Thread: Help me out, need some direction about a dress

Hey all,
I am very new to belly dancing, on my own with DVD's and dial up. I really would like to have a nice belly dance costume, even if no one but the family ever sees me dance in it!
I would like some direction however, if I ever did have a chance to dance outside the house here, when is it ok to dance in a full dress, and when is it not? I found a couple beautiful evening gowns at the local Goodwill, $5 each, one with the tags still on it from Khols. They are both stretchy, and very similar in style to some of the dresses I've seen for sale, just a little higher neckline, and in need of a little bling sewn on, and given the sorry state of my checkbook these days, that worked out rather well, I think.
I really do not want to ever dance in public with a bra/belt set. I don't even wear shorts out in public. I could, I have a decent figure, not that or anything, I love many of the bra/belt sets, they're beautiful, just would never wear them out.
Oh and the DVD's I have are mainly Egyptian style I think, Ranya Renee, Sadie (cabaret? lol, I've seen some of the threads on this subject.....O-o ) Sarah Skinner and Jenna.
Thank you for any help!

What style of dance do you do? The fancier dresses are appropriate for Egyptian raqs sharqi. Edited to add: raqs sharqi is the arabic name for belly dance. It means dance of the east.

The folkloric dresses are intended for cane dance, Saidi dance, etc. I'm sure there's an article on shira.net about dresses, somewhere in this section most likely:

Shira's Belly Dance Costume Corner

I think you could certainly wear a blinged up stretchy dress with some kind of hip wrap or added fringe at the hip for dancing on your own, or if you make it to a local hafla.

Although if there are haflas, there are probably also teachers & you should probably try to make it at least occasionally to classes. Not only for your own sake, to get technique correction and make friends with like-minded women, but also out of respect for the teachers whose events you'll be asking to dance at!

But back to costuming...I think if you're dancing in the styles taught on the videos you mentioned, that type of costuming is perfectly appropriate for a student. In fact, I think it would be lovely!

I assume we're talking about haflas and not gigs, of course. Going pro or dancing for the general public would require not only a more professional costume but professional-level training as well.

I really hate to see students feel pressured to spend a lot when they're *not* trying to go pro. Those who can afford it & enjoy it, fine... but no one should have to spend a lot in order to dance among friends and family and enjoy herself!

Hello Lauren,
Try missbellydance.com for resonably priced costumes in a variety of styles. I recommend the velvet and coin tops and hip scarves for my students as a beginner cosstume. They also have skirts and veils, and dresses if you perfer a more covered up look.
Munira

It is always appropriate to wear a dress except when dancing in a troupe and the troupe costume for a dance is otherwise or performing for a client that requires a bra and belt look. If you are not dancing in a troupe or professionally a dress is always okay. From the other end, if dancing folkoric or beledi a bra and belt is wrong.

Here's my favourite dress:

It is always ok to dance in a full dress; you do not ever have to wear Bedleh (bra and belt) if you don't want to unless you are in a troupe that requires matching costumes.

The fancier, glitzier dresses will be for your Raqs Sharqi or cabaret style.
Www.bellydancestore.com has a ton of dresses. Those with hip scarves are generally for folkloric styles. Look at the pictures and note what you like and what you would feel comfortable wearing. Look at pictures here on bhuz and ask questions.

Try to get to real live classes or workshops every now and then.

If they are $5 and look halfway decent on you - buy them now! You never know when you will need a fancy dress for a (western-style) event, and you probably won't have time to shop then. Keep one in reserve for a future fancy event, and experiment with the other one. I promise you will be glad you bought them when you saw them.

Thank you all for the fantastic info:) Kashmir, your dress is beAUtiful!
I am NOT looking for gigs in any way shape or form, I think the only time I would dance outside my house would be at a family or very close friends gathering. For example, I could have danced at my nephews wedding a while back, it was 99% family, it was at the local community center, a shorts and t-shirt wedding. I didn't have anything then to wear for dancing, and I wore jeans and wasn't dancing in those! However, if I did, even as informal as that would be, Murphy's Law requires that there be one person present, prolly the only non-family member or stranger to me present, that would know something about belly dance, and I would have no clue.............. I certainly wouldn't even then try to bill it as authentic, more like Sandra's tortured version of belly dance ;p BUT it would be nice to know if I am even close to authentic!
da Sage, oh you better believe I bought them quick! Especially happy with the one from Kohl's that still had all the tags on it, I've been spinning around the house in it and have glitter everywhere from it already! I think they look good on me, so says the brutally honest 12 year old daughter anyway. She is not hesitant to say otherwise!
Maybe I can get a low res photo of them to load (dang dial up. I so miss my high speed net) and get some ideas? Y'all have been so incredibly helpful:):):):)

Hey they loaded!!!! These are my two $5 dresses I thought I might be able to make work, the black one already has some flower bead design stuff on it, I was thinking of adding some appliques, fringe something? Ideas? Where is a good affordable place to order from, if y'all think these might work?
THANKS!!!! :):):):)

Those look great. The blue one reminds me of the dress I altered to make a dancing dress, I just lowered the neckline and made slits in the skirt.

The best, if not cheapest, place I know to order appliques is Glory's House: Sequin Appliques, Rhinestone,Trim,Venice Lace, Glory's House

You can order fringe directly from Egypt:

Fringes, Costumes items in ALFAYROUZ store on eBay!

Have fun creating your dance dress!

AWWWWWW DANG IT!!!!!!! Dunyah, I looked up Glory's House, we live in eastern Kentucky, and Glory's House is in further eastern Kentucky, and we were right around the corner from the store just last weekend!!! I foresee another road trip in the near future.............:D

Originally Posted by da Sage

If they are $5 and look halfway decent on you - buy them now! You never know when you will need a fancy dress for a (western-style) event, and you probably won't have time to shop then. Keep one in reserve for a future fancy event, and experiment with the other one. I promise you will be glad you bought them when you saw them.

Totally! I regret not buying a gorgeous beaded dress I saw at a thrift store for only $40. It would have only needed a few tweaks to become a bellydance costume. I could have put it on hold and gone for the cash, but instead I passed it up, and when I realized my mistake and went back, it was gone

On a happier note, I was at the clothing store and found a shiny black shrug with ruched sleeves and puffy shoulders, too girly for my civilian tastes, but at only $10 I couldn't resist buying it for some potential bellydance purpose. It sat around for months until I needed a new look to go with the beaded bedlah I got for my birthday. I added beads, sequins, and crystals, and did the same to an old velvet skirt I dug out of my closet, which needed a little additional surgery to go from frumpy to fabulous. I rocked my new ensemble for the first time last weekend!

Very nice!
It those were mine, I would add some slits and add chiffon panels behind the slits. Make half or quarter circles of fabric with a radius of the length of the slit plus a center circle that you cut out and gather to sew to the top of the slit. To avoid showing skin, you can sew the sides of the chiffon to the sides of the slits.

I don't know what I would do for the rest just yet, but it would involve some cutting and some sequins and beads.

I am sure you will make something beautiful!

Wow, you totally scored on finding those!

How full are the skirts? I like Sandra's idea of adding godet-type panels for fullness/movement, if it's not too daunting an idea. Really, if the skirts aren't too fitted (doesn't look it) they might give you fine range of movement as-is.

The black might look nice with red.

PS: you might want to window-shop/actually shop trim and such on Etsy. And yes, I saw a lot of pretty-pretty things on Glory's House's Etsy store, so if you can get there in person...

Thank you,
I like the idea also of the slits and the chiffon. Though the skirts give me plenty of room to move, and to easily make all the moves I know. I think, as they are, if there weren't enough room to do a move, would prolly mean dislocating something in order to execute said move. Ouch. LOL!! I still like the slits and chiffon idea. I am not much of a seamstress, but my retired neighbor is:) So I do have plenty of help!
Glory House, sadly, does not have a retail store:( That is a good thing though, I'd be much more tempted to spend if something I liked was actually in front of me!
Thanks again for all the help!!!

Those dresses are absolutely gorgeous and an amazing find for $5!

I would wear them as-is, with a costume belt. I like that look, it's very clean and elegant.

Personally, I don't think a wedding is a very good place for a student performance. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event, often a VERY big deal to the bride, and I would hate to put a friend or family member on the spot by offering to dance at their wedding. If they asked me, that would be different, of course.

If you'd like to dance for friends & family, it might be better to just invite them over to see what you're learning. That way the ones who want to see you dance can, and those who are uncomfortable or just disinterested wouldn't feel like it was thrust on them.

When I was first learning, my mother invited some friends/family to her house & cooked a Greek dinner and my kids (!) and I put on a little show for them, complete with a costume change. Looking back now, I'm sure we weren't ready to carry a whole evening's entertainment, but it was fun and we all had a good time!

Thanks Lauren :D
I DO (haha) agree with the not dancing at weddings, generally, however, this particular one, well, I was asked if I wanted to at the party after, I would NEVER EVER "volunteer" to dance at a wedding. But this being the particular group of family, well, Mrs. Nephew said "Let's Party" about 10 different times within 30 seconds of "you may now kiss the bride," and the party afterwords, which I think started in prolly less than 45 seconds, (actually I think before the wedding even started....) I would NOT have stolen ANYONE'S lime light, just trust me on this one, I guess it was a had to be there to believe it kind of thing, LOL!!!!
I had thought about wearing them just with a belt. I just wasn't sure what belts would work the best?

Those are awesome dresses for the price - great find!

One option would be a scarf or stretch belt made entirely of beaded mesh. Another would be an elegant hip scarf that coordinates with the dress. I'd add an elastic casing and belt fastener to an "ordinary" hip scarf, so it looks more belt-like. I might also remove or tuck in any extra "tails". Or add beaded edging to a fringed, silk scarf.

I try to avoid thrift shops because I always come home with gorgeous stuff that just goes into the "maybe someday" project bin

I also like the idea of the beaded mesh. Personally, I don't think you want to go with something that looks too student-y and informal like a coin scarf, one of those Sharifwear net shawls, or those plastic-bead stretch belts, unless it is a really casual event. If you're looking to costume on the cheap, most of these are probably too pricey, and you'd have to find the right colors, but for the sake of argument, here are some ideas. My first impulse would be Lucy's "Crochet Beaded Triangle" scarves Triangular Hip Sashes. I'm not quite as fond of the more skirt-y styles like Dahlal's "Beaded Swag Scarf" Beaded Swag Scarf, for Belly Dance - Dahlal Internationale Store or this one at the Bellydance Store Belly Dance Costumes | Belly Dance Store.com: Crocheted Hip Scarf (2167), but this embellished chiffon might be interesting if you could get a good match Belly Dance Costumes | Belly Dance Store.com: Long Hip Scarf (13118).

If possible, I think you'd get the best result if you could integrate some sort of necklace with the belt so the top and bottom shared the same look. I'm not a big fan of the half-a-bedlah effect, where you take a belt that came as a set with a bra, and plop that on top of a separate dress. I think it is very hard to create an integrated look that way, because the older dresses that came with separate, structured belts (e.g., the vintage Abla ones) were really well coordinated, giving everything else that whiff of "The matching bra's still sitting at home!" to it. If you were the adventurous sort, you could cut into the neckline of the dress and drop it below the bra band so you could wear both pieces of a bedlah with it, though.

Are you crafty? If you crochet, there could be useful leads here Net/Crocheted Hip Scarf? - Belly Dance Forums, Hip scarf crochet pattern? - DIY/ Bellydance on a Budget - tribe.net, How can i crochet a belly dancing hip scarf? - Yahoo! Answers, and Belly dance crochet patterns. Alternatively, if you're handy with basic jeweler's tools, you could look into making a coin, chain, or beaded set (belt, necklace, and accessories) to act as statement jewelry. That could be a really interesting way to customize the outfit, too, because it shifts the emphasis from "dress with accessories" to "featured accessories displayed on a dress."

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I also like the idea of the beaded mesh. Personally, I don't think you want to go with something that looks too student-y and informal like a coin scarf, one of those Sharifwear net shawls, or those plastic-bead stretch belts, unless it is a really casual event.

YES.

My own 2 cents(or rather 2 ören,as I´m a swede)

In my own view of bellydance costuming:it´s easy to spot beginner performers by color choices-
no matter their dance technique,audience contact and music interpretation...because most beginners pick dark/deep colors such as black,midnight blue,bottle/forest greens,wine reds etc.

As far as I can judge from your pictures you have a delicate own coloring,and looks best in dusty/mist like nuances such as dove,sage,mauve etc and gaudy one like fire post reds,limes etc overpowers your own features.
There are many embellished/beaded/embellished/glittery fabric choices with silvery,gold or other lighter colored "bling"in draping 4-way stretch.

Using that for sleeves would make this a modest-as well as flattering-way to carry out the costume over your whole body.

A headband(or similar,covering a diadem or other hair deco)brings the costume "up" and together.
Even though the large tiaras and the "crowns"have gone out of style for the pro performers in restaurants and stage dancers,I still think it´s a fab way of looking more "complete":
Ask the Belly Dance Costume Goddess: Headdress Ideas for Belly Dance Costumes

Half circle insets in splits make the skirt portion wider to add "swish&swoosch"to your moves.

Hip dressing as a belt looks more finished than just using a "wrap style"piece of fabric;here´s a wonderful costume making resource for ya´:Shushanna Designs: How to Make a Belt

Adding appliques to this would raise up another notch(you can always take them off and reuse them)

Recommend Sequin Appliques, Rhinestone,Trim,Venice Lace, Glory's House 100% !
*satisfied costumer since many years*


Hope this helps and gives you ideas!:-)

OH WOW so much fantastic information, thank you thank you thank you:):):):)
I am going to have to print this, I keep reading it all, and each time something else pops out at me for ideas, but I am NOT complaining!! My only complaint is having only dial-up net out here, and having to wait to load all the links given, blehhhhh!!!!!!
I think I will have to keep looking for more of those $5 dresses so I can try all the great ideas given:)
I will mull over all these in an effort to figure out what I might try with the two dresses I already have, and will prolly be back for more help,
Thanks so much again for all the ideas, I really appreciate all the awesome help! :):):):):)