How Not To Get Burned!

This one is not about sunscreen or cooking safety.  Today, I want to talk about buying belly dance gear as securely as possible.

As an avid online shopper, I'm fairly tolerant of shopping risks, but I understand that not everyone is as comfortable as I am buying things sight unseen without trying anything on or touching it to make sure it's quality.  And I understand that there are plenty of people that aren't, so I'm not here to convert you necessarily, so here are some tips and tricks for buying in multiple venues.

1)  Conventions!  Big dance gatherings!  Haflas!

These are probably the best places to pick up dance gear. However, there are some things to keep in mind when you're surrounded by dancers and surrounded by merchandise.  Remember that you are paying convention prices. They're probably inflated, due to the cost of transportation, shipping, booths, and advertising. You will be paying more than you would online or secondhand, and you need to accept that.  If there's something fairly basic or mass-produced (i.e. skirts, cholis) you can always take a business card from the seller and check them out after the show. If you're buying something a little more special, make sure to try it on first. Returns with a con vendor can be a nightmare, especially if you get home from the show and realize that it doesn't fit.  Stress-test the jewelry and belts... you don't have to take it out to your car and run it over, but give a little tug on the sewn seams and near the jump rings. If they start to give, decided how comfortable you are repairing.

2)  Online shopping with an established vendor!

They'll likely be less expensive than at a show, but now is when your research comes in. Talk to your teacher or more experienced students with cool gear, and find out where they find stuff they like.  Eastern Fire Belly Dance is a big fan of Magical Fashions, Sirik Tribal, and Flying Skirts. I personally also had success with Tribe Nawaar and We3.  I am not a paid endorser of any of these links, I'm just telling you what I heard.  Before you order, make sure you get comfortable with a measuring tape. Check the measurements and dimensions of the item you're looking at.  Some people get very upset when they buy something that's very zoomed-in on a website, but is only listed as being 2" long.  I personally had an experience where I bought an XXL Turkish vest and failed to account for it being much bigger than my ribcage... I had to alter that one myself.  Also, check out any complaints on Bhuz.com or ask around with your dance sisters if you see a site that has gorgeous merch but you're hesitant about buying from them.  For example, we3 has a fair amount of complaints, but I've had good experiences with them overall.

3)  eBay, Etsy, and DIY sites

This is where things can get a little risky, as you're not necessarily buying from businesses... you could be buying from scammers, weirdoes, or fly-by-night organizations.  So now is the time to research!  Check feedback religiously, and if the feedback comes up as positive, make a test purchase and use PayPal. By using PayPal, you're entitled to buyer protection in case a sale doesn't come through. Also, please remember that you are likely going to be working with an international buyer. Shipping can take a long. ass. time. I had a particular headpiece ordered from some outfit in China that took a month and a half to get to me. It was cheap enough that I didn't mind the length of time for shipping, but it was still annoying, especially since it didn't come in time for a performance.  International shipping can take its sweet time, no matter what you're buying.  However, patience and luck paid off, and I now have a source for 25-yard cotton skirts for between 30 and 40 dollars a pop.

4)  Swaps and Sells through Dance Studios

You get to finger the merch and look at it in person, however, come forearmed with knowledge!  A seller that wants too much for that skirt, vest, top, etc, is going to be ANNOYING and hard to work with.  Get comfortable knowing going rates for things. Also, check on stuff... check for stains, rips, smells, failing seams, and evidence of customization. Know your comfort zone... if you're okay with a modesty panel taken out of a skirt, or trims added, or are comfortable changing these things yourself, that's not so much of a red flag unless you aren't comfortable with those things.  Also, there are some things I'd never buy secondhand... anything that fits tight to the chest, groin, or feet. Some things are just too personal, after all. Also, returns here are basically impossible.

Special Places I Buy Things:

To get my latest pair of Saroyan Professional Zils, I did a LOT of research before buying them via Saroyan's Amazon presence.  I'd seen different pairs, heard different pairs in person, and also availed myself of their website's listen-before-you-buy feature. I'm totally happy with the Professionals... they sound like really loud, tinkly, ringy bells.

I'm not afraid of Forever 21 and Claire's jewelry, because I'm well aware that I'm getting what I pay for.

I make my own hair flowers, accessories and extensions, so I don't have a good resource for them, besides CONTACT ME AND I CAN MAKE YOU SOME.

Some things you can't just buy from a picture, however... I won't buy dance shoes from an online seller. I found a local dance shop that special-orders ghillies, and I always try on before I buy. Dance shoe companies work off a completely different size chart than regular shoes. No matter what, though, if my feet don't fit comfortably in the shoes, the shoes come off and I ask for another. My local tiny dance shop probably thinks I'm a crazy diva, but I do buy and I do plenty of word-of-mouth for them.

Happy shopping!

Costuming on a Budget

Carolena Nericcio is such a day-ruiner sometimes.

When she dances, she's dolled up in fabulous textiles, what looks like authentic jewelry, gorgeous flowers... she makes it look so EASY.  There's a bit of "Oh, THIS old thing?" mixed in with "La, just collected these in my journeys and travels of a full and adventurous life, NO BIG" when she takes the stage. She looks effortlessly fantastic.

And I'm learning that it takes a lot of work to look so effortless!  The cost alone... I mean, the only reason I even own Rokedet is because she was part of a going-out-of-business sale, and you'll have to pry that belt out of my cold dead hands. In fact, it's going in the ground with me.

So, this is how I stay costumed and glorious.

1)  eBay, Forever 21, Claires. While it would be lovely to be able to own nothing but authentic Turkomen and Uzbek silver, sometimes, us budget-conscious ladies do have to go for a knockoff.  Though we may have to paint the interior with clear nail polish (it really helps!), a fabulous fake can get you through the first year or two of dancing, until you've solidified your identity as a dancer more and know what you'd like to invest in.

Tips:  Be careful about big solid pieces, where the metal can tarnish or the finish can come off. This doesn't look aged, this just looks cheap. Try something that's got a lot of chain. If it breaks, it's usually a pretty easy fix.

2)  Thrift stores.  If you live in an area with a high immigrant population, go to the thrift stores in the area. I've found full salwar kameez, saris, and my favorite batik sarong there, and for less than what you'd ever pay in a store, online, or from a tailor. If not, just wait for the whole boho trend to wane (it comes up and goes out pretty regularly) or wait until after Coachella/Bonnaroo/Burning Man/festival season.  There will be so many fringe bikini tops and vests. Sooooo many vests.

Tips:  Look for something well made, where the stitching isn't coming apart, free from holes or tears, and NO stains. Make sure it works well for your purposes, and for the love of god, if it's pilly, move on.

3)  DIY. Take a jewelry or accessory making class, or ask your ATS instructor if she'd like to put on a Craft Camp one day. Grace did one for hair flowers/hair falls, and I'm still using what she taught to this day! Also, it was like six months ago, so it wasn't really THAT long.  It's usually a lot cheaper to make a thing yourself, like the braids I just made for Club ATS on October 25, than it is to buy them already done.

Tips:  Practice and go slow!  Start with something achievable! And steer clear of Pinterest. I'm sorry, Pinterest is great, but there is far too much potential for fail. If at all possible, take some kind of class in person where you have a live, present human instructing you, in case things go Terribly Wrong or Off The Rails.

4)  AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:  Recycle!  If you have a necklace with one pretty element and the rest doesn't work, take out what you want and use it in another piece. I have a hair flower that used to be an awkward necklace, but the proportion of it is just right for the hair.  I also have this one headband I adore... it was originally a sheer caftan from Forever 21 that I adored and wore all the time, until it snagged and started to run. So, I made it a headband instead and it lives on!

Tips:  Again... start small, stay achievable, and be reasonable about what you can accomplish. This is not an indictment against any dancer's craft skillz, this is more an admission that I am the Kwisatz Haderach of trying something beyond my ability and making a bigass mess.

The Bellydance TARDIS

No, I don't mean the inimitable Raks Geek and that beautiful performance (though you should absolutely check it out!), I'm talking transport.

ATS dancers have a ton of stuff. 25 yard skirts, cholis, pantaloons, tons of jewelry, tons of flowers, makeup, belts, scarves, special "choli safe" dance bras, fake hair, zills, props... and we have to get it from our homes to classes, performances, and events somehow.

Grace uses a rolling suitcase for her costumes, and to her credit, she does need it... she's carrying extra skirts, extra zills, extra scarves, merch, music, business cards, planners... the sheer amount of STUFF that she totes around is astonishing.

As I need less stuff, and am an apartment-dweller and do not particularly relish the idea of hauling a rolling suitcase around, I went with the Speedo Teamster bag. I generally like swimming bags as dance bags, because they are HUGE (designed to carry snorkels and flippers and TOWELS [towels are huge]), they're waterproofed, and they usually have separate pockets/compartments for quarantining anything wet, dirty, or gross. My "cordovan" (meaning = burgundy) Teamster is currently holding a pair of dance shoes, two 25-yard skirts, a hip scarf, Rokedet, my wallet, a bottle of water, and my phone, and there's STILL ROOM for jewelry, pantaloons, hair flowers, etc.

Anyway, this is not a paid advertisement. I do not work for Speedo, nor am I being compensated. To keep me from still blabbing about my bag, let's talk about yours, and how to choose one. So, how to choose a dance bag that you will actually use:

1. BE REALISTIC ABOUT YOUR NEEDS!  Ideally you should appreciate the bag, the contours, the color, the way it looks and fits. But this is also equipment, and much like my post on dance shoes earlier, looks are secondary to function. Instead of buying a cute bag that doesn't work for you, buy something that absolutely works that you happen to like the look of.  I used to have this problem... I would insist that a particular bag was PERFECT, I needed it, it would be fine, no problem. But after I'd fallen in love with the look, I'd realize that it didn't at all work for my lifestyle or the amount I needed to carry (here's looking at you, sling backpack). Only time and experience made me realize that function came over form when it came to matters of the bag.
2. POCKETS! ALL OF THE POCKETS! I looooove pockets. So I strongly advocate that you find a bag with pockets, sections, or some kind of division in it in case you need to keep, say, dirty dance shoes that reek from spilled beer away from your vintage hand-batik dupatti, and preferably something with an easily accessible interior pocket that you can stash money, a phone, or keys in.
3. BUT NOT TOO MANY POCKETS!  When buying the bag, take a good, critical look at all of those nooks and crannies, and make sure that they will be put to use.  One or two pockets that you kind of write off as too small to fit anything or too oddly placed to be of use is one thing, having an entire bag where you only make use of the main compartment literally defeats the purpose of having pockets in the first place.
4. CHECK YOUR CONSTRUCTION!  Trust me, you want something that's at least weatherproofed, with a reinforced bottom and zippers, and some kind of padding on the straps.  I have gone through far too many "trendy" bags to ever recommend anything else.  There was the cotton canvas messenger with a nylon web strap that gave me rugburn before the strap pulled free of the stitching and I had to tuck the whole mess under an arm. There was the fabulous mid-century style faux-croc satchel whose clasp snapped off. There was the inflatable vinyl purse that only lasted for three months before it popped. There were the series of tiny, gothy purses and my valiant attempts to cram everything in there. Invariably, these purses would tear, wear, break, snap, or leak from rain.  If you're going to be carrying anything hard to replace or electronic in nature, you definitely want something heavy-duty and waterproof.
5. CHECK YOUR LIFESTYLE!  Does the bag actually work for you?  If it's too heavy, too unwieldy, too ugly, too hard to manage, or too complicated, you just won't use it. (Remember the swing backpack I linked above? I wore one like it five times. I still have it, but I never use it).  It's a similar principle to clothing... if you're not comfortable, you'll never wear it.
6. GIVE IT A TEST RUN!  Okay, so you've picked a bag that's big enough, has the right amount of pockets, is comfortable, is built like a tank, and that you'll use. Now, before you take the tags off and lose the receipt, put all of your dance stuff in it and walk around the house with it for twenty minutes.  Does it fit everything comfortably? Is it making your arm go numb or your shoulders ache? Are any of the seams straining? Is it doing anything weird (i.e. in the eternal example of the sling backpack, is the velcro from the strap catching on your clothing and turning it into a Pilling Hafla)?  If any of these are true, take it back. Life's too short.