What to wear under a ghawazee dress?
- Thread starter Nazeera
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Farasha Hanem
New member
:think: I think the question might be, "what do Egyptians wear under a ghawazee dress?" If you're doing an authentic ghawazee dance, I wouldn't think a tribal bra or choli would be culturally appropriate, but I could very well be wrong. :think:
Kashmir
New member
If you are wearing a ghawazee coat (not the 20th century dresses with the glass fringe and bumpers) you should have your mid-section covered. Traditional wear would be a mid calf chemise-like garment and large harem pants - or you can keep the coat buttoned and wear a fake undergarment. Actually even properly dressed you should have most of the buttons done up - not having the coat flapping about.
Around you hips should be a plain shawl or length of fabric - not a coin belt.
Around you hips should be a plain shawl or length of fabric - not a coin belt.
Jane
New member
If you are wearing a fantasy costume you can wear a coin or plain costume bra underneath your Gawazee coat. The fantasy Gawazee coats are often cut under the bust and under the armpits, so you absolutely need coverage. Some dancers put a gomlek underneath their dance bra as a nod to folkloric costume.
A fantasy Gawazee coat:
This coat appears to be made from an Atira's Fashion pattern from the 70s. These coats have been popular with American Oriental style dancers for many years. They are not accurate for real folk dance or historic costuming. It is well made and very pretty for certain venues looking for more of a "could have been" vibe. I've seen a lot of dancers put a coin or plain dance bra over the gomlek even for fantasy costume. When I wore this style that's what I did. I have to say I'm not keen on those pointy things in her hair. I have no idea where they came from and all I can think of is a porcupine. Too weird for me.
If you are trying to recreate an actual folk costume: A Gawazee coat is correctly called an entari. To be culturally correct you wear a gomlek underneath which is a long linen or cotton under tunic that goes down to mid-calf and has full length sleeves. The gomlek is worn over the shalwar (pants) and is not tucked in.
Ottoman dancing women wearing their native entari:
With the real entari ensembles you get to wear a tarpush; a little pill box style hat. It's the per-cursor to a fez.
P.S. It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezes are cool.
A fantasy Gawazee coat:
This coat appears to be made from an Atira's Fashion pattern from the 70s. These coats have been popular with American Oriental style dancers for many years. They are not accurate for real folk dance or historic costuming. It is well made and very pretty for certain venues looking for more of a "could have been" vibe. I've seen a lot of dancers put a coin or plain dance bra over the gomlek even for fantasy costume. When I wore this style that's what I did. I have to say I'm not keen on those pointy things in her hair. I have no idea where they came from and all I can think of is a porcupine. Too weird for me.
If you are trying to recreate an actual folk costume: A Gawazee coat is correctly called an entari. To be culturally correct you wear a gomlek underneath which is a long linen or cotton under tunic that goes down to mid-calf and has full length sleeves. The gomlek is worn over the shalwar (pants) and is not tucked in.
Ottoman dancing women wearing their native entari:
With the real entari ensembles you get to wear a tarpush; a little pill box style hat. It's the per-cursor to a fez.
P.S. It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezes are cool.
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Farasha Hanem
New member
Jane
New member
What I'm trying to say if you didn't read the above tl;dr wall of text diatribe:
If you're wearing a fantasy costume "Gawazee coat", it doesn't matter what you wear under it because it's already a "fantasy." As long as your ta-tas aren't hanging out you're okay.
If you want a historic or folk costume, there are rules.
If you're wearing a fantasy costume "Gawazee coat", it doesn't matter what you wear under it because it's already a "fantasy." As long as your ta-tas aren't hanging out you're okay.
If you want a historic or folk costume, there are rules.
Nazeera
New member
Thanks for the ideas. Yes this would be for the fantasy ghawazee coat. I'm trying to come up with a dance costume for a larp event. For us dancers the idea is to have tribalish style costumes that "could have been" seen in a medieval type setting. So modern takes/interpretations on historical middle eastern work. In the larp game, we dancers represent a nomadic traveling, or as I call it "fantasy gypsy", culture. Personally, I liked the look of the ghawazee coat. I wanted to stay covered for times when I'm interacting and in game character, but nice to dance in and form fitting.
nitewindz
New member
Sounds like fun! The Atira pattern runs small. Measure the actual pattern pieces and compare them to your own measurements and remember to add a little bit for ease. Simplicity 2159 is a nice coat, with a version cut under the bust (like Atira) and over the bust.
(SewingPatterns.com)
(SewingPatterns.com)
nitewindz
New member
Thomas Edison filmed a short clip of a bellydancer named Fatima in 1896. It is famous for being censored. In the uncensored version you can see something round and shiny on her costume, but the image isn't clear enough to see what they are
Little Egypt 1896 - YouTube
The Oulid Nail in Algeria wore coin covered headpieces.
The traveling exhibit Treasures of Ur includes the burial costume of a royal woman. She wears a crown, large chest covering collar, and matching belt around her waist. I couldn't find a photo of the set online quickly, but the crown is here Royal Treasures of Mesopotamia
It is made not from coins, but gold leaf shapes. Pretty closely resembles coins and if I had that belt, I'd wear it to dance in!
When Jamilia Salimpour designed the first costumes for Bal Anat, which later evolved into ATS & Fusion costuming, she drew on images like these for inspiration. The idea of wearing coins is not new, but the idea of wearing them as a belly dance belt is a modern interpretation.
Little Egypt 1896 - YouTube
The Oulid Nail in Algeria wore coin covered headpieces.
The traveling exhibit Treasures of Ur includes the burial costume of a royal woman. She wears a crown, large chest covering collar, and matching belt around her waist. I couldn't find a photo of the set online quickly, but the crown is here Royal Treasures of Mesopotamia
It is made not from coins, but gold leaf shapes. Pretty closely resembles coins and if I had that belt, I'd wear it to dance in!
When Jamilia Salimpour designed the first costumes for Bal Anat, which later evolved into ATS & Fusion costuming, she drew on images like these for inspiration. The idea of wearing coins is not new, but the idea of wearing them as a belly dance belt is a modern interpretation.
AndreaSTL
New member
Nothing new to add as far as the OP, but when I clicked over to watch the Little Egypt clip in the link this was in the sidebar. I couldn't resist! If you need some sweet new dance moves or costuming tips there's some great stuff here. :lol: Elvis Presley - Little Egypt - YouTube
Ariadne
Well-known member
I would recommend a layered look then.
Folkwear Pattern #108
The idea is that they would wear whatever they had while traveling and layers can be removed if it's to hot. Pants, gomlek, fitted vest, entari, jacket (the gomlek and entari can be made from the same pattern). For medieval rather then renaissance the vest needs to be longer, well past the waist, and the cut of your entari should not be below the bust.
Simplicity has an Entari pattern now.
2159 - Misses' Costumes
You'll want to adjust the sleeves if you are actually going to dance in it if not just leaving the arm pits open. The neckline can be tweaked to your hearts content and pattern C shortened can be used for a vest. In all honesty there wasn't a wide variety in patterns back then. Any one entari pattern can give you the pattern for your gomlek, vest (c/hirka), and entari.
*Patterns at the end -> Female Turkish Garb
But to answer your original question a halter top/choli will be fine until you can get or make something better.
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Jane
New member
For historical clarification, there is a large difference in fashion after the Turkic tribes started moving West from Central Asia. Medieval Middle/Near East clothing underwent a cultural shift from tunic based styles to the coat based style of the Central Asians. What you want to wear depends on what was politically happening in a specific area in a given time. Travelers/merchants would not have worn anything from anywhere, they would have worn what their family group traditionally wore. Clothing was a huge part of religious and cultural identity and would not have changed with an individual or group due to even extended travel. Christian Constantinople fell to the Muslim Turks in 1453. The clothing being worn by the people before the invasion was descended from the Roman Byzantine styles. The fashion shift was not immediate, it took a while depending on your class. The entari coat style clothing spread with the takeover of the Ottoman Empire. Medieval Middle and Near Eastern clothing looked more like this one:
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/184432_397615976985184_1387808436_n.jpg
To an informed eye, an Atira's fashion pattern Ghawazee coat looks like a modern American adaption of an 19 C. entari. The fabric layout, construction, and line are all modern era. This is fine if that's what you want, just know going in that this is what it is and make an informed decision on what you want to do.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/184432_397615976985184_1387808436_n.jpg
To an informed eye, an Atira's fashion pattern Ghawazee coat looks like a modern American adaption of an 19 C. entari. The fabric layout, construction, and line are all modern era. This is fine if that's what you want, just know going in that this is what it is and make an informed decision on what you want to do.
Afrit
New member
A "belly dance belt" itself is new. Traditionally people just wore their normal clothes which usually meant a scarf around the hips for emphasis. And none of the examples you give include wearing money across the butt. It was used like jewellery - around the neck, across the chest, in the hair - not as a belt around the hips.