Thread: talk to me about ordering from dahlal

I am sure that there have been threads before, but I am considering my next costume from them. I have ordered straight from bella, and marta, audrena, thebellydanceshop.com and bellydancestore.biz (one of my faves) So tell me compared to them your experience, what do i need to expect? How long to wait, shipping charges (to us) partal payments? how do they take payment paypal? Was your experience good or bad, did the costume fit? if not did they fix it?

Thanks

Are you ordering a custom costume or ready made?

Well i have noticed that most of the ones i like are out of stock so i guess it would be custom

I have always had good experiences with Dahlal. BUT I have only custom ordered Pharaonics through them. There are huge differences in the designers and that is something out of Dahlal's hands. I ordered over the phone and was really specific with measurements etc and the size came perfect each time.

I love Dahlal personally, and whenever I've dealt with her, things have pretty much gone fine. I can't necessarily say the same for all dealings with some of the newer people she has working for her lately...but if you're doing a custom order, just be sure you talk to HER.

With custom orders/designers, know that a LOT of it is out of her hands. Eman, for example, is notorious for deciding to change things. You will get a beautiful costume, but it may not be at all what you thought you ordered--but that can happen with Eman even if you are sitting right there in her studio and SHE draws the design. In other designers' cases, just know you're ordering a general idea/design--the details will vary. Also, sometimes there seem to be communication issues between designers and Dahlal.

Know that unless you are very lucky, almost every costume, even those that are custom made, will need to be altered slightly (unless the designer herself measured you/saw you)--if for no other reason than measurements lie: two people can have the same hip or bust measurement but have very different shapes or proportions. For this reason, too, I think it's better to get your costumes altered by a local seamstress than to send them out to someone you never met. I let Dahlal's people alter a costume ONCE and I will never do it again. The skirt came back too short by inches and it was CUT OFF! Virtually no hem allowance left. (Now, I'm a petite gal to start with, so I would generally NEVER want a skirt cut without hem allowance because it hurts the resale value!)

On a semi-related note, I have a very gorgeous hot pink Eman that I will be selling in the near future. Petite ladies--let me know if you want me to warn you when it goes on Swap Meet. ..cr.:

But my point is, these measurements/marks were made by Debbie (Dahlal) then given to someone who didn't see me/didn't see it on me...and that seamstress made a terrible mistake. So...very expensive lesson learned. I now take anything I don't do myself to a seamstress in town who does a lot of work for dancers (and who is a dancer herself).

Good luck!

I adore Dahlal, Debbie is a fantastic person to work with. But I agree that some of her newer staff are not as meticulous as she is.

I ordered a custom Pharonics, and was extremly pleased with the size and fit when I got it. However, I failed to make the lady who took my order (not Debbie, and new staffer) read my order back to me, and the skirt/acessories arrived in the wrong color. Luck for me, it was a color I liked just as well, but this could have been a disaster.

Dahlal will do you right. Happy shopping!

I just received my 3 custom Pharonics from Dahlal ion about 3 months which is a good turnaround for custom - I never have spoken directly to Dahlal but staff are very competent. Costumes fit me like they belong on my body! :) And, I'm 1x size. In the past there was a problem with the Eman Zaki 'Sophisticated Assuit Dress" and they caught it before sending it to me - Eman had misinterpreted a lot of the measurements on this dress for several dancers and had to redo them. When my finally came (9 months, just like a pregnancy) the fit was wonderful so really it was the designer, not Dahlala or staff. I have a Hannan on custom order and I expect she will take four months at least. To compare, I have had several costumes made by an American designer/costumer and each one is an original but it took a year to get it and it was way more expensive than any bra belt I've seen on Dahlala - $750 for bra/belt/necklace. However, as I said, these were original designs based on my telling her I wanted a "flames" beaded bra belt or "hot turquoise and royal blue beaded that just drips fringe over my curves" and she came up with works of art! It is different having something made a) in another country by someone who hasn't seen you personally. The key with any on-line costume is knowing what *type* of costume shape will look good and very very careful measurements.

Hmmm...I just placed a custom order late last week online and these warnings to speak directly with her are making me wary. Should I call her to check on the order?

I ordered a custom Pharoanics once and although it shipped two months later than expected, it fit very well and was well made. Dahlal was very polite when answering my emails, and the transaction was very smooth. My advice with ordering custom is to have a lot of patience and back-up costumes, just in case yours has time issues and can't make your next performance. ; )

I also bought a costume they had in stock (a Hanan, I believe) and it soooo did not fit. The skirt would not even zipper up in the back, yet my measurements matched the description. I remeasured the skirt and found that someone was being very optimistic and stretching the skirt as far as it would go to get that measurement-who would want to wear it stretched out and strained like that (very uncomfortable, not to mention muffin top!) I did send an email about the discrepancy in measurements, but never heard back. Kept the costume and sold it to a Size 2 student. So I guess I would advise you to beware of being the minimum or maximum measurement if you're ever looking at an in-stock costume. If your numbers are right in the middle you should be safe.

Originally Posted by ThespiSis

Hmmm...I just placed a custom order late last week online and these warnings to speak directly with her are making me wary. Should I call her to check on the order?

Do you know who you talked to? There are a couple people there who I think are probably fine. (Her son, Josh, is usually pretty good, there is, I think, a woman there who's name I forgot now but who seems reasonably on top of things, though I've not had to order anything directly with her.) There are just a couple who don't seem to really "get it" yet.

I placed the order online. I haven't talked to anyone yet.

Originally Posted by ThespiSis

I placed the order online. I haven't talked to anyone yet.

Then YES!!!!!!!! I would never make a custom costume order without talking to/following up with a live human being. You have no idea who took the order, where it wound up, or whether they understand what's important to you about it.

Some things are great for ordering online, but a custom costume order is not the place for Amazon.com-style convenience. Call them. Call them today or tomorrow at the latest--Debbie will be leaving Friday morning to drive to Minneapolis. :-)