No matter your belly dance style, costumes should look like costumes, not underwear. Even if you're doing a vintage fusion piece with pantaloons and lace, it shouldn't look like you walked out of your 21st century door and forgot to put on a top.
If you're going to be selling costumes for any sort of profit, they really shouldn't look like you just glued a bunch of shit onto a bra you just bought. No, seriously. This is not a look that's cute for anyone, no matter the age, skill level, or style of the dancer. Belly dance bras need to be covered. They need to not look like a bra you'd throw on to go to the store. The original straps need to be removed, as does the back.
Also, if there are no cups, it's not a bra. Sorry not sorry, even though there was some serious craftsmanship in that piece, but that item is a wraparound necklace at that point. Incidentally, (badly!) sewing a bunch of pop tabs onto a Woolworth's bra with the bow still on the center is not "chainmail."
What are you doing? What, what, WHAT ARE YOU DOING. Look at your life, look at your choices.
Finally, belly dance and burlesque are not the same thing. At one time, belly dance and burlesque were very strongly linked to one another, as belly dance used to be performed alongside burlesque performers (and in some cases still is). I'm the last person who has a problem with burlesque... I love a well-choreographed, character- and song-driven, decadently costumed performance by a sexy lady getting undressed. What I don't love is an inability in some people's mind to divorce a hip- and core-driven set of dance moves with stripping. Most belly dancers really don't like being compared to strippers (or sex workers), because it's an actual issue that's going on that affects the lives, livelihoods, housing, and stability of dancers worldwide.
So please stop trying to sell belly dancers pasties. We're not even legally forced to wear them anymore.
That's not to say that there aren't gorgeous, high-quality, delightful items available on Etsy from independent vendors and small businesses for belly dancers... it's just that Regretsy taught us there's a fair amount of crap one has to sift through, and it's just as true for belly dancing.
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