Category: General

Thinking Like a Designer – Analyzing Style and Costuming

Research and Analysis

5 Layers of Belly Dance Costume Appearance

There is so much more to talk about such as the shapes of the costume pieces. There’s the whisp of a skirt, the shape of her belt, the choice of pink, and her jewelry styling. To find out more about the “5 Layers,” and many more strategies on how to think like a designer, come to my next talk!

Design Workshop

Stop the Presses: Samia Gamal Covered Her Belly Button!!

Have you ever considered how your design brief impacts the final look of a costume? Wait, you might be wondering what is a “design brief?” The design brief is a written description of the project. This includes the scope, style, budget, deliverables, and deadlines. Professional costume designers use the design brief to guide their choices and workflow. The directions mapped out in the brief shape the outcome of the finished look.

Comparing two Samia Gamal Costumes

To see how the design brief impacts costume design, let’s compare and contrast two images of the same dancer in costumes designed for different purposes. 

These two costumes, worn by legendary Egyptian dancer Samia Gamal, had two different design briefs that result in a major difference between the two ensembles. Can you spot the big difference? 

Samia in Valley of the Kings c.1954 (Left)

On the left, we know the costume designer and the purpose for this look. It was made by the costuming department of MGM under the direction of American designer Walter Plunkett. The movie, “Valley of the Kings,” was shot on location in Egypt. However, the ensembles were all designed in the US. Following the film mores of the day, Samia’s belly button had to be concealed, resulting in a higher belt that swoops up at the center. The design brief required that her costume, “Covered that belly button!”

Samia, World Tour c. 1952 (Right)

On the right is a photo of Samia in one of her own costumes. While we don’t know who designed this particular costume, we do know that Samia worked with a wide variety of costumers and design houses in Cairo over the course of her career. 

When she appeared on stage at Miami’s “Latin Quarter” nightclub in 1952, she was wearing a costume that she selected and styled to her taste. This is her personal choice and reflects her own style and image.

This is just one slide from the upcoming slide talk “The Design Code” with me! Come join us for a discussion of professional costuming skills, the guiding principles and elements of design, and the process designers use to move from concept to finished costume. Hosted by Mahin on April 24, 2022.

Maybe I’ll see ya there?
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
April 2, 2022

PS: If you register for the workshop before April 27, get a bonus digital copy of my workbook, “Color Theory with Pencils and Mandalas.”

Last summer, I had the pleasure of working on one of my costumes. This vintage cream bedlah set is lovely, and I was very pleased with the final results. But after seeing it completed and on the dancer, I realized that it needed more oomph in the caboose area!

After a talk with the new owner, we decided to put some larger jewelry components on the belt to enhance her dance. 

to perform an upgrade of the coins and jewelry pieces on the back of the belt. In this blog post, I’ll share with you the steps in this process in case you are considering

Costume Evolutions – Choosing to Alter

The process of design begins with an impulse or desire to make a change. Before you just dive in and start cutting your old coins and pieces off, it’s a good idea to take the first few steps in the design process. Here are a few questions to answer before you begin your redesign project: 

1. What is your goal? Define your goals, your budget, and your time right at the beginning so you can use these end goals to help define your design brief.
2. Are you trying to improve a costume’s look or fit?  Will you be simply adjusting the shape to fit? Will you need to allow time to add or remove embellishments?
3. Do you have the materials and supplies? Figure out what you will need to complete the project and pick up those items before you start ripping out stitches.
4. Do you have the skills? Once you have figured out the parameters of your project, set a budget, and have sourced materials, it’s time to ask yourself some tough questions. Do I have the skills to complete this project? Do I have the speed to get this project done on a deadline? If you need to study and learn some new methods, be sure to factor that time into your timeline. 
5. What is your timeline? It’s critical to have a good understanding of how fast you can complete the project. Work backward from your due date and use realistic time estimates for each phase of the design process. Do you know how fast you sew? Do some time trials to figure it out.

Sourcing Supplies: Finding Coins and Jewelry Components

Once you’ve made the decision to alter or upgrade your costume, your next mission is to source some new jewelry coins and jewelry components. Sourcing specialty belly dance costuming supplies is a fun pursuit but can get frustrating if you are working on a deadline. Always start by investigating your own stash to see if you have supplies on hand. 

If you don’t have what you need on hand, begin by asking your friends in dance first to see what’s available locally in the stashes of your colleagues in dance and costuming. Then, If you need to expand your search, be sure to check with your favorite vendors, before expanding to general internet shopping sites such as Etsy and eBay. For tribal supplies, I always start by asking Tribal Bazaar, for beaded fringe, my go-to source is Scheherezade Imports. But I also always check at Bellydance.com which gets in a wide variety of costuming styles and price points.  Check out this blog post on treasure hunting with Tribal Bazaar. 

Plan and Execute the Deconstruction

Once you’ve sourced your supplies and have them on hand, it’s time to move forward with the project. But before you do any cutting, it’s important to carefully examine the existing construction. 

Find a good light, lean in, and take a really good look at your piece. Ask yourself questions like:

• How were these coins and jewelry pieces applied?
• Can you see the stitches? 
• Will you have to reinforce parts before you cut?

Once you know how the original designer applied these embellishments, you can plan your approach to remove the old pieces. In this case, I was the original costumer, and I knew that I had applied this row of coins on a cord. This method provides more support for the coins and is much faster to apply than stitching each coin on individually.

Cutting the Cord

To perform this particular upgrade, I had two choices. I could either remove all the coins from the back, taking off the original cord and all the coins. 

However, time is always of the essence, so I decided to save the sewing time by cutting the cord. First, I reinforce with stitching before I cut it, so the cut end stays put. I then unpick the stitches to release the cord and the embellishments. Next, I slide off the coins and jewelry components and then clean up the cut thread pieces.

Position, Pin, & Sew

Once all the new elements are in place, I pin everything in place and hand sew the cord back into place. When sewing heavy embellishments, I choose to use heavy-duty thread. it’s white upholstery thread, and a whip stitch that I knot on the back after every stitch. If the thread should break, the dancer might lose a piece, but not the whole row.

Take it for a Test Drive

Once you’ve completed any alteration, it’s time to get dressed up and dance! Taking your costume for a serious test drive will ensure that any loose threads, uncompleted areas, or fitting issues like tightness and looseness happen before you hit the stage. If you dance with props, be sure to handle your props too. You never know when your veil, sword, or tray might catch or bang against your new embellishments. So be sure to get into full costume and use your preferred props.

Document Your Work

When your project is finished, be sure to document your “after.” I personally like to do both flatlays, dress form, and model shots so I have a variety for my own archive and to share in social media.

 I hope you find this method useful and perhaps it will save you some time in your costuming workflow in the future. Always keep in mind that there’s more than one way, to sew the right way!

Happy Dance & Costuming, 
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
March 28, 2022

Isn’t this an amazing assiut dress?  Oscar award-winning fashion designer Anthony Powel designed this amazing garment for the 1978 film “Death on the Nile.”  This gown captures the sleek body-conscious lines popular in the 1930s. The long lean silhouette, strappy shoulders, and low-cut neckline captures all the essential design features of the era.

Compare Mia Farrow’s gown to this love sleek 1932-33 era gown worn by Hungarian opera singer Gitta Alpar.  Notice how the designer has used the natural weight and drape of the assiut fabric to create a sleek, full-length gown.  Gitta Alpar looks amazing in this widely distributed promotional postcard made shortly before Alpar relocated to Hollywood. She appeared in musicals from 1932 to 1941.

It was Anthony Powel’s amazing attention in detail on “Death on the Nile,” led to his win for the 1979 Academy Award for Best Costuming. If you would like to learn more about the costuming for this film, check out The Ultimate Fashion History channel. In this video, costume historian Amanda Hallay presents a nuanced read of the costumes in this film.  She discusses how they helped craft the characters, and helped breathe life into this historic old mystery by Agatha Christy.

I really enjoyed this video, I hope you will too!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
March 22, 2022

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