Thread: Turkish Emporium

I've never bought from them and an wondering are they reputable? Their costumes are very affordably priced. I'm wondering how the quality is and if the service is good?

Hi,
I have purchsed 2 costumes from them about 5 years ago. Quality was excellant and they were delivered in a timely manner..(they had to be made up) i have also bought hip scarves from them and had no problems...g.:
Mel

I bought from them about 2-3 years ago. It took a while to receive the package. I bought 3 costumes, 2 were "value costumes" in the same style but different colors.

The "value costumes" in same style arrived looking completely different, and were very cheaply made.

Then other costume may have been a "pro" on clearance, it was okay. I think if it fit, it was good at the time. I wouldn't buy/wear it now.

i bought a hip scarf from them a few yrs ago and they took forever! i even emailed them and asked what the hold up was. i got a snippy reply back...so i'm never ordering from them again

hmm. thanks for the feedback. anyone ordered more recently?

I ordered a skirt from them earlier this year, it arrived just shy of three weeks, no problems with shipping or anything, but....

the skirt was waaayy too small, the elastic maxed out at 34 inches around I think, that's completely stretched mind you, the length was good, and it was made pretty well, it was just poorly sized. Also, it smelled funny, had a strong chemical-flower smell that made me think of dryer sheets, I washed several times but the smell lingers on...

okay, so I'm guessing this is a you get what you pay for situation? I'm really only interested in their sequined costumes. Do you think it would be worth it to order from them since their prices are so good?

Their prices are okay, where it costs is in the shipping; I think the shipping for my skirt was almost half the cost of the skirt itself. I think it might be worth it costume-wise as long as you give them very explicit measurements, account for the pricey shipping costs, and realize you may have to do a fair bit of work anyway to make the end result fit you; and be willing to take the loss of incurring the additional shipping expense of having to return it if it just doesn't work.

I wish you luck, but I think there may be better alternatives that you can order a sequined costume. But that's just my opinion.

who would you reccommend instead?

For inexpensive but nice Turkish? Lila's has nice stuff (although I haven't ordered from her) http://www.bellydancecostumes.com/- and you can't go wrong with the "affordable" section of the belly dance store. Belly Dance Costumes | Belly Dance Store.com: gallery
Plus - my friend Naj, proprietor of the Belly Dance Shoppe is having a huge sale:BellyDanceShoppe.com - Everything for the BellyDancer

They're all in the US so shipping is very reasonable, and the quality of all three is good for the money. Naj carries a lot of lovely Yasser costumes and she's got them on sale, like I said.

Trolling Bhuz swap meet first and foremost; and remember to look around in the "searching for something belly dance" section, sometimes people offer costumes there to seekers that they don't have the time or motivation to post in swap meet; also dig through older swap meet posts and find costumes you like that don't appear to have sold, sometimes sellers will take offers that are made later on if their items don't sell right away. There are some nice costumes sold by vendors in the vendor thread sometimes you can find some discounts there.

If you're really set on ordering from overseas, Isis Exchange has some decent costumes for their prices, and there are a few reputable Egyptian overseas vendors on ebay as well, but I'm less familiar with them. Also, both Dahlal and the bellydance store offer layaway if you want something a little more pricey and are patient enough to pay over time.

Ohh yeah, Lila's stuff! My next costume is going to come from there, I've been oogling her stuff for ages!

This one would fit me and is very close to what I'm looking for.
Costume Gold 35

however I like this one a little better and it is cheaper. It look decently made in the picture but I know that looks can be decieving, and pictures are not always accurrate.
http://turkish-emporium.com/moreinfo...Dancer_Costume

I have had both Lila's and Turkish Emporium costumes in my hand and have to say that Lila's are far better constructed. It will last you for years. I would highly recommend her costumes if the Turkish Bedlah is what you're looking for.

I recently bought 6 bedlah belts from Turkish Emporium, Kaplan, the same model that you like. I don't know about the bras but the belts are FANTASTIC! Sturdily built, not ONE sequin out of place after many ours of rehearsals and shows (used for Rroma /turkish style dance so they have to be really tough, coin belts don't last long ..c::)

We had them custom made, it took them 4 weeks and arrived via dhl (and we hadn't even payed for special delivery). The guy that we spoke to is Andrew and he was extremely helpful and honest. We gave him the exact date that we'd be needing the belts for and he made sure we got them in time.

All in all we're really happy with how they turned out, they have special troupe prices, huge colour palette and great quality. Will def buy again.

I might have some photos of the belts somewhere if you want to see. ..g.: