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Thrift Stores Finds
Shopping resale, consignment and thirft stores for raw materials
While making a dance costume for either practice or performance
is part of the rite of passage for the Middle Eastern belly dance
enthusiast, many dancers try to cut costs as much as they can.
One of the most effective ways to save money on costuming is
to shop on the resale market for garments that can be transformed
into costumes.
Resale shop treasures can be used in two ways. First, they
can be transformed or reused as is, with just some refitting
and embellishment. This works well with beaded cocktail dresses
and evening gowns. Second, garments can be treated as yardage,
with the fabric harvested to make entirely different garments.
Approaching a garment and disregarding the cut is an excellent
approach to items that are too large or too small to be immediately
useful as is. Beaded and sequined fabric is quite expensive as
yardage. Beaded shirts or blouses can provide anywhere from one
to two yards of beaded fabric, enough to make a bra and belt,
or at the very least, a set of appliques.
Unlike a fabric store or mall shop, thrift stores can literally
have anything. You never know what you will come across during
your shopping expeditions. You must approach your shopping expedition
as if you were on a treasure hunt. Go slowly, really examine
each rack and look at all the garments. Use your hands to touch
and feel everything. If you are looking for beaded and sequined
fabrics, look in eveningwear, but also look in the vest section
and in blouses and skirts. If you are looking for more ethnic
styled garments, make sure to go down every clothing aisle.
Planning ahead for your trip
Here are a few tips for making your trip more productive
and less frustrating. Putting together a little resale shopping
kit can make the trip go more smoothly. Many shops do not have
fitting rooms. Wear garments that make it easy to try things
on. A unitard or a form fitting tank and pants set will allow
you to try things on right in the shop without revealing too
much. Wear comfortable shoes so you can shop in comfort.
Shopping Kit
Shopping Notebook - A shopping notebook can make this
process go smoothly. Addresses and names of shops organized by
location. Notes about the type and quality of merchandise will
help you select which stores to shop at. This is a great place
to keep your wish list, ongoing project list and measurement
charts.
Wish List - While you might not find all the
things on your list, having a list can keep you focused. Jot
down the colors you are most interested in, the styles of costumes
and pieces you are looking for.
Tape Measure - A tape measure will help you quickly
figure out the size of garments that are unlabeled. You will
be able to measure garments to see if they will have enough yardage
to make costume pieces.
Safety Pins - Trying on something too big? Need to
pin a fragment onto another garment to see an effect? Bring some
safety pins so that you do some on the spot alterations to see
if your plans will work.
Fitting chart - Before you go out on a thrift store
expedition, go into your closet and measure some of your clothes.
Find out what dimensions a garment needs to be in order to fit
your body. Measure across your waistband, down the outside of
the leg. Measure necklines and across the shoulders of your shirts.
Pre-measure any style of garment you might be purchasing.
Imagination - Never go to a thrift store without it!
This is the one virtually indescribable element that is essential
to successfully locating items for tranformation. Develop your
design eye. Every time something catches your eye, take a good
look and ask yourself, "what can this become?"
Transformations
Over the years, I've seen hundreds of costumes made
from recylced regalia. Here are a few examples of the types of
projects possible.
Ethnic garments and textile appliques
Depending on where you live, occasionally ethnic garments
appear in resale shops. Even if a garment is way too small or
large, if there is enough yardage to make it workable, and the
price is right, pick it up. Tribal style costumes can be made
with layers of pieced and appliqued textiles. Even the smallest
fragment can become the focal piece of tribal garment piece.
Evening dresses into beladi gowns
Resale and consignment stores are excellent places
to find dresses with elaborate beading and sequins. If you find
a dress in your size, a dress in good condition can be used as
is with a little reinforcement, embellishment and perhaps some
minor renovations. Think about all those elegant beladi dresses
from Egypt. How can you recreate the glamour from the reclaimed
formal gowns available.
Bras
Some dancers have had good luck in purchasing used
bras to use as costume bases. Others who build their bras from
scratch harvest any style of bra for the underwires to stabilize
their custom cups. Sometimes a lucky dancer will find a holiday
style bra that is covered with velvet, lace or other decoration
that only needs a few appliques and fringe to build a beautiful
costume bra. Remember, you only need a yard of fabric to cover
a bra and standard belt. So a skirt, a pair of pants or even
a dress can be harvested for fabric to cover a bra and belt set.
Skirts into Pants
If you find a full skirt in a pattern or fabric that you love,
but it just doesn't move well for a swirly dance skirt, consider
making a pair of slim fitting harem pants. Full poofy prom/bridesmaids
dresses often have enough fabric in their skirts for fuller harem
pants.
Household textile wraps and covers
Household textiles offer lots of yardage, and sometimes even
a rather glamorous look. Elegant holiday table cloths and decorative
imported bedspreads can be transformed into wraps and coverups.
Khaftans can be pieced together from a number of different coordinating
fabrics.
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