Thought Provoking Belly Dance Costumes: the good, the bad and the hideous

Shanazel

Moderator
Oh, falls! I wondered what in the heck those blue things were. So they get attached to one's real hair for the wild tribal look? And come in twos?

I'd love to see a picture of them in use- having sort of a hard time imagining them. Get a "blue pigtails on Dorothy in Oz" vision and surely that can't be right.
 

Amulya

Moderator
Did some googling, here in this blog is a picture what you can do with them:
The Art of Can Tabistry: Tabistry Tribal Headband
(I can't figure out what the rest of the blog exactly is because they pictures of the stuff she makes are unclear)
Another example:
ThatBohemianGirl - My Bohemian Queen  Tribal fusion dancer Rachel...
The older type of falls with the shells.
Another:
http://legacythumbs.weheartit.netdna-cdn.com/20090331190331.jpg

It's hard to find good pictures! There aren't many. There a a lot of BAD examples though, some of them here:
tribal hair fall on Etsy, a global handmade and vintage marketplace.
 

Sirène

New member

Well, Rachel Brice... you didn't expect bad hair falls on her, did you? :lol: ;)

Be prepared to drool :D, these are amazing, I love the top on best, the beading is just divine:

(I would never dare to put that much work into a costume, you never know when the boob-fairy visits and can't risk that)

Wowsers... nice beads. :shok: :clap: I imagine that even if the boob-fairy came along slinging her wand, the costumes could still be sold for a pretty penny due to the workmanship.
 
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Shanazel

Moderator
Incredible! I love the effect made by the vertical colored sequins.

Someone needs to drop something on that darn boob fairy or at least convince her to take her excess boobage where it might be appreciated.
 

Amulya

Moderator
The boob fairy is an old Bhuz term! I love the word, not the boob fairy herself.

You can never get enough money for the hours that went into a costume like that, even if you get $1500 for it, it wouldn't cover the hours of work. I am not even mentioning the price of the beads!
 

LunaXJJ

New member


Thoughts? I personally don't like it. Dress with a cut out and a bra? Plus even the decor of the bra can't take away from the distracting yellow... things hanging off it.
 

PracticalDancer

New member


Thoughts? I personally don't like it. Dress with a cut out and a bra? Plus even the decor of the bra can't take away from the distracting yellow... things hanging off it.

Well, that is a version of a Beledi dress, and it is very traditional. As I understand it, the best fit for it is either to have the scoop come right up under the bra or to have the scoop come down to where the top of the belt would fit, so that the belly is exposed but the sides are covered. I, personally, prefer the former fit. Because of the construction, the dress cannot hold the weight of built-in belt like adornments; so, one can wear a scarf, or the belt of the bedlah, or the appliques with fringe like she has. You may not like it, but it is traditional. (shrug)

And, for what it is worth, I found her dancing (in both numbers!) to be lovely.

A quote my grandmother often used was, "'To each his own' said the old lady, as she kissed the cow."

some beledi examples:

Belly Dance Costumes | Belly Dance Store.com: gallery (a very modern one)

slightly more rounded cut, a little more traditional: Belly Dance Costumes | Belly Dance Store.com: gallery

One with some fringe at the hips: Belly Dance Costumes | Belly Dance Store.com: gallery

One with a belt: Belly Dance Costumes | Belly Dance Store.com: gallery

These are all from the same vendor and sold at the same time, so you will see some similarity among them after you know what to look for.

The dress in the video is a bit more . . . well, I have seen it worn well by some dancers with many steps across the stage, so to speak. This may indicate their desire to be more covered, but still be lovely. One dancer whom I enjoy watching tends to perform in dresses with these accents (but without the cutout). Can't access a photo for you, but I will keep hunting.

And, if it helps, the "boob scoop" is actually based on the neckline of the old Turkish or Ghawazee coats. The short descendent of this is the turkish vest, the tall descendent is the beledi dress. Beledi dresses can have long, bell shaped sleeves, whereas the coats have a tighter sleeve with a long strip of fabric hanging from the elbow. Beledi dresses may have one or two slits on the side to the knee (higher if pants are to be worn), whereas the coats may have 4 slits (and pants definitely worn underneath).

That's enough fashion history for now . . . back to lunch, then work!
 
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gisela

Super Moderator

wooow this is pretty! I could do without the extra fabric on the skirt and the arm though. I don't think it matches the rest.
 

Ariadne

Well-known member
I like the asymmetry of it but it does feel a little unbalanced. I think adding a wrist decoration on the opposite side from the arm drape would finish it off nicely though.



Thoughts? I personally don't like it. Dress with a cut out and a bra? Plus even the decor of the bra can't take away from the distracting yellow... things hanging off it.

Well Anala covered beledi dresses pretty well but with that said... I don't like it either. I've never seen one without sleeves before and the yellow fringe just does not match the bra in any way.
 

Sirène

New member
Thoughts? I personally don't like it. Dress with a cut out and a bra? Plus even the decor of the bra can't take away from the distracting yellow... things hanging off it.

It's not to my personal taste — the fringe is way too long, and the material is boring — but she wears it well.

I think she'd look fabulous in a badlat raqs/fustan raqs but sadly you don't see the style very often. (Shira does a great write-up of them on her site, naturally :D)

I've been drooling over this purple one in the swapmeet section of Bhuz for months.

Caroline Labrie wears a gorgeous one in this clip:

 

LunaXJJ

New member
Well, that is a version of a Beledi dress, and it is very traditional. As I understand it, the best fit for it is either to have the scoop come right up under the bra or to have the scoop come down to where the top of the belt would fit, so that the belly is exposed but the sides are covered. I, personally, prefer the former fit. Because of the construction, the dress cannot hold the weight of built-in belt like adornments; so, one can wear a scarf, or the belt of the bedlah, or the appliques with fringe like she has. You may not like it, but it is traditional. (shrug)

And, for what it is worth, I found her dancing (in both numbers!) to be lovely.

A quote my grandmother often used was, "'To each his own' said the old lady, as she kissed the cow."


I thought she was a good dancer too. Turned out to be quite the addition to the thread seeing all the discussion that came of it. I like the sleeved examples that were posted better, and a scarf or at least matching adornments would have been an improvement. They just stick out so much, and like Ariadne said, the color of the fringe is off.
 
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