BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Belly Dancing costuming - do you buy or make your outfits?

I was curious as to whether other folks here made or bought their belly dance outfits. I mean, you can't be dancing for too long before the lure of the luscious outfit comes over you, right?

So far, I'm tending towards the half & half approach: I'm taking basic things and embellishing them. For instance, I've got a bra that is just too boring, but fits well, and I'm sewing fringe all over it.

i am thinking on doing simular to what you are doing,I found a great site on how to coin your bras and such,and thought wow what a great idea!!.

at the moment I am into harem pants,I do like them alott,do you prefare a skirt?a skirt looks easier to make than the pants.

I would like to make my own belts and bra's at this point,I made myself a footless sandal,next time i am gonna try crocheting some beads in with it.

I too have a bra that is way too borring,but yetso comfortable to dance in,its plain black.

great topic!!

amanda
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I've bought bits of costumes online and pieced them together. We also have a couple of local shops that have some great pieces that can be put together and made into viable outfits. I just got my first professional costume and it's lovely. Every piece is hand tie-dyed, then we put our own red hipscarves with it and add a hand-dyed silk veil.

I'm definitely not a seamstress, though... but I can sew on a mean button! LOL

Amanda, where's the site on coining a bra, may I ask?

I've just sent off a red "foamy" bra (T-shirt bra) to get beads sewn all over it. :-)

http://www.annabella.net/coinbra.html


there ya go!

i make mine from scratch. it took about a month to do my most current one,because i dont use a sewing machine.
im verrrrry proud of it. i also made my own harem pants but those were easy.

I just got a blank belt form and am starting to sew my own belt. The outer fabric on the belt is some silk velvet that I dyed many years ago and then just held onto it, as I didn't know what to do with it... LOL...

Next up, the search for just the right fringe....

Hi, I'm the new Bellydance Editor. My dance name is Rhani and it is also my user name.

I feel that buying and then adding is a great way to make your own costume.

For instance, I like some of what Dina has done. She wears a lot of non traditional looks. So, I want to follow in that path.

Rhani -- Bellydance Editor

I'm starting to put together my belly dancing costume. I'm new to this and using it for exercise. I had a gastric bypass 3 years ago and need to firm up my tummy area. I've also admired those doing belly dancing and now I have the confidence to try myself.
I think I'll make some compnonents of my costume and buy others. Right now I'm searching for beautiful fabrics. I already have patterns.

[b][/b] :)Hi, this looks like a fun site! I kinda do a little belly dance, no one would ever mistake me for a professional dancer but its fun and not boring like some exercise routines. I have had several abdominal surgeries and the scars are very obvious, I feel uncomfortable showing them so I opt for a semi sheer tunic thing over a fancy bra and harem pants; long flowing sleeves. conceals the scars somewhat or at least it makes me think so! I make my own, have not seen any for sale that fit my needs and they're just practice/fun outfits anyway. I have a lot of bellydance videos I enjoy watching, lol and sometimes exercise to them too. BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Welcome! I'm so glad that you continue to belly dance. Those sheer tunics work well, and at the same time, it makes you feel sexy. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ronnette "Rhani" Ramirez, Bellaoline Bellydance Editor