Egyptian Male Jellabiya for dancing.

Tanglefoot

New member
My next question is about the Jellabiya worn by Egyptian male oriental dancers such as Miro and Tito Seif that I know of, I need to know what is the uniform, what does the dress consist of, secondly does anyone know of any online patterns for such or at least a legible design that a pattern can be drawn from and finally what fabric is suggested for the garment suitable for oriental dance?

The teacher has the idea that I should be wearing decorated black, as it is I always dress in black for classes and the rest of the mob, lighter colours, but ideally she wants us all in Jellabiyas because the choreo we will be dancing is Baladi, where, yeah, we kind of like Baladi and have been at it most of the year.
 

Daimona

Moderator
I would go for cotton, but you could probably use any fabric as long as it is comfortable to wear and not too stiff or don't get too hot (so my choice would basically be natural fabrics).

It is basically a long shirt.
Take a look at the plates of this book to get inspiration for designs: http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/etext/tilke/
The drawings make it relatively easy to make your own pattern (such as plate 18 and 19).
 
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Kashmir

New member
For a man - white. They also wear blue or grey (avoid green!!). Black is usually the colour of the overcoat. There are different cuts depending on where you are from - for instance a sa`iidi gallibaya has very wide sleeves; the Saudi version has a collar. http://www.raqs.co.nz/me/clothing_shirt.html

However, if there are women in your class, the female version is a little different and includes more decoration. Usually for dance, women will wear a beledi dress which is more fitted and works better for dance. I haven't seen an equivalent for men - other than Fifi's white gallibaya which she holds against her body with a scarf.
 

Amulya

Moderator
I would just get one from EBay, the thing is the front buttons are made in a very specifical way (the buttons are made of embroidery), so you get the most authentic looking one, they come in many colours.
 

Tanglefoot

New member
For a man - white. They also wear blue or grey (avoid green!!). Black is usually the colour of the overcoat. There are different cuts depending on where you are from - for instance a sa`iidi gallibaya has very wide sleeves; the Saudi version has a collar. http://www.raqs.co.nz/me/clothing_shirt.html

However, if there are women in your class, the female version is a little different and includes more decoration. Usually for dance, women will wear a beledi dress which is more fitted and works better for dance. I haven't seen an equivalent for men - other than Fifi's white gallibaya which she holds against her body with a scarf.


H'mmm yes avoid green, understandably so.
 

Safran

New member
I've seen male dancers wear a lot of different jellabiyas or jellabiya-inspired costumes. I understand it is your first costume? In that case I would suggest cotton too. If you need to wear a sash on your hips, it is easier to keep it in place. And, it will be more universal - you could do both bellydance and folklore with it.

As for decorating, I think Tito has a lot of really nice traditional costumes that are nicely decorated, so you can get inspiration from him.
 

Aniseteph

New member
If you want a pattern rather than drafting your own, there's a folkwear pattern for a shirt with instructions for lengthening: http://www.folkwear.com/104.html

Or this? http://www.jaycotts.co.uk/products/b5725 Butterick patterns are easy to find. I've used Jaycotts before for sewing bits and pieces, no problems, the postage is usually less than what it cost to trek out to a sewing shop if you haven't got one locally.

OK, apart from that it'd look like some weird scrubs outfit especially with a matching hat, why not green? Dancing surgeon, not a good look...
 

Tanglefoot

New member
If you want a pattern rather than drafting your own, there's a folkwear pattern for a shirt with instructions for lengthening: http://www.folkwear.com/104.html

Or this? http://www.jaycotts.co.uk/products/b5725 Butterick patterns are easy to find. I've used Jaycotts before for sewing bits and pieces, no problems, the postage is usually less than what it cost to trek out to a sewing shop if you haven't got one locally.

OK, apart from that it'd look like some weird scrubs outfit especially with a matching hat, why not green? Dancing surgeon, not a good look...


Green it is said is the colour of Allah and you know that rule about not dancing to any song that has mention of Allah in it, it could be garments in green is for the same reason - possibly offensive.
 

Aniseteph

New member
Thanks - I didn't know that. I've never heard of green being dodgy for (females') belly dance costumes but then belly dancers are so disapproved of that it's probably neither here nor there what colour they are wearing.

Just went googling to edumacate myself further and instead of green I found a couple of references to red being disapproved of for men! I give up, time to stop googling stuff I know nothing about...:rolleyes:
 

Tanglefoot

New member
It's a sad fact that no matter what you do what research you undertake in order not to cause offence, you will always find someone that doesn't agree, where really is that more about them, what they are as a person than anything else.

In class I dance in black with a red side tying velvet kuchi coined sash, where my coins do not come off, I made sure of that, hence the interest in black for costume, it's part of my usual appearance where the teacher is even suggesting I find a red silk veil to replace my lightning storm tie die cheapie.
 

Aniseteph

New member
I mostly wear black in class too, though I've set myself a bit of a rule to stop buying black because it makes it so hard to find the particular top or pair of leggings I'm looking for. Note to self: make your life easier, and what is wrong with a bit of colour?

For costumes the downside to black is disappearing against dark backgrounds eg stage backdrops, especially if the rest of the group are in bright colours. White or off white is the classic, and will go with any colour sash. :cool:
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Somewhere I read that Islam is not to be represented by star and crescent or a color or any other symbol and that to do so was "shirk" and placed a pagan symbol as a representation of Allah. I've also read that Mohammed wore green.

My first costume was forest green and silver even though I was told green was frowned upon, apparently because it didn't look well under lights. Might have some relation to how ghastly green stage lights make people look. Green in parts of the British Islands was thought to be the color of the Others and therefore bad luck to wear because it attracted the Others' unwanted attention. It used to be considered especially bad luck to be married in green. I thought perhaps green-bashing was an introduction to belly dance from other traditions.
 

Daimona

Moderator
If a black costume with a colorful sash around the make you most comfortable to enter the stage, just go for it.

Yes, a black costume will disappear against a dark background, but you could always make another one in another color later. Or why not make one black and one white at the same time?
 

Tanglefoot

New member
The venue is brightly lit against a light background, a church hall would you believe with limited guest numbers where if the last Hafla was anything to go by, the audience were all dancers.

I didn't dance obviously as I had lost the middle bit of the choreo somehow where if I am not confident I know it, no chance I won't do it, but my teacher got me dancing towards the end where I was on the verge of a panic attack, but I managed and others had been watching and wanted to know why I wasn't performing as they said from what they saw I was good. Anyway an inquiry into the dancers in my region via facebook, I had to ask that question; are there any more male dancers down here, where the answer to that was no, I'm the only one eeeeeeeeeeeeek.

Ya know it would be a lot easier if I wasn't the only one, but I am on the spot, and I am sodding introvert, hence my latest idea, the dance persona as this next Hafla I am determined I am going to do it.
 
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Duvet

Member
Hey Tanglefoot, at least you've got no competition and few dancers you'll get compared against! You can create your own style and image. I'm sure you will, and you'll be a delight to watch.
 

Tanglefoot

New member
If you want a pattern rather than drafting your own, there's a folkwear pattern for a shirt with instructions for lengthening: http://www.folkwear.com/104.html

Or this? http://www.jaycotts.co.uk/products/b5725 Butterick patterns are easy to find. I've used Jaycotts before for sewing bits and pieces, no problems, the postage is usually less than what it cost to trek out to a sewing shop if you haven't got one locally.

OK, apart from that it'd look like some weird scrubs outfit especially with a matching hat, why not green? Dancing surgeon, not a good look...


But yes, thankyou Aniseteph the folkwear pattern, I have been contacted by another male dancer elsewhere in the world that also recommends that pattern of which he uses for performance costume, lengthened obviously, where he added folkwear, he has not found another outlet as good.
 

Duvet

Member
Green is a holy colour in Islam. Descendants of the prophet Mohammed have the privilege of wearing a green turban (Mohammed's favourite colour). Wearing green might remind people of the Al Khadr, the mysterious messenger of Allah who appears entirely clothed in green.
 
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