Wearing

Protecting Your Neck

Several of my belly dance costumes have clasps in the back that dig into my upper neck.  Its painful while dancing and sometimes has left a bruise after a performance.  If your hair is long enough to cover the area, try putting a band-aid under the clasp.  The two types I suggest are large enough to cover the area and stay in place very well.  They are:   Curad Blister-Care or Curad Aqua Protect.

Try Shoes  

Although folkloric styles of dance look fine with bare feet, the highly ornate bedleh may look better with shoes.  Would you wear a formal barefoot?  Any low heeled shoe looks more polished than barefoot, sandals or slippers and, at the same time, provides better foot protection.  Ballroom dance shoes are low heeled and a nice option.

Accessories - Less is More

To achieve an accurate village or folkloric look it may be appropriate to wear several layers of necklaces as well as earnings and a headpiece. When performing a modern belly dance in a bedleh, don't over accessorize.   Wearing earrings, a necklace or a headpiece with a bedleh can add a nice finishing touch. However, wearing a headpiece, necklace, earrings, a waist chain and arm bands all at once  can create a cheap, overdone look.  If you choose to wear  multi-accessories they absolutely must blend or match your costume.  If there is gold in your bedleh, stay will gold accessories (do not add silver unless it is also in the costume).  Also don't mix metal accessories (e.g. gold earrings with silver necklace). Too much of a good thing can result in an overdone look and detract the audiences' attention from your belly dance. 

Is your skirt too sheer?

If your skirt is too sheer try wearing matching colored dance tights underneath.  Dance tights with or without feet can be purchased online at http://www.riversedgedancewear.com/. 

Maintaining

Storing Beads

I save small quantities of every type of bead I find for future costume repairs.  Initially, I stored them in standard bead containers (boxes with small compartments).  Because these containers have only one cover, it is necessary to dig out the beads from each compartment.  For small quantities of beads, I now store them in 7 day pill containers that can be purchased from a pharmacy.   Each of the separate 7 day compartments has its own lid.  With separate lids, you can select the beads you want and dump them out.

Keeping Rhinestones on Costumes

Some cabaret costumes have large quantities of rhinestones, including large rhinestones.  The large rhinestones are difficult to replace.  The best solution is not to lose rhinestones.  Prior to wearing my costumes, I super glue all rhinestones in place.  I also check my costumes each time I wear them and reglue any lose rhinestones.  The glue generally does not show except under very close inspection and is a far superior look than a costume with missing stones.

When gluing make sure great care is taken not to touch anything but the area you want to glue!  Also make sure to use plain super glue; no gel.

Costume Storage

Costumes that are decorated with large quantities of beads are heavy.   Most hangers will bend or break over time.  In addition, if hung next to delicate fabrics the beads can catch and snag the fabric.  Try storing costume bras and belts in Tupperware (or similar) containers.  In addition to providing a safe home for costumes, the containers can be stacked and thereby save on storage space.

Purchasing

Your First Belly Dance Costume

If you have a large costuming budget that will enable you to purchase a large number of costumes in the future feel free to purchase any color that complements your skin color.  For most individuals, however, the first belly dance costume may be their only costume for some time.  Members of your audience won't forget your pink, orange, yellow, bright green or pastel colored costumes.  Accordingly, if there is a chance that you may perform for the same audience more than once, these are colors to be initially avoided.  Your best choices are neutral colored tops and belts that go with many colors of skirts.  Consider white, silver, gray, gold or black; whichever one complements your skin tone the best.