Hearing the word “east”, a beautiful young girl in a seductive bright outfit appears. Thanks to its originality, lightness, and colorfulness, oriental costume has become a symbol of something mysterious and inaccessible, and at the same time alluring and attractive.
Modern women try on this attire to conquer a man. Some people go to oriental dance classes, while others start taking it seriously. But in order for the dance to become expressive and the dancer to be more seductive, a special costume is needed - a costume for oriental dances.
Costume base
Typical stage oriental belly dance costumes are based on a base that includes a bodice and a belt. Why is it convenient to create such a foundation? The bodice and belt can be worn with a variety of bloomers and skirts. If the base of the suit is made in gold or silver colors, the trousers and skirt can be of any color. If the base is made, for example, in emerald or purple, the skirt for this outfit should be chosen to match.
A less expensive costume for beginner dancers would be one that is decorated with sequins and beads, as well as bugles, coins, fringe, braid and beads. Inexpensive acrylic stones can be added. In a more expensive version, Swarovski stones are used on jewelry. You can find a copy of the stones in the Chinese version. They are also glass, the quality is no worse, and the colors are different. All that remains is to decide on the color that will be the basis for the oriental beauty’s costume.
The attractive power of beautiful accessories
You can complete the image of an oriental dancer with exquisite jewelry. Since many dance steps are performed using the arms, shoulders, stomach and hips, these are the parts of the body that are worth emphasizing. Focus on the stomach and hips with the help of an original belt, fashionable trim from stones or coins, accessories for hands (rings, rings, bracelets). Such oriental decorations are appropriate not only in belly dancing, but also in other exotic numbers.
Various accessories highlight the dancer’s skill well.
Suits with arm ruffles, sequins or fringe look original when moving the belly. The neckline is emphasized with a choker or necklace to match the suit. A light cape made of organza or chiffon will create a flair of mystery. Oriental belly dancing or belly dancing drives you crazy with its flexible movements, shiny costume details and tinkling decorations.
Swords, candelabra, snakes are also an indispensable attribute of provocative dances
What if you liven up oriental belly dancing or belly dancing with metal timpani (sagatas or cymbals)? They are worn on the thumb and middle finger. With masterful use of sagatas, a sophisticated viewer literally succumbs to hypnosis at the sight of belly dancing. Unusual decorations for oriental belly dance include:
- a candelabra or patterned candlestick with lit candles that controls the dancer's soft step
- a cane balancing on the head, chest, thigh (its correct holding emphasizes the dancer’s excellent plasticity)
- silk or chiffon scarf for oriental dance or vail, which becomes an exciting part of the dance
- sword, saber, blade, adding danger and magnetism to movements
Learning oriental dances is a painstaking and difficult task.
Beautiful decorations of oriental dance - scarves - are ideal for combinations: figure eight, throws, “pyramid”, “wings of Isis”. Dance with fire is quite common in Eastern culture. It is recommended to perform it in trousers, with your hair in a bun for safety reasons. And don’t forget about the provocative belly dance with a snake!
Another exotic attribute of oriental dance is the python.
How to make a bodice?
If the costume is for an adult girl, you need to buy a regular bra, one size larger than the dancer’s bust. Why more? Because after the bodice is trimmed with decorations, it will shrink both under the bust and in the cup itself. Some girls who practice oriental dancing prefer to sew the bodice themselves, purchasing cups from the store. But this is a very difficult job. It’s easier to choose a ready-made bra for your chest, and then use it to make a bra for a suit. You should pay attention to how it sits on your chest. If something is wrong, it is better to choose a different bra.
First of all, cut it as shown in the photo below. We cover the cups with fabric selected for the suit. To do this, place the fabric face down on the cup to make darts. They are marked in the photo with a dashed red line. Sew them on a typewriter. We turn the fabric right side out and put it on the cup, trim off the excess fabric just enough to fold it inward and hem it.
Side straps are made as follows. Make a cut of the cut side straps on any dense material, lengthening it in the fastener area. This is done in order to have a fixed length of the strap, and not stretched, as in a bra. Place this cut on dublerin or any adhesive fabric. Trim excess fabric.
Using an iron, iron the adhesive base to the wrong side of the fabric that will be used to cover the side straps. Fold the side strap placed on the adhesive base with the fabric. Fold the fabric and stitch. The edge that will be sewn to the cup is processed with a zigzag. The photo shows that the edge with the clasp is not turned up. It is drawn up at the end of the work, when the bodice is ready and the comfortable length of the straps has been determined. At the ends, hooks for fastening or loops are sewn into which the lacing is pulled, which is convenient for adjusting the tension. The shoulder straps are made to the length required, from finishing fabric set on an adhesive backing, and can be decorated in the same way as the bodice itself.
Fashionable colors
Dance models are available in various colors. But the gold color is considered the most popular. It looks luxurious, shimmers and sparkles with the dancer’s exciting movements.
Dark-skinned girls choose white clothes. The color gives the charm of a southern dark complexion and visually slims the dancer. Looks harmonious with a yellow or red belt.
The black robe looks mysterious and enigmatic. The addition will be gold embroidery. The tandem will emphasize sexuality, make a woman attractive and at the same time inaccessible.
A red suit suits all skin tones. The model stands out with its brightness and attracts increased attention from others.
When choosing an outfit of one color or another, focus on individual characteristics and your own taste. After all, it is known that when a woman likes herself, she becomes irresistible.
Sleeve in a suit
There is one more detail to the oriental costume for girls - sleeves in the form of lanterns. They are usually made from the same fabric as the skirt or harem pants. They give the dancer grace in dance. The flashlight is made either as a separate element of the costume, or is sewn to the shoulder strap. The sleeve should not fit the arm, but be fluffy. In this case, in combination with a skirt or trousers, it will look rich. The sleeve may have an unstitched cut along the upper part. The cut can be used to make the same decorations as the cut sides of the trousers.
Majestic velvet and flowing chiffon in oriental belly dance
When choosing a costume for belly dancing, Indian Bollywood or tribal, take into account fashion trends in the stage fashion industry. For oriental dances, a long skirt should not be easy to look beautiful. It should look aesthetically pleasing on a tanned body, surrounded by stylish jewelry and a rhythmic melody.
Stylish belts are an indispensable attribute of a belly dance costume
How about fine silk wrapped in a shawl belt with glittering monstres and other embellishments? And here's sliding satin framed by dancing fringe, multi-layered flowing chiffon to highlight a flat stomach and slender legs. Skirts for oriental belly dancing or belly dancing go well with a bodice, velvet top, inlaid with natural stones, expensive crystals or beads.
An oriental woman is beautiful not only on stage!
For lovers of Arab oriental “fairy tales on stage”, it is better to change into a thin Gemlek shirt, an entari caftan, wide trousers with an elasticated ankle and a jacket-vest. Super closed costumes can be seen on Syrian, Israeli and Lebanese dancers. The main element of stage costumes for such girls is called a tob and resembles a robe dress.
There are countless varieties of oriental dances
Belt for oriental costume
You can use felt for the base of the belt. There is a softer one, but it will not hold its shape as well as the denser one. But thin ones can also be used by folding them in several layers. You need to buy felt in a large size (it is usually sold in pieces). It should be enough to form the hip belt of an oriental costume. The simplest option is when a narrow belt is made. You can make it a wave. It is better to create a belt in two parts: front and back. When sewing, you need to make a small margin so that, if necessary, the belt can be slightly increased or decreased. Usually the reserve is made on the side in the fastener.
Sheathing material
The next stage is the selection of material with which the base of the oriental costume will be trimmed. As a rule, this can be supplex fabric, from which swimsuits are sewn. The entire bra is covered with this fabric, not just the cup, so it is important that it does not lose elasticity and stretch. This fabric is also used on the belt, only in this case it does not stretch, but is fixed according to the felt belt pattern.
Many people use satin, thick silk and velvet as lining materials. Undoubtedly, these fabrics look very beautiful, but they are more suitable for sewing the base for children's oriental costumes, where there is no bra, and the upper part is sewn in the form of a cut-down blouse covering the chest. Moreover, the more beautiful the fabric, the less effort you need to put into decorating it. In a suit for a girl, you can sew a belt together with trousers, as in the photo below.
Costume design
After the base of the costume is covered with material, you need to start decorating. You should decide what will be sewn or glued on the bodice and belt of the oriental costume. Beaded stones with hanging beads look much richer than a sequined suit. The work of embroidering sequins in combination with beads is the most labor-intensive. The bodice of the suit is decorated with the selected material.
There are belts that have a relief pattern with curved ends, as in the photo below. If you are going to sew an oriental dance costume with your own hands with a complex belt that contains cut-out parts, you need to think about how to make the openwork part solid. No matter how dense the fabric of the belt is, under the weight of the embroidery it will sag and the back surface will be visible. Here you need clamps, they can be wire or whalebone. In this case, the shape will hold.
The belt in the photo has intricate embroidery, and the hanging is made not with tassels, but with waves of small beads. The belt of an oriental costume has a center at the back. The front part of the belt does not have a center, this is convenient for the case when a young dancer gains or loses some weight and needs to increase or decrease the volume in the side seam.
The flower depicted in front lies as if on the side and looks impressive. It is more difficult to make changes to a belt centered in front and behind if the dancer's size changes. Therefore, before you start embroidering a belt, you should think about the above problem. You can make a fastener at the back using two strong Velcro strips. In this case, there is no need to embroider or narrow the belt. Just move the Velcro. It won’t be visible from a distance, but the belt looks solid.
Additional accessories for the costume
To create a memorable image of a dancer, bracelets on arms and legs, golden cords, and beautiful elongated earrings are used as additional decorations for the costume of an oriental beauty. The monisto that adorns the dancer’s neck looks original. During the dance, it makes a characteristic ringing sound and matches the color and style of the costume. It can be made from pearls, coins and glass beads.
To add charm and charm to an oriental dance costume, dancers use many different accessories: shawls and scarves, scarves and headbands, sleeves and gloves.
Hat and ballet shoes
An outfit wouldn't look completely complete without a fez and veil or a moniseet for the head. A fez cap is usually made from a material such as felt or corduroy. You can also knit a fez yourself from large yarn. It includes a round bottom to which a small strip is sewn along the entire circumference of the fez. The headdress should not be too high; a veil made of chiffon or nylon is attached to it.
The hat itself can be decorated with various decorations, for example, braid, beads or fringe. Nobody canceled the head decoration either. If desired, it can be decorated with strings of beads, attaching to them a small veil or a hoop decorated with feathers and sparkles.
Important! Shoes should also not be left unnoticed. You can use regular shoes, but decorated with a variety of decorations.
Option with a skirt
Trousers
To sew harem pants, you can use a pattern of loose trousers. The best material for them would be translucent lightweight silk, knitwear or gauze. The details of the legs can be expanded, since the top will be made with elastic. The length of the trouser legs is taken 15-20 cm longer so that there is an overhang at the bottom. On the sides, the seams should not be continuous in the area from the middle of the thigh to the ankle. The unstitched sides of the legs can be decorated with metallic decorations, sequins, or any decorations that are harmonious with the basis of the suit.
Skirt
An oriental dance skirt is another option in an oriental dance costume. In the classic version, this is a semi-sun skirt. The fabric should be thin and flowing. Crepe satin is ideal. Having made the cut of the skirt, you need to sew it along the seam. The top edge of the skirt needs to be zigzag and tucked. Thread the elastic into the drawstring. Next, you need to let the skirt hang for a couple of days. To do this, you need, as an option, to attach the top of the skirt, taut, to the rope with clothespins.
Put the skirt on yourself and ask them to trim the bottom to fit you. You will see that the skirt sags in the front, so you will have to cut more at the front. Hem the bottom with a zigzag. Don't be embarrassed by the uneven hem; when you put the skirt on you will see that it is actually the same distance from the floor. Every seamstress knows this secret, and girls who sew an oriental costume with their own hands should know about it.
Oriental clothing style for men
The wardrobe for the stronger half is characterized by restraint and less expressiveness. The suit may contain small spots of accessories that hint at oriental affiliation - printed scarves, thin scarves, and ties.
A clear affiliation with a fashionable style can be indicated with the help of wide trousers. The vast geography of origin offers them various names: Afghanis, Aladdins, Sultans, peacocks, Punjabis, Zouaves, shalwars, etc. Simply put, these are pants with a loose fit or a low waistband. The original model can be found in the national costumes of the peoples of Central Asia, the Balkans, Greece, the Middle and Far East, India, China, and Japan.
The reason for the emergence and great popularity of wide pants was their loose fit, thanks to which residents of hot countries felt comfortable. Clothing reliably covers the body from the sun and allows air to pass through well.
In modern fashion catalogs, the term “saruel” is more common, denoting all types of trousers with a saggy part between the legs. Today, oriental trousers are full representatives of the urban clothing style and do not have a distinct gender identity.
