My Peacock costume, with my favorite style of spandex midriff cover.

Dressing the All-American Belly Dancer

by Tahia Alibeck, published by Southern Dancer, 1984

To cover, or not to cover…that is the question!

OK, Ladies. Stand before your full length mirrors and let’s take a test. Close your eyes and imagine you are on a hot, crowded beach, gorgeous men all around.

What are you wearing? If your first thought was a bikini (or less), you pass. If your first thought was a tent, you're the ones I want!

Take a long, hard look at yourself in the mirror. Think of your best features, then a term to describe your figure in a positive way: voluptuous, goddess-like, Rubenesque, etc., anything but FAT (that’s too negative!).

OK, back to the concept of your body on a beach. Why is it that those who would not be caught dead in a bikini think it’s appropriate to "let it all hang out" in a bellydance costume? I'm talking about the standard cabaret version: bra, belt, skirt, and veil. Let’s face it, ladies, some were not meant to show as much as others. True, shimmies look better on someone with something to shimmy, but when it starts looking like Jell-O during an earthquake, something needs to be done. That’s what cover-ups are for.

Consider your attributes: learn to accentuate the positives and hide the negatives. Heavy in the middle but with great legs? Consider the Belady chemise, with all of its wonderful variations. An opaque or semi-sheer fabric in a medium or dark color, with a narrow belt, draws the eye up and down, and with high side slits shows off your great legs. Add a few cut-outs on the diaphragm (upper tummy) and sides or back for more view, and three-quarter or full-length sleeves, and you're hot stuff!

Got great arms? Make your chemise sleeveless and wear glitzy beaded armbands, or make your sleeves with slits from wrist to shoulder in a sheer fabric with a decorated cuff, or catch the slit just above the elbow for a Ghawazee, draped-sleeve effect.

Legs too short? Add narrow-cut harem pants in a semi-sheer or opaque vertical stripe. Don't make them too short: harem pants should just touch the floor when you're barefoot. Don't use flashy lamé or metallic fabrics; they reflect too much light and make you look broader. Narrow vertical-striped fabrics for harem pants and chemises add more height than plain fabrics or prints.

If you are hippy, don't use hip accent scarves; they tend to broaden your figure as well.

If your heart is set on wearing standard cabaret, do something to make it fit and flatter your figure. Consider glitter scarves. Take a large glitter scarf (2’ by 6’ long), fold it in half, cut a slit in the fold wide enough for your head to fit through it, then hem the opening. Put it on over your cabaret bra, tucking the ends into your belt. You can sew up the sides under the arms for more cover, or leave them open. Another trick: pin together two large glitter scarves at one of the narrow ends, leaving an opening for your head, and put it on over your bra and skirts, then placing your belt over the layered scarves and skirts.

Another alternative for a cabaret cover-up is the body-stocking or midriff cover, as worn by many Egyptian dancers. You can make a midriff cover out of a fishnet stocking or a sheer stretch fabric in a skin tone. Make the cover fit from the bottom of your bra to just below your belt and add a panty with snaps at the crotch. Use small hooks to fasten it to the bottom of the bra. Run your seams front and back center, concealing the front seam by adding stomach jewelry, beads, paillettes, jewels or coins.

One item used often for other dance forms but overlooked for bellydance, except in classroom or practice use, is the leotard. Why is that? The leotard is a perfect way to conceal flaws such as stretch marks, and gives a toned, firm appearance to those who are not aerobic buffs. It can give more of a finished look with heavy circle skirts and, when matched to the skirt color, it adds height. The leotard is also an excellent base costume piece for those who could get by without a cover-up but choose more modest costuming for some performances. Use leotards in solid, clear or bright colors, and matched carefully to your other costume colors. Decorate the neck and sleeve or armhole edges with trims, jewels, etc., to match your belt and get away from the "exercise" look. These days, you can even make your own leotard with the many Lycra spandex stretch fabrics that are available in fabric stores, and add keyhole necklines, various sleeves, tummy cut-outs, etc., for more variations. Be creative, but remember one thing when sewing on all those flashy goodies. Be sure to allow for that stretch, or you’ll lose pieces of your work!

Authoress’ notes: Update, March, 2005: Gee, still opinionated! Oh, well, that’s what we’re all taught, isn't it? OK, much of what’s here still applies, I think, though it seems now many women, not necessarily bellydancers, ever really look at themselves in the mirror these days. Guess I’m showing my age; my mom taught me to stand straight, suck in my tummy, and be aware of how short my skirts were back in the 60’s and 70’s. Now we have a lot of young women slouching in hip-huggers jeans lower than our lowest bellydance belts!

Enough of my rantings, back to this article. Cover-ups for heavier dancers, or those with imperfect skin on their tummies, are much more available these days, as bellydance has become more visible, thanks much to the Internet. You can get a variety of styles, though from what I’ve seen, I still prefer to make my own spandex midriff covers to match my costumes, just ‘cause I like what I've created, and I know how well my sewing stands up to time and use. I use a simple swimsuit pattern, cutting down the front, and adding elastic to keep it snug where it hooks into my bra. It pulls on like a topless swimsuit, and I've got pictures here on this page to show you how well it works.

The glitter scarves method is still a great cover too, just finding them in Sedona isn’t easy! In place of glitter scarves, use 45" to 60" wide, light-weight fabric that drapes well. Slit it down the fold line, hem the raw edges, and pin or sew at shoulder. Works great, and you can decide the length you want.

Another note, regarding Lycra or spandex. Tricky stuff, sewing it, and then decorating it. On sewing spandex, use a ball point needle on your sewing machine or you’ll have skipped stitches. Use a serger if you have one, or do double rows of zigzag stitches with your regular machine. On applying decorations, you MUST allow for the stretch, or you’ll pop off sequins, beads, coins, whatever you just spent lots of time applying. OK, advertising pitch!!! I have a few suggestions for adding decorations to stretch fabrics in my book, Be-Dazzling! Hand Beading Techniques for Clothing and Costumes. Check it out here:

Tahia's Beading Book

Next: Beginner's Costuming

Here are a few more photos of my covered-up costumes!

My friend Jennifer modeling my Magenta Animal/Turq costume. The midriff cover is actually a full length unitard, going down to her ankles, although she has the slitted skirt covering her legs.

On left, my coral spandex unitard with attached skirt, for something a bit different. On right, that's me between a couple of friends after a performance in Port Angeles. I'm wearing a sleeveless balady dress, it's really just two long rectangles pinned together at shoulder and hip.

My "Sorceress" costume had a full body unitard made from spandex mesh.

Two of my costumes with stomach covers. The Teal/Gold uses a modified sleeveless version of the Balady dress for the base, the front hooking under the bra, covering the midriff, then becoming the underskirt. A sequin chiffon panel skirt is layered over that. The Hot Pink/Gold draped costume, again using the idea of a simple dress, but this one is one-shouldered and bare backed, with a back drape hanging down from the shoulder, anchored by the halter strap of my bra. Both photos taken in 1990.