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

lilya

lilya

Member
I'm liking the same gorgeous green ones! Also almost loving the cooler green one (maybe if the snake on the bra was a little smaller) and the bright baby blue (?) shade, although I'm not sure how I feel about the dress itself. I wonder how it would have looked if that curved line was spiraling around the body, can't tell if it might be partially doing that already.

I find the white and red one unsettling but can't quite figure out why, I don't think I would have felt the same if the colours were a little different or at least something else than that crisp white.
Shanazel said:
View attachment 11033View attachment 11036
Click to expand...
Shanazel said:
More

View attachment 11039View attachment 11040View attachment 11041
Click to expand...

Edit: I think I know for the white and red one. Probably not green instead of white, then. Red-Eyed-Tree-Frog-full-864x475.jpg
 
Last edited:
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
The more I look at the green beledi dress, the better I like it. The scoop at the neckline is just enough to show the pretty bra. I don't care for the look where there neckline dips several inches below the bra, leaving a gap of skin.
 
Ariadne

Ariadne

Well-known member
I agree Shanazel. It's hard to find a beledi dress that manages that balance.
lilya said:
I find the white and red one unsettling but can't quite figure out why, I don't think I would have felt the same if the colours were a little different or at least something else than that crisp white.
Click to expand...
It is a very stark contrast.
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
Not a belly dance, BUT! I want this skirt:

[video=youtube;lnQI4K5UerY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnQI4K5UerY&feature=share[/video]
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
I suspect the skirt itself is very light, more than a full circle, with a stiff heavy hem to give the skirt swirl and sway. The fullness comes from the petticoats (a petticoat being nothing more than a specialized skirt meant to give support to an upper garment) made of something light and frothy-full with stiffly bordered hems.

HA! Based on the premise that SOMEONE SOMEWHERE has written a scholarly article on Ruth St. Denis nautch dances, I checked on line and found the very article. Within the article is this sentence:

For example, two distinct Nautch dances were recorded on silent black-and-white film by Carol Lynn at Jacob's Pillow in 1949 and 1950, respectively.' The White Nautch shows St. Denis in a white gagra, choli, and chunni (long veil draped on the head and upper torso) worn in the North Indian way, except for the billowing ruffled petticoats under the gagra.
Click to expand...

Paper should be accessible here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233204875_Ruth_St_Denis_and_India's_Dance_Renaissance

There are more photos of similar skirts. Ruth wasn't trying to be authentic but rather giving her own personal twist to a dance that had fallen into disrepute in its home country. Sounds to me like she added the petticoats to increase the dramatic movement of the skirt (gagra or ghagra).
 
Last edited:
Zorba

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
My definition of a petticoat is either a supporting skirt made mostly of tulle, or a hoop skirt. YMMV!
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
My childhood was both romanticized and made miserable by crinoline petticoats sewn into tight-waisted, full-skirted dresses fashionable for little girls in the early to mid sixties. Oh, the agony of scratchy material around my waist! Oh, the beauty of those full, crisp skirts! Oh, the relief of 1966 and tent dresses and A-line skirts! :lol:
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
We're talking south Texas heat and an extra layer of non-breathable fabric. ;) However, even a full slip didn't help guard from crinoline rash. The raw edges poked through everything. One simply suffered for fashionable beauty. Raw edges could've been bound in bias tape, I suppose, but my mother wasn't a seamstress and I was too young to know how to bind edges.
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
Hi, Aniseteph! Good to see you here. I'm going to be in London the end of April. Will wave toward Sussex!

People must do these designs on flat fabric without a thought as to where the design will fall when the costume is worn.
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
bd 1.jpgbd 2.jpgbd 3.jpgbd 4.jpg

The first is Cinderella Meets Baby Bell Dancer and might be adorable on a young girl. Love the deep teal color of the fourth costume.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top