dancer would wear.

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

"the beads include glass, Japanese and Czech seed beads, eye shell cabochons collected in Europe during WWII, freshwater pearls, sterling silver, base metals"
... real pearls, and if you look at the close ups- there's not a single gap. This thing is completely encrusted and mostly with tiny tiny beads, which takes even more TIME.
I see it as art, painstaking and lovingly created art to wear.

yes

If the artist had put all this work and all these materials into a piece of jewelry, that would be a different market, and one much more apt to spend thousands on the resulting piece.

Unfortunately as belly dance wear it doesn't really work. The beautiful detail isn't visible unless someone is WAY closer to the dancer than they should be. And nothing about it is going to exaggerate and complement a BDer's movements--no fringe or dangles or whatnot.

The work is lovely--it's a shame it's not jewelry instead, as mentioned above.

I dont like it..

The close-up photos are stunning. I wouldn't wear this but I would probably try to hang the belt on my wall.

I think that costume has been on Etsy for YEARS. Even though the post indicates Nov 2010, I'm pretty sure that the item has expired and been re-listed several times.

The artist does make some very beautiful beaded jewelry. It looks like the costume was just a time filler as the listing indicates that the artist suffers from acute insomnia and needs a way to fill time.

Also, says that they imagined this on a tribal fusion dancer. I've seen tribal style belts close in a number of different ways, including tied at the front like this one, so I don't think that it's all that unusual. Same goes for the solid-colored bra straps. I can definitely picture this worn during a fusion piece, perhaps layered over some textured fabrics.

I can't picture anyone dropping that much money on it, though. I think this is a case of the artist not understanding the market for such an item.

Maybe she wants to showcase it as an example of her best work. But truly you'd have to be up in eye-gouging range to see the fancy details.

You know, it may be that she really does not want to sell it. So the only way she ever would is if someone let go of an outrageous amount of money.