Thread: Those Elusive Finishing Touches -What Completes a Costume for You?

I have this beautiful bra and belt set that matches a skirt I own perfectly, but when I have it on, I feel like it still needs something...like it isn't quite complete. And I'm finding sometimes it is difficult to put my finger on exactly what is needed to bring it all together.

I'm not so much asking for advice on this particular set, though I could post a photo and all that, it does need something to feel truly finished to me, but more in general, what completes a look for you? What brings an costume all together? What are those finishing touches that makes a costume feel fully ready for performance?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Originally Posted by shems

I have this beautiful bra and belt set that matches a skirt I own perfectly, but when I have it on, I feel like it still needs something...like it isn't quite complete. And I'm finding sometimes it is difficult to put my finger on exactly what is needed to bring it all together.

I'm not so much asking for advice on this particular set, though I could post a photo and all that, it does need something to feel truly finished to me, but more in general, what completes a look for you? What brings an costume all together? What are those finishing touches that makes a costume feel fully ready for performance?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

One of my favorite topics! I absolutely LOVE putting costumes together, seeing how things go and work together. In my mind's eye, i can complete a look.

So, for me, the costume isn't finished if there isn't a dance for it. If I'm going to dance somewhere that has vintage music styling, then I want a pouffy skirt and a nice 2 piece belt. The bra and belt should be well fitted, with elastic where it needs it. For me it's the upper back bit that pulls away and I need elastic to make it stay snug. I think it looks unfinished when a dancer puts on a costume that pulls away, but she hasn't adjusted it with the elastic.

I think arm bands, wrist accessories and anklets are essential, if the feel works for the piece(s) of music.

Earrings and maybe something for the hair.

Any props need to work with the costume as well. i hate seeing a lovely dancer, with a lovely veil piece using a veil that only somewhat coordinates with her look. The veil should complement it, whether it's a match, or a contrast, it should help to pull the total look together.

I think that costumes are a necessary part of the piece and it should be used to complement it. If you're doing Oum Kalthoum for example, I think that the puffy skirt princess style maybe isn't the way to go and the sleek Egyptian look works better, but that's a personal preference.

I'm getting very tangential here, so I'll stop since I'm straying from the topic, but it would help if you'd like specific feedback on the costume to post a pic.

Accessories. The right jewelry, hair accessories, footwear, and makeup can really pull a look together.

When you read those "Who wore it better?" features in celebrity magazines such as People, where they're comparing two celebrities who wore identical garments, they talk about who looked better in it, and why. Usually the explanation comes down to accessories.

arm and hair accessories at the very least...

also, you wouldn't believe how much just painting your fingernails can add to the look

Most costumes feel incomplete to me without some kind of armwear (sleeves, gauntlets, bands) and headwear (thick or thin headband, flower, crown, tiarra, barette) in matching colors. These accessories can be pretty minimal, but without them the costume doesn't feel 'done.'

It's a pet peeve of mine that skirts under $200 in price ENVER seem to come with sleeves or accessories. (Though Tim at Dahlal very sweetly tossed in some extra fabric for me when I bought my Minya skirt so I could make matching accessories).

I have a variety of L. Rose skirts, headbands, gauntlets, sleeves and U-tops and just ordered more. I wear the bejeezus out of them with different costumes.

Some costumes (mostly metallic ones) can seem complete to me with just bold jewelry.. strong bracelets, heavy necklace and earrings. But when my costume is brightly colored, I want that color on my arms & head, too!

For me, it's generally looking like time and care was taken on all aspects of the look to ensure that one is polished and cohesive. I don't mind hair without an accessory as long as the hair looks styled. Certain pieces of jewelry work well with some costumes, others not so much.

The other aspect is that the person wearing it is wearing it and not being worn by it. The person wearing the outfit should look comfortable and not have the outfit be the primary featur

I think I know what you mean. I like all of the costumes I've made, but I LOVE the ones that have that little extra "something", some feature that makes it more unique or creates some fabulous line on the body. For example, I love my Crazy Candy costume (home page of my site) because of the one armband and the extra fringe scarf piece that's attached where the belt closes. I love Lipstick Jungle because it fits really, really well and I cut spirals from the fabric to make those swirly things and put them under the hip closure that goes right over the skirt slit. I liked my black & silver, but really, really liked it once I put a silver glitterdot (though I resisted it!) underskirt with the black chiffon overskirt.

Good posture!! Good posture makes any item of clothing look better.


I agree with the accessories, even if it is just jewellery rather than matching armbands/headbands etc.

When it's being worn, obviously the hair & make up complete the look as do groomed fingernails (and toenails if they're on show).

I always mean to get round to making matching accessories to go with the costumes I make myself. It rarely happens, but I think they are important.

I like costumes that looked like they were made to go together, even if they weren't. I think it is important that at least one color from the skirt and bedlah are echoed in both.

For instance, a basic silver bedlah would look great with a magenta/fushcia skirt. But it would look even better if the magenta skirt had silver sequined trim or a silver underskirt. Accessories such as armbands or wristbands, headbands and necklaces are important too. If you had silver accessories, try to add something magenta to balance the whole look, for instance a silver neckpiece with a huge fuschia crystal.

Same principal if you have a bedlah with 2 colors, say turquoise and lime green. Either color skirt would look great. But if the turquoise skirt had lime green trim or vice versa, the look would be more pulled together. You could even have a contrasting skirt, say yellow. By itself it would look good. Better if the skirt was trimmed with lime green or turquoise so the colors are pulled together.

I may sound nit-picky,but I never buy a costume or skirt set without the "extras" I <3 costumes with diadems and barettes/hairpins(not the turban style).....jewellery like earrings&bracelets beaded from the same materials used on the costume...and the old style "barefoot sandals"...some kind of arm bands are essential to me also.

(whenever I search on Ebay for jewellery to match a costume,it never fails me to put "draq queen","diva" or "showgirl"in the search box...otherwise the bling will be too puny and discrete compared to the costume!)

After thinking about it more... layering helps a lot too. For example, I have a red bedlah with minimal pearl beading on it. If I just wear it with my red skirt and arm accessories, it looks rather plain. If I put my light pink/almost white skirt under the red, the costume really pops cause the skirt brings out the few pearls in the costume. You can layer skirts, add sequins or extra different colored panels to skirt openings, add a hipscarf or panel skirt under a bedlah and on top of a skirt, create straight panels to go over a skirt, wear different colored harem pants, and a million other things. One of my green skirts needed more something, so instead of making another huge underskirt, I got some bright kelly green fabric and made 2 small panels to go in the slits of the original skirt... looks awesome now!

Again on what Normal was saying, my yellow and blue pharaonics carwash skirt looks alright with the accessories and my all gold icicles bedlah, but the whole ensemble looks fabulous when I pin a few self decorated yellow and blue appliques to the bedlah... it all ties together.

With all the talk about coordinated accessories and layers, what does that say about very minimalist costumes like the famous Sahar floating bra? Can a costume be "complete" when the main stylistic feature is the cut and not the embellishments? I'm not a fan of that style myself, but I'm surprised no one is defending the sparse look.

okay, so now for something specific to share your thoughts on - here is the patient (see attachments) a beautiful bra belt set in bright turquoise with silver embellishment.

Now what is the cure?

I have a rich teal silk chiffon skirt that is a nice match (pictured). And I have some silver beaded arm sleeve things that I was thinking to wear with it (picture 2), but it just isn't coming together right. I'm not sure exactly what it needs to really bring it together.

I bought that silver beaded hip shawl that I now have for sale again, (http://www.bhuz.com/bellydance-swap-...ffer-swap.html) but when it arrived, well, I knew it wasn't going to be the element I needed.

If this were your set what would you do?

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

With all the talk about coordinated accessories and layers, what does that say about very minimalist costumes like the famous Sahar floating bra? Can a costume be "complete" when the main stylistic feature is the cut and not the embellishments? I'm not a fan of that style myself, but I'm surprised no one is defending the sparse look.

I don't know, even the most sleek costume still needs something to make it feel complete. Even Dina wears bracelets and belly chains.

Can you match the blue to make some sort of sleeve? I'm not really feeling the silver beads in the second photo. If the beaded sleeves were the same color as the fringe, it would look more integrated, but all silver looks like an aftermarket addition. Dahlal has a pair of "Crocheted Sparkles Sleeves" listed in "Teal/Silver" https://www.dahlal.com/default.aspx?...7&s1=1222&s2=0. I wonder if those would match?

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Can you match the blue to make some sort of sleeve? I'm not really feeling the silver beads in the second photo. If the beaded sleeves were the same color as the fringe, it would look more integrated, but all silver looks like an aftermarket addition. Dahlal has a pair of "Crocheted Sparkles Sleeves" listed in "Teal/Silver" https://www.dahlal.com/default.aspx?...7&s1=1222&s2=0. I wonder if those would match?

Totally agree... the silver bands don't really work with this ensemble. I would find some fabric to match the skirt as well as a lighter blue/turquoise that matches the bedlah and make arm drapes. I would also use the lighter blue/turq and add some squiggly long bits or bella style leaves to the skirt to tie it all together... or perhaps tack some thin long strips of the light blue chiffon to the underside of your belt to add a layered element. I think any matching arm drape or gauntlet/band would be enough though.

I agree. The silver armbands need to go! A total mismatch. It would look nicer if you could make matching armbands with the same color fringe as the belt.

In the picture the teal looks darker than the turquoise. If it were me, I'd add a row of silver sequin trim and a row of turquoise sequin trim to the hem of the skirt. Am I correct in thinking there are no slits in the skirt so an underskirt wouldn't work?


Or, buy my fabulous sequin peacock skirt!!!

Turquoise sequin chiffon circle skirt with ruffled bottom and split circle cape.jpg

Originally Posted by shems

I don't know, even the most sleek costume still needs something to make it feel complete. Even Dina wears bracelets and belly chains.

Not a fan of the look. I hear people rave about cut all the time with this style, but in my opinion, good cut should be a given.

Here's an example of a costume that I did a complete makeover after I bought it. I bought this costume as twice used costume. The original designer, sold it to a friend, then I bought it. The original costume was all AB white. Rhinestone bra and belt with AB crystals. and the skirt and cape were this beautiful ab sequined chiffon. Gorgeous, gorgeous costume especially under lights. Well, after I bought it, I realized, that unless I had a tan, the white just totally washed me out. So I added turquoise to it. Fringe and crystals to the bra and belt. Added fringe to the headband. Wristbands were brand new. Everything was edged with a bugle bead turquoise trim. Turquoise paillettes added to the skirt and cape. I wish I had a picture of the cape. It was really a full length ROBE with a full circle skirt. I hated to sell that costume!

I took the costume back to the original maker for the redo. She admitted afterwards that it looked better than the original.

Turquoise and White Costume with AB skirt - tribe.net

Just me but I think the skirt is to dark for that set. I would instead pair it with two layers of chiffon; a white/silver underneath and a turquoise just a shade lighter then the belt. Then I would make matching arm thingies (lol yeah technical I know) from the turquoise chiffon. Some of those spiral trims on the upper skirt could look really nice along with something similarly wispy on the arms instead of just a plain sleeve.

Originally Posted by norma

I agree. The silver armbands need to go! A total mismatch. It would look nicer if you could make matching armbands with the same color fringe as the belt.

In the picture the teal looks darker than the turquoise. If it were me, I'd add a row of silver sequin trim and a row of turquoise sequin trim to the hem of the skirt. Am I correct in thinking there are no slits in the skirt so an underskirt wouldn't work?


Or, buy my fabulous sequin peacock skirt!!!

Attachment 37834

Oooh how much? (sorry for the thread jack)

... and Shems, it's beautiful and super flattering on you, but I agree about the color of the sleeves. I'd try to match the skirt.

Originally Posted by norma

Or, buy my fabulous sequin peacock skirt!!!

Attachment 37834

Wow,it´s wonderful Norma:O

...it reminds me of a costume I LOVE!

If I somehow got to wear that tomorrow I would remove rhinestone tiara&necklace(too much)throw out the shoulder pads,and replace the barefoot sandal holdings with lighter colored elastic...see how picky I am?

Originally Posted by Ariadne_Eleni

Just me but I think the skirt is to dark for that set. I would instead pair it with two layers of chiffon; a white/silver underneath and a turquoise just a shade lighter then the belt. Then I would make matching arm thingies (lol yeah technical I know) from the turquoise chiffon. Some of those spiral trims on the upper skirt could look really nice along with something similarly wispy on the arms instead of just a plain sleeve.

No,I think you´re right on-even just adding two panels back/front in white silver would pull the whole costume together:)

But then I don´t know about the light conditions where you took the photo Shems;there´s a big difference in how sequins&beads/fabrics reflect light...

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

Oooh how much? (sorry for the thread jack)

... and Shems, it's beautiful and super flattering on you, but I agree about the color of the sleeves. I'd try to match the skirt.

I'll pm you.

Originally Posted by emma-bessa

Wow,it´s wonderful Norma:O

...it reminds me of a costume I LOVE!

If I somehow got to wear that tomorrow I would remove rhinestone tiara&necklace(too much)throw out the shoulder pads,and replace the barefoot sandal holdings with lighter colored elastic...see how picky I am?

I would NEVER remove a rhinestone necklace and tiara, LOL! But I would probably cut down the sleeves to make a bracelet cuff or armband.

Shems I think it need more of the royal blue color to balance it out. Turquoise and royal blue look great together, but right now the bedlah is a blob of turquoise and the skirt a blob of royal blue. You need more interleaving of the colors. For example, some sleeve drapes made of the same fabric as the skirt, attached to arm bands with beading that matches the bedlah. And possible some of the same fabric attached to the bra (I think I saw pics of you with your troupe where you had some colored fabric twisted around a gold bra -- something like that).

I think it is a color balance issue.

not sure if this is something you'd like Shems, but my new favorite accessory is a matching mesh u-top, inspired by the cute little jacket look that Daria sports. it's a simple thing to add and it covers the arms but it's something different.



I want to start making some foot bling too since I think it adds a nice touch as well if you have a slit in your skirt

or you could also add matching chiffon shoulder drapes

love this look, too:

I agree with the idea of bringing the skirt color up top with sleeves or a shrug.

And I really think a fabulous necklace will finish it off nicely. My favorite costumes look so much more finished now that I have a few pieces from Shiny Sparkly Things in my arsenal. I bought a gorgous AB set that matches the AB stones in my bedlahs and it really pulls the look together.

I also need a little more oomph sometimes and will pin a few silk flowers to my hip and wear a matching one in my hair and/or cleavage.

I agree with getting either sleeves or sleeve flutters to match the skirt, especially if you make arm bands in the same beading colour. It would just help tie everything together.