Thread: How can I make this costume look less bare?

This is my first homemade costume. I was very pleased with how it turned out, considering that I have almost no sewing experience.

The only problem I have with it is that it still feels a little too revealing to me. I have a small bust/long torso/broad shoulder combination that means that a bra that fits my bust looks quite small relative to the overall size of my torso, and I feel like this costume doesn't offer as much coverage as I'd like.

I'm working on making drapes in the turquoise leopard-print fabric to attach to the armbands, but I'm not sure whether that will solve the problem.

Opinions? Suggestions?

I'm also petite on the top, with broad shoulders. Here's a couple pix of what I designed. [they're not the best pix, sorry - I never ended up performing in it after all that.]

Double straps and fringed arm drapes (for lack of a better word) = the drapes attach at the top of the bra and lay on my upper arms. Plus I added appliques to balance out my skinny top with my hips and give me the look of more curves. Basically, I was going for alot of design and bling to flatteringly distract the eye. And lots of fringe.

You can always make the cups more covered. A little more along the edge of the cleavage and wider straps. This would make the cup seem bigger without it overwhelming you.

{{{HUGS}}}

LOOK AT THE LITTLE CUTIE PIE SENEGAL!!!!

Oh....ahem.....sorry about that outburst. Birdies just excite me.

Thanks for the photos, Bella. Covering the shoulder is a good idea, though fringed arm drapes read a bit too Turkish for my style. I've considered making some sort of short-sleeved top to go with it, but that is just beyond my minimal sewing abilities.

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

A little more along the edge of the cleavage and wider straps.

I think I will try to widen the straps. I definitely regret making them as thin as I did. I'm inexplicably fearful of fooling around with the cups.... Looking at the photo makes me think that tilting them or bringing them closer together might help, but I worry I would irrevocably mess things up.

Do you have enough of the turquoise fabric to run a gathered ribbon of it around the bra (down the straps and under the cups)? I think the style looks a little better when the sash runs lower than Dahlal's "Dangerous Curves," but that gives you an idea of what I mean. Adding the turquoise to the bra would help tie the top and bottom together, and it would also bulk up the top and add some brightness. Actually, the dark fabric may be part of the problem. A bra the same size in a lighter fabric would look a little bigger because dark colors recede.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Actually, the dark fabric may be part of the problem. A bra the same size in a lighter fabric would look a little bigger because dark colors recede.

That's a good point.

I have quite a bit of the turquoise fabric left over. Instead of running it under the bra, what if I made additional, wider straps to attach under the existing straps? I'm thinking of something like the shape of a right triangle, adding an extra 1/2 inch along the outside of both straps, and then coming in further along the upper edge of the cups on the inside of both straps. That would add some coverage to the shoulder and chest areas, which I think most need it.

A bit of turquoise accent where the cups meet the straps.

I'm not sure I'm quite picturing the right triangle. What if you reversed the other idea and ran the sash on the inside edge of the bra instead of the outside one, so you were essentially creating a sweetheart neckline of the turquoise fabric? If you have more of the blue medallions, you could use them to gather/anchor the fabric together where the straps meet the cups and at the center of the cups. If you're worried about obscuring the black straps, it might work to spiral the blue up instead of putting one set of straps on top of the other. You'd have to experiment. I suppose the beauty of the sash idea is that you can mess around with a lot of different permutations before you actually sew anything.

I'm not a seamstress or a costume designer, and this advice may seem a little counterintuitive since you feel like you want to cover up more, but I'd suggest shortening the fringe hanging from the center of the bra to right above your belly button. Because you have a long torso, the long fringe draws the eye all the way down and makes your body look even longer. I think if you shorten it a bit, it will have that "cut-in-half" effect (something shorter torso-ed dancers try to avoid!), giving the illusion that there is actually less body exposed there.

Originally Posted by Darbla

LOOK AT THE LITTLE CUTIE PIE SENEGAL!!!!

Oh....ahem.....sorry about that outburst. Birdies just excite me.

I was taking the picture for the Swap Meet and didn't notice until I downloaded them that Noodle had snagged a bit of fringe to help show it off.

Originally Posted by Ainsley

The only problem I have with it is that it still feels a little too revealing to me. I have a small bust/long torso/broad shoulder combination that means that a bra that fits my bust looks quite small relative to the overall size of my torso, and I feel like this costume doesn't offer as much coverage as I'd like.

This is a trick for next time, unless you want to add on to the top of the cups:
Make the bra one cup size larger than you actually wear. Not the start with a larger one cause it shrinks when you sew it trick. But make the finished product a cup size larger. That will give more coverage on your chest wall. Then pad it up! Even if that means padding it to a solid wall of foam, with the little dent sewn in the middle.

For this costume, yes to the suggestion of adding a bit to the top of the cups and making matching arm drapes to tie it all in. Perhaps a bit of the same fabric hanging from the skirt or belt to tie it all in together.

Over all, amazing job with what you claim to be little sewing skills. Seems to have come out very well :) Congrats!

Sabrina, you've made a lovely costume, it looks great! I have the same problem regarding a smaller upper body. A lot of people have given good advice already and I don't want to sound repetitive, but here is what I've learned. All the bra's in the example are a 70C, with little to no padding used.

1. more decoration on the bra-cup visually makes your bra bigger. For example, I used silk flowers for this costume:

2. you want to draw the eye up, meaning you want to draw the eye to the top of your bra, instead of the bottom. (cleavage versus size). In that case, add embellishment to the top half of your bra. You already did that by adding the silver triangles, but they are still very subtle. Blinging them up and maybe adding a bit of blue would help draw the eye to the upper body. Long fringe makes your bra look vertically bigger instead of horizontally bigger, and from your post I take it you want to add more width.

3. to visually enlarge your upper body, add sleeves/upper arm band, preferably in a bright color. It's subtle but has a lot of impact. The black armbands with your costume are visually similar to your hair, if they were blue they would be more visible.

How about some small ruffles made from the turquoise print fabric, along the upper edge of the bra cups. You could even embellish them with rhinestones for some more flash there. If not actually ruffles, then just some of the fabric ruched along the tops of the cups with the rhinestone bling. That would not cover up the assuit pattern there.

I made a loose vintage looking vesty thing that matches one of my skirts that I love, and I bet a similar style vesty could give you some beautiful visual balance (also it is very easy to make.)

People used to wear so many cute vests in the 80s and 90s. It is a belly dance fashion I wouldn't mind seeing coming back.

Here are photos of mine. I think you could do yours in the more colorful fabric and then attach it to the armbands. If you liked the idea.

oh, and instead of widening the straps, you can always add another strap and have a double strap look.

And I didn't read through, where people were talking about adding drapes and stuff, but here is a nicely placed drape idea. This is my friend Tydirah:

I love that costume! Great work. I personally like the L Rose u-tops. I wonder if you have enough fabric to make one out of the leopard turquoise, assuming that it is a stretch fabric.

What about making a matching neckpiece? It could either be a stand-alone necklace or a strap attached to the bra that crisscrosses in front.

Similar to the ruby stardust on page 5:
https://www.dahlal.com/default.aspx?...1&s1=1157&s2=0

Originally Posted by shems

I made a loose vintage looking vesty thing that matches one of my skirts that I love, and I bet a similar style vesty could give you some beautiful visual balance (also it is very easy to make.)

People used to wear so many cute vests in the 80s and 90s. It is a belly dance fashion I wouldn't mind seeing coming back.

Here are photos of mine. I think you could do yours in the more colorful fabric and then attach it to the armbands. If you liked the idea.

This is so beautiful Shems! How did you make that 'vesty' thing?! Let me know if you're interested in sharing :)

Originally Posted by la_soraya

This is so beautiful Shems! How did you make that 'vesty' thing?! Let me know if you're interested in sharing :)

I just make stuff up as I go along, which is how I make most everything I sew. I can attempt to come up with some kind of instructions though. Let me think on it for a bit.

Lots of great suggestions! Thanks, Mekyria, for the post on your methods. I appreciate the visual aids!

Originally Posted by GenevieveOfAtlanta

I think if you shorten it a bit, it will have that "cut-in-half" effect (something shorter torso-ed dancers try to avoid!), giving the illusion that there is actually less body exposed there.

Good idea!

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

Make the bra one cup size larger than you actually wear. <snip> Even if that means padding it to a solid wall of foam, with the little dent sewn in the middle.

Erm... it already is a cup size larger and padded into a solid wall of foam! I can get some improbable cleavage in this with strategic use of tape (stupidly not employed on this photoshoot), but to pad two cup sizes up would really be pushing it for me, I think.

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

I wonder if you have enough fabric to make one out of the leopard turquoise, assuming that it is a stretch fabric.

It's not a stretch fabric, unfortunately. It's some kind of non-stretch, satiny-finish stuff.

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

Over all, amazing job with what you claim to be little sewing skills. Seems to have come out very well :) Congrats!

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

I love that costume! Great work.

Thank you. I'm happy with it for a first attempt, but it's still a work in progress!


So, for now I think I'm going to finish the arm drapes I'm working on, shorten the centre fringe, and play around with adding turquoise fabric to the inside of the straps and top edge of the cups. I don't have any more of the faience scarab beads, but I could order a couple more to add to the point where the shoulder straps meet the bra cups if need be.

Shems - you always look hot and fantastic! Shem's idea is great.

Ainsley: I would shorten the neck straps to pull the girls up. They look too long and I think that's half the problem. Then, I would pad the cups more. Once you've done that, you can see about some of the other embellishment ideas.

Originally Posted by Hala Jamal

Ainsley: I would shorten the neck straps to pull the girls up. They look too long and I think that's half the problem.

I'll give it a try, but I'm not sure I can tighten them any further without risking having the bra pull up and off.

Originally Posted by Hala Jamal

Then, I would pad the cups more.

Not physically possible!

Originally Posted by shems

oh, and instead of widening the straps, you can always add another strap and have a double strap look.

And I didn't read through, where people were talking about adding drapes and stuff, but here is a nicely placed drape idea. This is my friend Tydirah:

I like this one- I was about to suggest a turquoise strap (rather than a drape) that goes from where the strap attaches to one bra cup up to half way up the other strap- but I'm really into an asymmetric look.

Shems, will you forgive me if I blatantly try to copy that vest? it is too cute!

Originally Posted by Ainsley

I'll give it a try, but I'm not sure I can tighten them any further without risking having the bra pull up and off.



Not physically possible!

I understand the fear factor....hoisting bras up to improbable heights can be scary but if you double hook/velcro your rib cage strap it's not going to go anywhere ESPECIALLY if you have it snug enough. It really helps with creating more fullness at the top and if I were you I'd rock that long torso. Soooo slinky!

You know what? All these suggestions are great - but -

I'm not so sure you look all that bare.

I think you look pretty stunning.

Originally Posted by shems

I just make stuff up as I go along, which is how I make most everything I sew. I can attempt to come up with some kind of instructions though. Let me think on it for a bit.

Gotcha :) been designing my own costumes and dont use patterns as well. If you know how much fabric you bought for it and the general shape to cut, I think I could make a variation :)

ebelinde is right: Ainsley, you look absolutely stunning in that costume! I'm following this thread with extra interest, maybe I'll try to make a vest thingie too. Thanks for posting pictures Shems! I imagine bhuzzers all over the world trying to make their own version of our shrug.

Here's what I'd do...
Add a strip of blue leopard to the top of the cups, add scarabs on to the bra, shorten the neck straps, and make some kind of arm thingys. (Matching obviously, I just did two different ones to show other ideas!)

Vogue 7161 has a tube shrug (gray chiffon) that is a very loose hack at a similar idea. I own the pattern, but never made it up, because I assumed you'd be fighting with it to keep it in place while dancing. Maybe if you added some sort of snaps to attach it to the bra?
V7161 | Evening Wraps | Accessories | Vogue Patterns