Thread: show me your pearl costumes, please! vintage a plus :)

Hi Ladies,

I have a dancer who wants wants a costume that screams vintage-y goodness with lots of pearls. Please share pics for inspiration and eye candy

Thanks a bunch!

Handmade blue with pearls :)

Can't wait to see the other pretties that pop up!

I'd love to do a freshwater pearl/cowrie tribaret bedlah and am collecting components for.

Not tons of pearls. but they are definately there. . .

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2348846_n.jpg

{{{HUGS}}}

here's a link to Sarah's awesome pearl costume.... I absolutely adore this one....

Salome costume | Shakemyday

Not vintage, but this is one I made myself. I lost weight and had to sell it, but the new owner loves it. Here's a pic of me in it before I lost the weight:

Not necessary belly dance related, but I've been googleling the Net for myself too (an other future project *sigh*) I'm happy to share some pics that I found.

Andalee made a pearl costume. The Pearl Costume: Art Nouveau Decadence | Andalee Belly Dance

I think pearls can be a hard medium to design with. It seems like pearl costumes fall into four main themes: retro/art nouveau, ocean fantasy, jewelry box jumble, and "looks uncomfortably close to lingerie."* It's difficult to use pearls and lace together and not have it come off like part of a very fancy bridal trousseau. Then again, lace is hard to use by itself for the lingerie reason, so maybe it's not the pearls' fault.


* Yes, I realize some of the photos Qamar linked actually are lingerie. When I was a beginner, I knew dancers who tried to save time by decorating costumes with pearls and white lace motifs because those supplies were easy to find at fabric stores. Sure, white's easy to match, bras already come in white, and lace plus pearls feels like a comfortable pairing, but the end product looks like intimate wear. Fortunately, the ease of Internet shopping has driven that style of homemade costume into obsolescence.

I've just become aware of what you mentioned, Tourbeau.

This dancer wants me to unite pearls, rocaille beads, sew-on rhinestones and rhinestone trim in a monochromatic theme.... without it being the 'chunky' style that was popular a little over a year ago. This is going to be a creative challenge for me!

The pic of the light blue costume that Qamar posted is giving me an idea of the direction I want to go in, so the design is slowly forming in my head.

We'll see how it goes.... No lace, so I will probably avoid the lingerie-y or wedding dress-y look.

There's a close up of the "Fantasy Treasure Bra" here Miranda Kerr wears Victoria's Secret Fantasy Treasure Bra - International Business Times. I'm not sure I love the hanging bits, personally. I think I'd have either gone with the center tassel and no side swags, or the side swags and the same pearls in the center. The detail work on the cups is incredible, though.

I also did this simple pearl-themed costume for my friend and fellow dancer Rosa Noreen:

Love this one I saw in the swap forum recently:
Red HOT Bra and Belt and Vintage Skirt Set

Here's mine:



I had so much fun making this one.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

There's a close up of the "Fantasy Treasure Bra" here Miranda Kerr wears Victoria's Secret Fantasy Treasure Bra - International Business Times. I'm not sure I love the hanging bits, personally. I think I'd have either gone with the center tassel and no side swags, or the side swags and the same pearls in the center. The detail work on the cups is incredible, though.

OMG Im in LOVE anybody have a spare 2,5 mill?

well i dont think you can call my costume vinage but it has pearls:)

Ozma made a fabulous pearl costume.
Album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9390665&type=3

This one used to be mine. I bought it on bhuz as a vintage american costume from 70's. I had to sell it (to PetitFifi from bhuz), because the cups were to wide apart and my boobs always felt out when I danced :( I had no chance to fix it, because all the pearl strings would fall apart once I would cut into it. I am still sad I had to say goodbye to such beauty. To me it was the most original costume I have ever had.

Originally Posted by SandraCZ

So gorgeous! Like a Great Loop but in pearls!

Thanks for posting my link. Here's the actual album with all the pics:
http://s708.photobucket.com/albums/w...arl%20costume/

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Andalee made a pearl costume. The Pearl Costume: Art Nouveau Decadence | Andalee Belly Dance

I think pearls can be a hard medium to design with. It seems like pearl costumes fall into four main themes: retro/art nouveau, ocean fantasy, jewelry box jumble, and "looks uncomfortably close to lingerie."* It's difficult to use pearls and lace together and not have it come off like part of a very fancy bridal trousseau. Then again, lace is hard to use by itself for the lingerie reason, so maybe it's not the pearls' fault.


* Yes, I realize some of the photos Qamar linked actually are lingerie. When I was a beginner, I knew dancers who tried to save time by decorating costumes with pearls and white lace motifs because those supplies were easy to find at fabric stores. Sure, white's easy to match, bras already come in white, and lace plus pearls feels like a comfortable pairing, but the end product looks like intimate wear. Fortunately, the ease of Internet shopping has driven that style of homemade costume into obsolescence.

I finally got this whole thing (Sandra's Pearl) reworked for my boobs and the belt redone along with the wrist bands. A lot of work but it paid off. It is fabulous and getting ready to wear it. I am debating on the skirt. In the meantime, I have a fabulous vintage that I just finished and wore and hope to get pics. It has pearls, old gold, new gold, etc... It was a mess when I got it but now is really nice.

I have been in the process of making a pearl costume. I started over a year or two ago, I cannot remember. I covered the bra w/ fabric and strung the pearls on individually. I am going to add shells to mine, just haven't been brave enough to do it yet. LOL. After all that work, I am scared to start gluing, but I think I will start working on it again.
This is what I have done so far:

thanks to everyone for sharing!!! I'm getting a clearer picture in my head of what this cossie will look like (or at least the first draft of it!)

Am I late?

Originally Posted by valeskah

So gorgeous! Like a Great Loop but in pearls!

That's exactly what I thought when I saw it for the first time! :)

Originally Posted by petitefifidance

I finally got this whole thing (Sandra's Pearl) reworked for my boobs and the belt redone along with the wrist bands. A lot of work but it paid off. It is fabulous and getting ready to wear it. I am debating on the skirt. In the meantime, I have a fabulous vintage that I just finished and wore and hope to get pics. It has pearls, old gold, new gold, etc... It was a mess when I got it but now is really nice.

Oh please, show me the pictures! I'd love to see a new life of my beloved costume!

Bumping this back up. When I finish my turquoise leopard project, I'm going to start an aqua/pearl/gold costume. I got this great aqua chiffon skirt from Ezma this winter and I'd like to make a bedlah to go with it.

I'm finishing up 2 costumes (duet piece) that ended up being heavily embellished with pearl. They're not what I started this thread for... That's a red costume that I'll make once I finish these 2.

Here's a quickie pic of 1 of the duet costumes....

I've (finally) finished my olive and pearl cossie, too:

I finished this late last year but didn't have a good photo of it until now.



It has a matching cream satin skirt for a more vintage look, but I wore it with the chiffon skirt for a veil piece with lots of spinning.

I don't know if it's been post before but this pearl vintage beauty from the 1970 is haunting me.