Ladies, if you ever needed an excuse to indulge in dressing-up after you left school and had to be all sensible here it is. Belly dance can be done with or without the dressing-up side of things and there are as many styles of clothing as there are styles of belly dance and ladies who take part. Naturally there are men who belly dance but being a woman I'm more able to give you details of the female side of things but if I get inspired, and any man ever turns up to take part then perhaps I'll turn my hand to updating this page with male attire too.
Oriental Style:
The clothing for the traditional vision of belly dance encompasses the bra and belt scenario with floating skirt and most likely a veil thrown in for extra mystery. This style still holds true today and has a huge amount of variation depending on your figure, your style of dance and what's available.
HIP SCARVES:
Can anyone survive without a hip scarf for long? Well there are a number of ways of getting your hands on one. As this may be your first scarf I'll try to help you with really basic advice. I tend not to buy velvet scarves for general class use as they fray with frequent use. However, they look lovely and are really good for special occasions though other fabrics are more durable and suit class use.
We try to keep a range of colours in stock and the lighter weight scarves cost £15.00 and the heavier £19.99 each and are Egyptian performance standard chiffon and you can see / buy them at classes however you can also buy them on the internet if there's a colour you particularly want.
Quite a number of ladies enjoy making their own hip scarves, especially tribal styles scarves as they are more difficult to get hold of and many ladies like them to be completely tailor made for their tastes. This may not be a very exotic sounding alternative as it involves work and the sort of work that some people aren't used to - sewing! Frankly I think that making a scarf is a rather fun thing to do as it gives you the chance to have something totally individual and in whatever colour takes your fancy. Sadly I don't think I'd have the time to undertake this alternative but there are even books on Amazon.com which will help you with patterns and ideas - even for exotic tops to go with your outfit. It's a labour of love for some or a cheaper way of getting hold of not just the scarf but the whole outfit to fit their own figure.
The next easiest way is to substitute a hip scarf for a jingly belt which can easily be bought at U.K. stores.
EAST COAST TRIBAL
As you can see from the photos, East Coast Tribal has a different feel and different costumes, in some respects, to the belly dance you might have come across before. I'm really excited about this style and the way that it's sweeping through the U.S. is absolutely going to happen here - evidence of this can been seen on the recent 'Belly Dance Superstars' tour of the U.K. when all the workshops run on this style booked out before all the traditional ones.
You can do both individual / solo dancing in this style but also a wonderful group dance that looks fantastic and is quite addictive. All your skills learnt in our traditional belly dance courses will be used but there is a different slant in interpreting and executing those moves which gives you even more scope to experiment... Actually, there's a sneaking of East Coast and American Tribal Style being popped in to even the total beginners schedules to get you all ready for new developments. As we demonstrate in class, sometimes these styles can be more edgy, sometimes tribal (glancing back to influences from tribes years ago), sometimes more snake like and sinewy. Like all belly dance it's down to who’s taking part and the music to name but a few ingredients.
The costuming is all about layers, sometimes it can have a gothic look, sometimes more a style that's referred to as 'Urban Gypsy' - again, it's belly dance and as eclectic as those taking part and their individual tastes allow. See the section on making your own costumes for more.....
For class purposes your hip scarves will still be useful though you won't need one at all if you don't want to wear one. As you can see, there is a lot of skirt material involved in this style of belly dance but for classes you can wear leggings unless you want to dress up for the occasion and although you can see a lot of midriff on the ladies below other tribal styles have the body completely covered with highly unflattering baggy outfits so you are most welcome to wear a t-shirt to learn in, try a shock absorber bra/top, or go the whole hog and purchase something from the internet to really row the boat out. I'll be adding a photo of my rehearsal tribal outfit some time next week so you can see the difference and, more importantly, details about the origins of East Coast Tribal on a page of it's own as I'm hoping that this style becomes a popular addition to our regular class offerings.
Making Your Own Costume:
As you're all aware, I don't think it's important to come along in anything special when you attend classes though I do think that a hip scarf adds to the fun. However, for those who are in the performance troupes this is slightly different for the obvious reasons. After a while most ladies start to feel the need to dress up to some extent and that's when the idea of costumes comes to mind.
It may not be a popular idea to get out a needle and thread but if you get into belly dancing and want a costume of any description that fits YOU and looks exactly the way you want it I think you'll end up giving it a go. I have tried simple make-overs for existing outfits to make tops etc. through to more complicated efforts for performances.
The best company is Simplicity patterns for a whole range of patterns for belly dancers - both traditional to contemporary tribal styles. I love them as they're just what they say 'simplicity' and that suits me and my busy schedule... not to mention lack of sewing skills. You can buy patterns online which makes life rather easy or if you're at John Lewis at any time they also stock them in limited numbers.
I've also discovered (via some belly dancer teacher friends from the U.S.) that there are a number of books and patterns specifically for the tribalists and these even go as far as mentioning the make-up that goes along with the whole ethos. I have samples of these so grab me if you want a peep before splashing out.
http://www.amazon.com/Books-Making-Beaded-Belly-Costumes/lm/1Z1JBS0NLNJB8
Veils
These are two of my favourite veils for teaching with. Both are silk and fairly light but more importantly they are transparent which means that I can see my students at all times. I'll pop a photo of my demo' veil below before the veil workshop in July as it's quite different from the ones you can see here.
Usually buying a good veil means you're looking for a length of silk that can be held with your arms out-stretched and still have some excess fabric dangling free. However, unlike most classes we also have a number of short veils which we advise students use for practise in their own homes as, frankly, most of us don't live in large roomed houses with high ceilings. Having been frustrated by overhanging light fittings while in the midst of dancing I've found this attitude to veils works best for real people. Obviously you can make both the larger AND the smaller versions of veil, just make sure you get very light fabric which is long enough for you to hold but still have a small length hanging below your fingers and that it's deep enough to cover amounts of your body for revealing etc. Mine tend not to be as deep (from head to whatever length you prefer) as I loan my veils to students and we're all different heights. In the picture above I'm also wearing traditional harem pants.... these are easy enough to sew if you've a mind but I bought mine in Granada.... good excuse for a holiday? They're a bit transparent but a sturdy leotard works pretty well and maintains dignity I guess. If you make your own you can use opaque fabric. I also own a pair of harem pants without the opening at the sides..... good option if you don't love your legs that much or want to avoid the white of winter shining through.