Hello, My friends in costuming and dance,

Today I’m flipping through ancient files, old photos, and out-of-print books and booklets. My mission is to find old illustrations from past projects.

Through the 30 years of my writing three-pronged career of costume design, belly dance, and historical research, I’ve written countless articles, blog posts, and micro-blogs for social media. I’ve drawn 1000s of dancers, filled dozens of notebooks, and more than 22 published books.  So my project for Sept. and Oct. is to revisit the work of a lifetime to build the most complete version of Costuming from the Hip to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Costuming from the Hip: 30th Anniversary

When I set out on this journey to rewrite this book, my initial goal was to just update the text and modernize the language. As I’ve worked on this project over the past year, I’ve realized that what I want to do is craft the best belly dance costuming book I can make!

So I’m culling through this lifetime of writing to find the gems from these past writing projects, big and small. What am I finding?  A LOT!  And boy was I surprised by the sheer volume of content.

Costuming from the Hip: Expansion

With all of this existing content, I’m expanding the original book. “Costuming from the Hip: began in 1993 as a 75-page compendium of course handouts into a 200-ish page book. I’m folding out-of-print content from “Veils Unveiled,” “Hints and Tips,” and the much beloved, but outmoded “Style File.”

As I work on this book, long-time readers will spot illustrations from these past projects emerging from the archives.  These are a fraction of the images that have appeared in my 20+ published books.

Three Buckets and Five Layers

The next version of “Costuming from the Hip” will include some of the concepts I’ve taught as a college instructor, event speaker, and in workshops around the world.

In the updated CFTH30, I’m opening the book with an entirely new section on how to think like a designer, the history and evolution of belly dance style since 1850. I’ll also share my system for developing a cohesive look using the 5 Layers methodology.

Finally, I’m sharing the specific language and my stylistic identification and organization using three big sweeping costuming groups. This way of thinking allows for dynamic design and a deeper understanding of why we design and make costumes the way we do.

Costuming from the Hip: Plans and Timeline

So what’s next?  During September, I’m digging into my archives. It’s a quest for illustrations, photographs, and written materials to include in the new edition.

With luck and good fortune, in October I’ll begin the rough sketches for a new set of images to illustrate key points. While I’ve drawn quite a bit, in the process of modernization and expansion, there’s a new batch of images on the horizon.

I hope that you enjoy your journey through the spooky season 2024.

Happy Costuming and Dance,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Sept. 2024

PS: I’m calling this project #CFTH30, so over the next six moths of work on this project, watch for this hashtag on social media and you can use the search function to find all the blog posts related to this rewrite.

 

 

 

Before Little Egypt, Omene took New York by storm as the first celebrity “belly dancer.”  Omene had a dramatic life as both a magician’s assistant, a magician herself, and an oriental dancer.

Omene left footprints in the sands of time that we can tease out of the historical archive and piece together a loose timeline of her career. She appeared in the news in several public scandals, a high-profile divorce, and a successful career as a touring vaudeville magician and dancer.

Sketches and photographs of Omene appear in posters, cigarette trading cards, and paid newspaper adverts. There is a lovely stereoscopic view from her appearance at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.  She was part of the “Mysterious Asia” exhibit in the entertainment zone known as “The Pike.” 

Omene’s Changing Look

If you compare the sheet music image from the early 1890s to the 1904 photograph, we can compare the changes in Omene’s costuming style. As her entertainment career progressed, she moved away from more traditional Turkish-cut and styled garments.

By 1904, Omene was wearing garments that suited the American Vaudeville audience and cut and style. She still maintained allusions to Turkey in her abbreviated vest and rich textiles. But the shorter, full-cut twirl skirt was typical across a variety of dance styles in the first decade of the 20th century.

Before Little Egypt – Ongoing Research

“Before Little Egypt” is one of my main research topics at the moment, and as I dig through the archives I hope to find more dancers in the “Oriental Style.”

Happy Dance and Costuming,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Aug. 2024

Throughout my writing career, I’ve shared information on my self-published magazine, “Davina’s Costumer’s Notes.”  As I work on the rewrite of my first book “Costuming From the Hip,” I’m digging material out of my archive and rediscovering my passion for magazines.

My love affair with magazines began as a young girl. I would treasure my favorite issues, re-reading them until they fell apart. If I could lay my hands on something less beloved, I would cut them apart for crafting as decoupage, collage, and fodder to make versions of new made-up magazines.

Click through to read
“Davina’s Costumer’s Notes”
Rakkasah 2009 Edition .pdf

“Line: Costume/Fashion” 

I began participating in the world of ‘zines in the ’80s, writing about costume history, fashion design, and illustration. I even started my own ‘zine called “Line: Costume/Fashion.”  After four copies, I switched gears to work on a full-fledged book published in 1993 as “Costuming From the Hip.”

“Line: Costume/Fashion” focussed on integrating historical influence into costume and fashion design. My target market was the sci-fi world and I was attending conventions throughout the greater Southern California region. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a long-lost copy, but I am ever hopeful that one will turn up.

Article Writer

As my focus turned to belly dancing, and after the wild success of “Costuming from the Hip,” I dove into the world of writing for belly dance magazines.

Between 1993 and today, I’ve published thousands of articles in magazines, newsletters, blogs, and digital archives and publications. I’m still writing quite a bit as a freelancer.  You can find some of my work in “Fanoos Magazine.”

Costumer’s Notes Magazine

I dipped back into making my own magazines in the early 2000s.  “Davina’s Costumer’s Notes”  began as a ‘zine printed at the local copy shops before big events like Rakkasah in the San Francisco/Bay Area, Cairo Carnival in Los Angeles, and Bedouin Bazaar in San Diego.

“Costumer’s Notes” eventually expanded into a bi-monthly magazine on its own website.  When I began working on my seminal book “The Cloth of Egypt, All About Assiut,” I switched to an email version of “Studio Davina Mini-Magazine.”

Sign Up for our bi-monthly Mini-Magazine

Costuming From the Hip: 30th Anniversary

The rewrite and expansion of “Costuming From the Hip” is underway.  As I dig, I’m unearthing past projects, published articles, out-of-print books, and unpublished research.  Watch for more tidbits to emerge.

I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane,
Happy Dance and Costuming
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Aug. 2024

I wanted to take a quick moment to share the news about Heather D. Ward aka Nisaa’s new book “Raqs in the City: The Belly Dance Landscape of Cairo” is now out.

If you’re interested in belly dance history, Nisaa’s books are a “Must Read.” I picked up mine on Kindle to save space, but it is also available in print.

I highly recommend Heather’s first book too.  Visit her website for more details about her current and upcoming projects https://www.bellydancewithnisaa.com/

Enjoy!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Aug. 2024

Al-Tally: A History of Assiut in Pictures

I’m excited to share my latest article about Assiut Al-Tally in Fanoos Magazine. This is one of my current favorite belly dance publications. Each quarter, subscribers receive a free “blog-o-zine” style publication directly to their inbox.

The theme for the summer edition is “Folkloric & Traditional Dance.”  My focus on costume history paired beautifully with this issue’s theme.  Egyptian folkloric dancers frequently wear the iconic assiut robe when performing.  And thus, an article idea was born.

I strategically selected 10 intriguing images that illustrate the history of assiut. My goal was to find a selection of images that hadn’t appeared in the book, or even on this website.

If you love assiut, visit Fanoos Magazine and check out my article in this issue of the magazine.

What is in a name?
Al-Tally vs Assiut

Fabrics and their fabrication are frequently named after their location of origin.  Some well-known examples include gauze, named after Gaza, and damask weaves after Damascus.

Assiut shawls entered English in the mid-19th century.  These shawls were named after the key city where you could buy these beautiful hand-made textiles.

I use the spelling Assiut in my work. This is how the city appears on official US maps. In other countries, the city name is transliterated into different spellings with different pronunciations. Depending on the author’s language and nationality, the spelling of the same city will vary wildly.

Today, I’m consciously integrating the Egyptian term for the technique, Al Tally.  With luck and good fortune, we can make a lasting impact on changing the language we use to discuss how Assiut/Al Tally is discussed.

To learn more about the history of this single-stitch metal embroidery technique check out my book. “The Cloth of Egypt” traces its origins in Europe, through its migration throughout the Turkish empire to the beloved embroidery technique of Upper Egypt.

• Read the Article: “Al Tally: A History of Assiut in Pictures,” Fanoos, Summer 2024. Read Here
• Check out the Book: “The Cloth of Egypt” on Amazon
• On the Blog: “Shopping for Assiut on a Budget.” Read Here
• Join the Conversation on Facebook: Assiut Group

Stay cool out there!
~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina
July, 2024