Berber Folkloric
Coat and harem pants designed and sewn by Tinkerbell.
All photos on this page by D. Blanck.
In the early days of belly dancing, I was modest and didn't want to show a bare belly. I have a few surgical scars on my belly and didn't want to show that. I felt comfortable with folkloric style costuming because I could perform and still be a belly dancer in "authentic" costuming. I call this costume "Barber." This costume is not authentic Berber tribal attire. Harem pants are not a period costume piece. It's fine for stage or Renaissance Faire, but would not pass at a S.C.A. event.
It's nice when peasant blouses and hippy shirts are in fashion. You can find cotton embroidered shirts very easily. I found this white cotton shirt with blue embroidery trim at Wal-Mart. A peasant blouse is a basic costume element of folkloric style.
Inanna calls this the "Lebanese Headache" pose. Drama! The harem pants are cotton fabric, which is cooler for performances beneath so many layers of costume. I used a pair of 2X Large women's pajama bottoms, found on clearance at K-Mart, as the pattern for these cotton harem pants.
Sewing tip: Make sure your costume fits well. This coat does not have darts to bring in the waist line and makes me look dumpy. I'm a size 10 bottom and size 12 top, but this blue coat doesn't show that I have a waist. It should be altered.
