Dealing With Sheer Skirts

[Mikayla]

Just read the "I hate harem pants..." thread. One hated thing that was mentioned was sheer skirts. I hate those, too. How does one deal with a sheer skirt? Even a good quality skirt is sheer in certain lighting. What is one to do if it's taboo to wear dance shorts or sheer matching harem pants under them?

Any good tips??

~Mikayla

[SamiraShuruk]

wear multiple skirts.

[latriamou]

i second samira's advice. i just wear more than one skirt.

[ssipes]

Originally Posted by Mikayla

What is one to do if it's taboo to wear dance shorts or sheer matching harem pants under them?
~Mikayla

First of all, it is not taboo to wear sheer matching harem pants under a sheer skirt, just because some people don't like them.

However, if YOU don't care for sheer, matching harem pants, one thing you can do is make an underskirt out of matching chiffon, out of two panels, each shaped like a quarter of a circle. Sew panels together for about 10 inches down the side. This skirt will blend in with the other, but will not fly out exposing everything.

Another thing you can do is make pants out of matching sheer material, but instead of making harem pants, make them cut a little more like jazz pants -- free at the bottom and not so huge up the leg. Either way, the pants are not going to be very noticeable if they are made of sheer matching fabric to the skirt.

Sedonia

[dunyah]

Hmm, I thought I posted a reply here but it's disappeared!

What I was saying was that "backlighting," a stage or a situation where there is light coming from behind the performer, will make skirts look sheer that were never sheer before!

Sheer harems, underskirts, etc. will all help in that situation. For the record, I don't hate harem pants, but if I posted that over on that other thread, I would be a blasphemer!

(Lovin' the smileys, hehe)

[stardancer]

If I have a skirt that is really sheer I will wear a second slightly less sheer skirt underneath. Since my butt is usually covered by a belt with fringe (or Bella's where the top portion is velvet) I don't mind if my skirt is sorta see through.... but maybe I am just a bimbo....hahaha.

[aazura]

I don't mind leg showing, as long as my booty is covered... but I'm a bimbo too! :-)

[Nisima]

Don't buy sheer skirts unless you can afford two!

[ChristinaRizkallah]

You can wear multiple sheer skirts as has already been suggested. You can wear spandex shorts underneath of the same color. You can also wear mesh nylon shorts underneath of the same color. Or if you like harem pants, you can wear that underneath. For the 2003 AWS opening ceremony, Dandesh wore a two piece white costume. The skirt was sheet white chiffon, so she wore white biker shorts underneath. Then she came out on stage with a similar costume, but in pink and made of chiffon and wore pink biker shorts underneath. Or you can wear a big belt on top with very long fringe that will hide the underwear.

[jmdruadh]

I usually wear sheer harems under semi-sheer skirts. Two skirts also looks nice, especially in two different colors. Another option is to add an overskirt or scarf between the belt and skirt. This adds extra opacity in the hip and thigh area.

My first "real" costume had a chiffon petal skirt (sheer *and* open: what was I thinking?), so I cut up a large pakistani scarf to make two triangular pieces that I wore like a hipscarf:
http://web.mit.edu/ruadh/www/pics/be...y03/divine.jpg

[tamrahennatx]

I wear boy shorts. They are usually short enough not to show or cut off the line of the leg (a potential problem with bike shorts), and they give me full coverage for my booty if I should happen to flash someone during a spin.

[dunyah]

I saw a dancer with metallic gold colored boy shorts. I only know this because I saw her getting dressed. But I thought they were cool, looked comfy and solved the potential problem of showing your undies onstage. I think she said she got them at American Apparel.

[Mikayla]

Thanks all for the replies. Last week, I did the boy short thing. I know they showed when I spun and I felt like I did something wrong when I read that 'I hate...' thread . I don't think that anymore. Next time, I'm going to try the sheer harem pant b/c I personally think it looks cool. At least it does when Ansuya (BDSS) wears 'em

[tamrahennatx]

Originally Posted by Mikayla

Thanks all for the replies. Last week, I did the boy short thing. I know they showed when I spun and I felt like I did something wrong when I read that 'I hate...' thread . I don't think that anymore. Next time, I'm going to try the sheer harem pant b/c I personally think it looks cool. At least it does when Ansuya (BDSS) wears 'em

You did nothing wrong. I'd far rather see your shorts than your cheeks a-flappin'

[jmdruadh]

You can also buy dance briefs. These are essentially the bottom of a leotard, and they look more like a *garment* than like underwear, largely because they're full-coverage and made of a heavier material than lingerie. I have only been able to find them in red, black, and royal:
http://www.discountdance.com/frame_s...age_TB_p1.html
I'll bet you could find more colors on a cheerleading site.

Just be *very* sure that you can't see the outline through your skirt. If it's sheer enough that you can see where the briefs end and your skin begins, it'll look TACKY. Have you ever seen a woman wearing white pants and blue underwear? Seriously - YUCK! (This applies to boyshorts and bikeshorts too.)


I still prefer to wear sheer harems under my skirts (you really can't tell they're there unless your skirt flies up or you do skirt manipulations), since I don't like to show any part of my legs. I like the rest of my body better, and I find that larger-busted dancers can't get away with showing as much skin as more average dancers can.


Another idea I've been toying with is making some stretchy miniskirts to wear over chiffon skirts (to produce a mermaid skirt effect). I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know if it'll work. The idea was to produce a different style, but it would make harems unnecessary.

[mahira-michelle]

L. Rose also makes the shorts and dance briefs. You can order them in velvet or lycra.

http://www.lrosedesigns.com/products/pants.html

If you like harems, then wear them.

[melania]

If you watch a lot of Samia Gamal's old movie clips, she wears completely sheer skirts with dance lollies(briefs) in the same color as the costume, and you can see them. I should post a link.
Okay here are the only 2 youtube's I could find w/Samia wearing her sheer stuff. There are more clips of here w/ full sheer skirt and dance briefs, (I have them) but I couldn't find them on youtube.
sheer harem pants: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qvT6LdG7Is
sheer ballroom skirt:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vasa6vIy1uA



It just depends how you wear them.

Think of jazz where your legs are visible a lot of the time. I don't think it's offensive to see full leg through sheer skirts. Just own it.

[lizajuk]

This is surely the one excuse to wear sheer harems!!!!!!!!!
2 sheers (usually)= opaque

[shimarella]

Hmm, I think I will try matching boyshorts and stitching/pinning my new sheer skirt so it doesn't flash quite as much leg. It's true, I've certainly worn far far less in other performance contexts. I just wish that chiffon came in a heavier weight sometimes!

[Mikayla]

Phew! I definitely feel better now. Thanks! Information is very useful. Now I know I'm not limited.

[bellydancerinfo]

depending on the skirt style- I have also used a nude colored mini skirt. No one ever notices it- and no one sees the shape of the inside of my thighs. i have also built in some nude pannels and tacked them to the skirt slits

I also like lots of different pant options or multipul skirts.

--anything but crotch. :)