Colour Co-Ordination
This section on our costuming tips and advice I must say is probably the most important things to keep in mind. Although you are dressing in colourful outfits made from lame or patterned fabric with motif decoration or fringing it is very important to keep in mind that your colours that you choose must match one another.
The reason I say this is because I have seen a dancer who had put together an outfit (from the local Chinese store I might add) and had different colours for her pants, skirt, belt and top which did not colour co-ordinate at all.
Stick to 2 colours when matching together your various costume pieces. I would even say to match 3 colours to your costume where 1 colour would be a neutral and the remaining 2 colours will enhance the costume as a whole.
Sit down and take a look at your costume and compare what colours match with it because after all it is what you are going to be wearing when you dance.
Examples of good colour combinations are:
- Red and gold
- Blue and silver
- Orange and bronze
- Pink and purple / gold
- Yellow and black
- Turquoise and silver
- Black and white
- Green and gold
- White and gold / silver / red / pink / blue / orange and so on.
- Black and gold / silver / red / pink / blue / orange and so on.
These are only a few examples and are not the golden rule as to the only colours that you can match together but should give you a good idea on what to look out for and what to match with certain colours.
Black and white is very neutral and can be matched up with various colours but again take care not use very contrasting colours with one another. You are not dressing up like a clown; you should be dressing elegantly like a belly dancer.
If you have bought a professionally made bra and belt set online it most likely will have more than one colour in it, however the colours which have been used in the belt and bra set, have been co-ordinated to match one another.
If the professional costume comes with a descent skirt, veil and harem pants and it matches your professional costume’s colour, then use those items to complete your belly dance costume.
If your professional costume does not come with a descent skirt, veil and harem pants which matches your professional bra and belt set (though it seldom does not match) then it is matching the correct skirt, harem pants, veil and accessories to it which makes the difference.
However if you are choosing to make your own belly dance costume it is very important to make sure you colour co-ordinate your material and other items to make your belly dance costume look and feel professional.
Costume care
Below is some costume care advice to make sure that your costume lasts you a very long time.
After each performance, lay your costume outside to air. This allows any sweat to evaporate and helps keep the costume smelling fresh and prevents moisture from in any way damaging the costume.
Always check for lost or loose hooks and eyes or beads before storing your costume and repair them so they'll be ready for the next show, even on a moment's notice.
Your harem pants should be made preferably without any heavily beaded decorations on it so that you may simply throw it in the washing machine (for your solid, durable fabrics) or hand wash them (for your more delicate fabrics)
Always shower before putting the costume on, and air your costume after wearing and they all look great, even after many years.
The best storage for beaded bras and belts is in a shoe box. Lay your belt around the inner circumference of the box, then fold the back-straps of the bra under and lay the bra cups-up in the centre of the box. You can also keep accessories like any matching jewellery, headbands, etc inside the box.
You can throw a scented sachet in the box, or even a few of those silica gel packets from various purchases to help absorb remaining moisture. The boxes stack neatly and if you label them on the outside, it’s easy to pick out the right costume when preparing for a show.
Beaded Dresses
Air your beaded dresses as well; leaving zippers open and spreading them out as much as possible. If the fabric of the dress gets a little sweaty smelling, you can use Febreze (or similar product) which is a spray-on odour remover.
Check your dress after each wear to make sure seams haven't split and do any necessary maintenance work if needed. Beaded dresses can also be stored in boxes. However, even with the stretchy knits, you can develop creases from a dress sitting too long in storage.
Instead, you could hang your beaded dresses on heavy wooden hangers and hang them (not by the shoulder straps) but rather folding them in half over the cross piece of the hanger. This keeps them from stretching through the arm and neck holes.
Veils
The method of storing all veils is pretty much the same. As with your costumes, always air your veils after performing. No, you don't sweat on your veils, but many restaurants or clubs allow smoking and nothing retains the reek of smoke like silk or chiffon.
To store your veils, gently fold them and place them in zip lock bags. The plastic bag method does not leave veils perfectly wrinkle-free, but it does protect them and it's easy to find the colour you're looking for, and makes it easy to pack them in your performance bag.
Take good care of your costumes off stage, and they will take good care of you onstage…