In revisiting this post I realize that it is still applicable today.  One thing that I want to talk about is the term "Costume."  Most dancers refer to their outfits as costumes, I did for years.  Generally we think of costumes as something to dress up in so as to look like something or someone else.  My experiences with costuming patterns from Simplicity or one of the other big name costume pattern makers have never been good ones!  But, they are meant to "look like" a ... not be the clothing an actual nurse, ballerina or belly dancer would wear.  There are pattern lines out there for belly dance attire and you will find that they are more accurate and more comfortable than the costumes from the big pattern companies.
  On my website and in my studio I started referring to the clothing that belly dancers wear as attire, ensembles and outfits and I found that students started taking more care and pride in the clothing that they wear.  I see less of the "not really harem pants' riding up at the ankle or pulling down at the hip, or for Pete's sake, the waist.  In my studio we wear harem pants and hip scarves when we practice, sometimes an over skirt and a short peasant blouse or Arabic vest.  With no differentiation in performance and work out wear students and dancers can see themselves executing isolations and small sharp movements more clearly.  They also know exactly how the ensemble works with the dance.  I tell them that they are training their veils, skirts, etc. to perform well. But, seriously, it gives the dancer a complete view of the movement and how it appears to the audience.  Less "my leg movements are weird" and more "wow! my hip movements are so clean."
​   Through books on costuming, my first teacher Pat, my second teacher Zuleka and scores of other dance influences over the years, I have been told that "Your costume should always have a finished look to it" and that "...appearance of costuming should enhance what we want noticed and/or obscure what we wish diminished" and using these two guide lines for costuming I think I have made beautiful costumes for myself and for others.  Belly dance attire is highly personal and as such, what one dancer feels is beautiful another dancer may look upon as odd or not-beautiful.  Well, that's what keeps us from looking all the same!
   My observations while watching videos of dancers that Monday morning were:

• Un-decorated bra straps.
• Hooks of the bra not covered.
• Fraying and un-hemmed veil and skirt edges.
• Costume pieces that plainly do not fit.
• Underwear - yes underpants, panties, boy shorts, yuck!

​    My Rule #1 is you should always wear panties and they should never show! This may seem old fashioned or something but if the viewer gets a look at your panties they will not watch you dance, they will watch and wait to see "more".  You put a lot of time, hard work and money into your training and your dance attire, show that off!!
  My views may also seem somewhat elitist but I don't want to wear something to perform in that a non-dancer can pick up at the swap meet or a that an audience member comments on as "Oh, I bought the bra just like you put those sequins on at Target last month!"  When women come into my shop and look at bra tops they are often surprised that they are made on a store bought bra base.  This tells me that when I'm dancing folks are not thinking about my underwear.
   You may be looking for a simplistic approach to your costuming but an uncovered bra strap is simply an unfinished bra.  Using a woven ribbon or trim in a color that matches or complements your costume goes a long way in telling your audience that you are passionate about what you do.
   I find personally that when the belly dancer turns around, lifts her hair and shimmies and I am seeing the three sets of hooks on the back of that bra, I am not paying attention to her dance but the state of her clothing.  I've always said that belly dance is one part music, one part dancer and one part costume.  So if the dancer mentioned above turns and lifts her hair and I see a neatly covered bra strap or a beaded/sequined applique cleverly covering the hook&eyes (a non-dancer probably would not even know what the applique is being used for) my mind may register it but my eye will drop down to the hips and focus on the shimmy.
​    Ragged and uneven edges to veils and skirts are a fad that comes around every once in a while and has a whimsical feel to it.  If you are going for the ragged edge on your dance pieces be aware that it is a planned and sot after effect.  If you have a frayed out skirt or veil edge it is not the same thing.  Upon closer inspection you will see that ragged and uneven edges are usually hemmed or Fray Checked and sometimes trimmed with single-row-sequin or a hand beaded over-stitched edge.
   I tell my dancers to always practice dancing in a new piece or whole ensemble to make sure that it does it's job.  That is: to move well and stay in place.  Make adjustments before you perform not after you, and many others, have seem what is wrong with it!
   In conclusion I want to say, belly dance attire is a strong part of the dance, it is a passion of mine and I hope yours!  It helps our audiences see past the reality and into the possibilities.  And, plain and simple, our belly dance attire makes us feel good.  Pick up a needle or plug in the sewing machine and start, finish or fix your outfit.  If necessary, sign up for a sewing class or open YouTube and learn to sew.  You will be rewarded with a feeling of accomplishment, as well as, the awe and praise of others.
​   Dancing with love, Samrah

 I actually started these pieces some time ago and as it happens the project got side lined.  This year the week of the 3rd through the 8th of July my studio is on break from classes so I decided that it would be a great time to have some costuming classes.  The advantage for me is it makes me focus on my projects.  So, the gold bra/belt set will, hopefully, be finished this week. 
   A huge reason to make your own costume verses buying one from some online dealer who imports costumes from the Middle-East may be cost.  However, the advantages also include fit, color selection and personal style. And of course, the creative aspect is huge as well.
  It is amazing what a pair of harem pants or a circle skirt and an Arabic vest or short peasant blouse does for our self image and how the attention of the viewer is directed away from the work of the legs and toward the hip movements.  The isolation of ribs from hips doesn't show if you are wearing a leotard and tights or a yoga outfit (They work well for their respective art forms but not for belly dance) but ribs sliding off to one side as the hips stay in place or vise verse will show up so well in the proper outfit.
   Belly dance costuming in general is not difficult to sew.  There are a lot of straight seams!  Trims are sewn on over, perhaps, uneven hems.  And you can use the remnants from, say, a circle skirt to make vests, hip and head scarves, cover bra and belts all without buying extra fabric. 
   On patterns:  While we call the garments we wear while dancing, costumes, these clothes are not costumes the way that Halloween costumes are costumes.  A Halloween or masquerade costume is meant to look like...a nurse, a witch, a belly dancer but they are not nurses uniforms, and you can't belly dance in the "costume" that you might make from a dress makers pattern company such as Simplicity or McCalls.  There is not enough fabric in the pants nor the skirts, the garments often ride at the waist instead of the hipbones and the coats are too tight to offer you a full range of movement.  By the time you have altered the patterns, often through trail and error, you likely will throw your hands up and scream more than once! There are a couple of pattern companies out there and I carry my own line of patterns which are available in my shop. Early on I was using Jeylor Patterns, but they were designed from actual clothes from the Middle-East and women in the U.S. were not built the same, being taller and once we start dancing the pectoral muscles develop from the veil and floor work, and now arm holes and sleeves don't fit, so these patterns needed altering.
   On fabrics:  You can make your costume pieces out of many kinds of fabric, from cotton to satin and lame to sequined anything.  Many fabrics have special needs, cottons need to be pre-shrunk, tissue lames fray badly so you will need Fray-Check, knits require a sewing machine needle for stretchy fabrics and fabric with the heat applied fake sequins that will gum up your needle calls for a bottle of Sewers Aid (A clear, non-staining lubricant. Sewers Aid Lube is especially useful for the home sewer, will help reduce skipped stitching and friction heat of needle while sewing.)  Some fabrics are too stiff and will not drape well while others are too wispy and will not flow well, so the fabric that you use will depend on what you are making.
   On decorative embellishments: In the Middle-East the more lavish the clothing the richer the woman or more accomplished the dancer.  Clothes and costumes made from beautiful fabrics that are heavily embroidered and trimmed were and are highly valued.  Sequined and woven trims work very nicely in the place of embroidery and appliques, whether you buy or make them, also are used to decorate our costumes.  The word origin of "sequin" is Arabic and means "coin".  Until WWW II sequins used to decorate clothing, handbags and accessories were made from metal, but with the metal shortages and the advent of plastics, sequins started being made from plastic and that medium is still used today for the most part.  Traditionally, coins given to young women when dancing would be sewn onto scarves and vests and used to show off the girl's performance ability.  The gifts of coins and jewelry  tossed at her feet while dancing went toward her dowry.  A dancer with many coins and plentiful jewelry was, therefore, known to be a very good dancer.  So plan on putting trim along the bottom of your skirts and up the sides if they are open, trim around veils, vests and scarves. Decorate your dance bra with coins or beads (or both).  A plain bra top and un-decorated costume pieces denote an inexperienced or not very accomplished performer, besides, when we have a beautiful costume, even if we are only practicing, we feel better about ourselves.
   I've always said that belly dance is one part music, one part costume and one part dancer.  A beginning performer in a lovely costume comes across as a more accomplished dancer than a girl in work out clothes.  An accomplished dancer in a plain costume is perceived as less accomplished than she is.  Is it fair? No, but this is a spectator "sport" and the wonderful thing I've seen over my almost 40 years of belly dance is that we don't have to have a classically beautiful face nor do we have to have a perfect figure.  With the love of dance and a pretty costume, a feel for the music and a nice smile we are accepted and loved as belly dancers.