Ok, so I relayed the troubles my belly dance troupe is having with our new costumes last week. Since I don't know how to sew (aside from attaching buttons) my generous mother-in-law graciously agreed to do some major alterations for me. As well, my teacher, Claire, sewed a new panel and belt section into my skirt since the existing belt was at least 4 inches too small and there is no stretch to it at all.
On Friday, Claire gave me back my skirt and she did a *beautiful* job. The new panel is copper to coordinate with the copper and gold beads and it looks like the skirt was meant to be that way. :) I was thrilled. In the mean time, my MIL had worked on my top and fixed the "side nipple" problem. I now look like I'm *extremely* well endowed due to some gel inserts, but everything is very covered and modest. I feel a bit like I'm wearing a suit of armor on the top, but as long as there is no risk of a boob popping out, I'm happy.
So the skirt. It looks gorgeous, but as is typical with these costumes, it didn't come with any hooks attached. My MIL set to work on these. As soon as we started our sewing session, I started to get nervous. The belt portion is *heavy* and it's *attached* to the skirt (which is NOT a natural belly dance costume design). If it doesn't fit exactly perfect, there will be weird gaps at my hips and it could fall down.
*sweats*
We get it nice and tight and she determines where to put the hooks and snaps we picked out. The whole shebang is heavily beaded, so she has a hard time fitting the implements in. She puts on one snap and has me try the skirt on, to make sure the placement is correct before she sews on the rest.
It looks great. I am happy. I shimmy. My skirt falls off.
And there it is, folks. Because the thing is so heavy, in a split second, it was on the floor and I'm standing there in my underpants. With my mother-in-law standing right there. And my father-in-law in the next room. Happily, he had dozed off while watching football.
*MORTIFICATION*
We quickly deduce that the snap is malfunctioning because all the beads are causing it to not lie flat. Plus, it needs, oh I don't know, about A HUNDRED more snaps to assure it'll stay put due to the heft.
I change and give her back the skirt. She takes it home to sew aforementioned 100 snaps on. I got it back yesterday.
SUCH A RELIEF. She took off a ton of beads so that the snaps and hooks can lie flat. There are snaps at the far end of the belt, and then a snap plus 2 hooks at the near end of the overlap section. Everything goes together nicely and it's nice and tight. I danced in it extensively last night to assure that no nightmare scenario occurs in which I am up in front of a room full of people in an armor-like bra and and my underwear with a deer-in-the-headlights look of horror on my face.
If that happens, I may never dance again...
Showing posts with label costumes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label costumes. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
A peaceful vigil for the feast of All Saints, and A COSTUME CRISIS
Well, all is calm here. Monday evening and overnight were really the worst for us. We're supposed to be getting more rain tonight and tomorrow, but I'm optimistic that things will be fine. School was back in session today, and it looks like any old overcast day. Anne and I will be attending Mass tonight at 5pm for All Saints, and I'm very excited. We were really spared the wrath of this storm. I know that on the far east coast things are going to be rough for a long time to come. :( Prayers for all of them.
On a totally different note, but something that also went down over the course of this crazy past weekend, our new group belly dance costumes are in. Oh sigh.
The entire time that I've been in the troupe, we've used the same designer from Egypt for our costumes. I've gotten 2 costumes from him, and I'm really happy with both. They're the green one and the blue one I danced in recently at the restaurant, both pictured on this blog. The blue one was a tad long and I needed it taken up an inch or so, but it wasn't a big deal. Others in my troupe were less happy with their costumes and the way they fit, so we decided to go with a different designer this time. Claire had ordered 1 costume from him and it was very nice and fit well. His prices were comparable.
So, we all got measured and picked a costume. Claire gives us the freedom to pick whatever costume design we each want, even for our group numbers. She wants everybody to feel comfortable in their costume. We all just order the same color. The dark green was our previous group color, now we chose gold.
Naturally, I spent weeks poring over costume pictures. I prefer the separate top and skirt sets, rather than a one-piece gown, so I honed in on those. There were at least a dozen that I liked, but in the end I chose a bra and belt set. What that means is that the hip belt is separate from the skirt such that you can pair it with other skirts and change up the look of the costume for very little money. I'm all about maximizing my investment, especially with more restaurant gigs hopefully in my future, so I thought I'd give this a try. With our color being gold, I knew that the bra and belt would match with any skirt that I bought, plus I already own a wine colored chiffon skirt I could wear it with. Win-win. Order submitted.
They arrived last week. Friday night before class, we all sat in the waiting room staring at the box of costumes while Claire finished up with another class. Claire poked her head in and told us to have at it, and within seconds, an explosion of sequins heralded the costume distribution. Costumes were tossed to and fro as we tried to figure out whose was whose. By process of elimination I found my costume. I didn't recognize it because:
(1) It had bronze accent beads, which I didn't order. I didn't care, they're pretty, but...
(2) It's not a bra and belt set.
I mean, the beading design is somewhat the same as the photograph (again, no matter, because it's lovely). But the belt is attached to the skirt. So I can't layer it with other skirts like I was planning.
*frowns*
We'll be using the gold skirt for our group performances, so I can't be taking it apart just because I want to wear it with other colors. It's not just tacked on there, I mean, it's heartily sewn into a gold lycra skirt as a single piece.
That immediately threw me for a loop, but I can even get over that. The larger problems presented themselves shortly thereafter.
Back to our story. Claire's other poor class comes into the waiting room to find a group of half-dressed women shimmying into gold lycra. A surge of gold-clad bodies pressed into the main dance studio to have access to the mirrors.
I hold my top over my boobs and frown again. Amy, my smaller-busted compadre, came over to sympathize. The bra tops are always so inflexible and stiff. The larger busted ladies are always spilling out and having to sew extra material into their tops. We small busted ladies, on the other hand, are always terrified of the ominous "Side Nipple" conundrum. Sorry, does this post need a "You Must be 18 Years Old to Read This" label?
"Side Nipple" is the phenomenon whereby the stiff (and never correctly sized) costume tops gap open and anybody with a side view can see right into your bra cup. Not exactly the view that you want your audience to see.
I've been worried about this with my other costumes, but with some tightening of the snaps in the back and straps they've been ok. This top was not looking promising. But I knew I could confer with my sewing mother-in-law for solutions. Onto the skirt...
Usually my skirts are all lycra that pull up to my hips and zip. This skirt, since it has the stiffer belt thing going on in the hip area, is just open on one side and you're supposed to sew in some hooks to close it. Well.
I wrap the skirt around my body. I quickly realize that it's at least 5-6 inches too small. I tug on it, hoping for some elasticity.
Zero.
I was measured at the beginning of September. I haven't gained any weight. There is no way they correctly used my measurements to make this skirt. It wasn't even close.
Meanwhile, a scene of costume carnage was going on around me. Gowns were slipped over heads, but instead of ending at one's ankles, they were pooling onto the floor. And not just a little bit. I mean, *inches and inches* of excess fabric. Some could barely move their costumes were so tight. Breasts were decidedly NOT covered by tops. Areas of sheer fabric that were supposed to be in non-objectionable areas were revealing...body parts that the recipient had NOT intended. It was BAD.
Claire was horrified (even though it's totally not her fault) and immediately offered to sew for us. GOD BLESS HER. She took my skirt home and sewed in a whole new panel of coordinating copper material to make my skirt fit. We found an arm band that matched my belt that she could close the upper gap with. I haven't seen it yet, I'm hoping it looks flattering. :)
I enlisted my mother-in-law for Operation Gappy Top. First, she sewed hooks into the back and straps for me. Huzzah. Except the gap somehow got worse. This meant a trip to JoAnn's in which I spent an uncomfortable 10 minutes in a crowded aisle holding large foam bra pads up to my boobs to see what would work best. I'm now the proud owner of gel-filled bra inserts in my costume top, and the gapping problem is solved. I mean, the top still isn't perfect, but no nipples show, which is the important thing. This is a family friendly art form, I assure you. I look voluptuous, to be sure, but the top just gathers funny in the middle now.
SIGH.
I'll have bra and skirt reunited again on Friday and I'm hoping that everybody looks nice together. I really, really hope so, since our hafla is in a week and a half.
*eyebrows scrunch*
On a totally different note, but something that also went down over the course of this crazy past weekend, our new group belly dance costumes are in. Oh sigh.
The entire time that I've been in the troupe, we've used the same designer from Egypt for our costumes. I've gotten 2 costumes from him, and I'm really happy with both. They're the green one and the blue one I danced in recently at the restaurant, both pictured on this blog. The blue one was a tad long and I needed it taken up an inch or so, but it wasn't a big deal. Others in my troupe were less happy with their costumes and the way they fit, so we decided to go with a different designer this time. Claire had ordered 1 costume from him and it was very nice and fit well. His prices were comparable.
So, we all got measured and picked a costume. Claire gives us the freedom to pick whatever costume design we each want, even for our group numbers. She wants everybody to feel comfortable in their costume. We all just order the same color. The dark green was our previous group color, now we chose gold.
Naturally, I spent weeks poring over costume pictures. I prefer the separate top and skirt sets, rather than a one-piece gown, so I honed in on those. There were at least a dozen that I liked, but in the end I chose a bra and belt set. What that means is that the hip belt is separate from the skirt such that you can pair it with other skirts and change up the look of the costume for very little money. I'm all about maximizing my investment, especially with more restaurant gigs hopefully in my future, so I thought I'd give this a try. With our color being gold, I knew that the bra and belt would match with any skirt that I bought, plus I already own a wine colored chiffon skirt I could wear it with. Win-win. Order submitted.
They arrived last week. Friday night before class, we all sat in the waiting room staring at the box of costumes while Claire finished up with another class. Claire poked her head in and told us to have at it, and within seconds, an explosion of sequins heralded the costume distribution. Costumes were tossed to and fro as we tried to figure out whose was whose. By process of elimination I found my costume. I didn't recognize it because:
(1) It had bronze accent beads, which I didn't order. I didn't care, they're pretty, but...
(2) It's not a bra and belt set.
I mean, the beading design is somewhat the same as the photograph (again, no matter, because it's lovely). But the belt is attached to the skirt. So I can't layer it with other skirts like I was planning.
*frowns*
We'll be using the gold skirt for our group performances, so I can't be taking it apart just because I want to wear it with other colors. It's not just tacked on there, I mean, it's heartily sewn into a gold lycra skirt as a single piece.
That immediately threw me for a loop, but I can even get over that. The larger problems presented themselves shortly thereafter.
Back to our story. Claire's other poor class comes into the waiting room to find a group of half-dressed women shimmying into gold lycra. A surge of gold-clad bodies pressed into the main dance studio to have access to the mirrors.
I hold my top over my boobs and frown again. Amy, my smaller-busted compadre, came over to sympathize. The bra tops are always so inflexible and stiff. The larger busted ladies are always spilling out and having to sew extra material into their tops. We small busted ladies, on the other hand, are always terrified of the ominous "Side Nipple" conundrum. Sorry, does this post need a "You Must be 18 Years Old to Read This" label?
"Side Nipple" is the phenomenon whereby the stiff (and never correctly sized) costume tops gap open and anybody with a side view can see right into your bra cup. Not exactly the view that you want your audience to see.
I've been worried about this with my other costumes, but with some tightening of the snaps in the back and straps they've been ok. This top was not looking promising. But I knew I could confer with my sewing mother-in-law for solutions. Onto the skirt...
Usually my skirts are all lycra that pull up to my hips and zip. This skirt, since it has the stiffer belt thing going on in the hip area, is just open on one side and you're supposed to sew in some hooks to close it. Well.
I wrap the skirt around my body. I quickly realize that it's at least 5-6 inches too small. I tug on it, hoping for some elasticity.
Zero.
I was measured at the beginning of September. I haven't gained any weight. There is no way they correctly used my measurements to make this skirt. It wasn't even close.
Meanwhile, a scene of costume carnage was going on around me. Gowns were slipped over heads, but instead of ending at one's ankles, they were pooling onto the floor. And not just a little bit. I mean, *inches and inches* of excess fabric. Some could barely move their costumes were so tight. Breasts were decidedly NOT covered by tops. Areas of sheer fabric that were supposed to be in non-objectionable areas were revealing...body parts that the recipient had NOT intended. It was BAD.
Claire was horrified (even though it's totally not her fault) and immediately offered to sew for us. GOD BLESS HER. She took my skirt home and sewed in a whole new panel of coordinating copper material to make my skirt fit. We found an arm band that matched my belt that she could close the upper gap with. I haven't seen it yet, I'm hoping it looks flattering. :)
I enlisted my mother-in-law for Operation Gappy Top. First, she sewed hooks into the back and straps for me. Huzzah. Except the gap somehow got worse. This meant a trip to JoAnn's in which I spent an uncomfortable 10 minutes in a crowded aisle holding large foam bra pads up to my boobs to see what would work best. I'm now the proud owner of gel-filled bra inserts in my costume top, and the gapping problem is solved. I mean, the top still isn't perfect, but no nipples show, which is the important thing. This is a family friendly art form, I assure you. I look voluptuous, to be sure, but the top just gathers funny in the middle now.
SIGH.
I'll have bra and skirt reunited again on Friday and I'm hoping that everybody looks nice together. I really, really hope so, since our hafla is in a week and a half.
*eyebrows scrunch*
Friday, August 24, 2012
Fresh semester, fresh duct tape
I can see that they're making efforts to freshen up the campus for the start of classes Monday, and that includes the libraries. I noticed that on my floor the old brown duct tape covering gaps in the carpet has been replaced with brand new silver duct tape. It matches better and everything. How forward thinking of them.
I have dance tonight, and we're talking about getting new group costumes. Everybody can pick whatever style she wants, but all will be gold with an accent color of your choice. Ooh la la. I've been parsing through belly dance costume pictures all day. My sister and I eliminated a whole slew of them based on:
(1) Ability to discern intended beading design. Is that a firework or a crustacean? Best not to find out.
(2) Cut-outs in inappropriate places. If I have to ask myself whether or not I could wear an undergarment underneath it without it being seen, we're not going there.
(3) Appropriateness for those of us in the population who are, shall we say, small chested. If one was not blessed with large breasts, tops with large spaces between the cups will look... not so good.
There's a certain style I tend to favor (I like ruched hip wraps, side slits that aren't too high, and a drapey thing that hangs in the slit, it looks very pretty) and I have it narrowed down to 3 or 4. I'll agonize over it for another week or two I'm certain.
I hope everybody has a nice weekend. I, on the other hand, have a defensive driving course to attend tomorrow with Mike for like 6 hours or something horrible like that. We want to lower our car insurance, and you can do so by attending this course once every 3 years. It's absolutely painful. Do you think the instructor would be insulted if I brought my knitting? Probably. *glares* At least Mike and I will be able to go out for a nice lunch during the process.
Sigh.
I have dance tonight, and we're talking about getting new group costumes. Everybody can pick whatever style she wants, but all will be gold with an accent color of your choice. Ooh la la. I've been parsing through belly dance costume pictures all day. My sister and I eliminated a whole slew of them based on:
(1) Ability to discern intended beading design. Is that a firework or a crustacean? Best not to find out.
(2) Cut-outs in inappropriate places. If I have to ask myself whether or not I could wear an undergarment underneath it without it being seen, we're not going there.
(3) Appropriateness for those of us in the population who are, shall we say, small chested. If one was not blessed with large breasts, tops with large spaces between the cups will look... not so good.
There's a certain style I tend to favor (I like ruched hip wraps, side slits that aren't too high, and a drapey thing that hangs in the slit, it looks very pretty) and I have it narrowed down to 3 or 4. I'll agonize over it for another week or two I'm certain.
I hope everybody has a nice weekend. I, on the other hand, have a defensive driving course to attend tomorrow with Mike for like 6 hours or something horrible like that. We want to lower our car insurance, and you can do so by attending this course once every 3 years. It's absolutely painful. Do you think the instructor would be insulted if I brought my knitting? Probably. *glares* At least Mike and I will be able to go out for a nice lunch during the process.
Sigh.
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