This weekend I went to an event, a hafla hosted by Adira, of Adira Dance and Costume in Willow Glen, CA. Once a month throughout the summer, Adira transformer her parking lot into a performance space, and invites dancers from all across Northern California to come and dance. This Saturday, it was my turn, and I took the stage as one half of a duet called “Swirl,” the name I use for all of my group dancing experiences. Zemira, aka Alisha Westerfeld, my co-author and photographer on Cloth of Egypt.
Well, lo-and-behold, I spied one of my costume pieces! Alisha got a snap of dancer Hiya-Chaiya, performing with the group House of Inanna. This bra was part of the Byzantium line of ready-to-wear bra and belts that I started in 2001. I don’t even know how many of these I made! But here are a few of my favorite pictures of Byzantium bras.
Before Istanbul was Constantinople, it was called Byzantium, and I took this name for this collection of easy-to-wear costumes. The style is tribal fusion, a multicultural blend of textiles, coins, and jewelry components from along the caravan routes of the spice routes and along the silk road of Asia and North Africa. Ribbons from India, jewelry from Morocco, Coins from Iran, all came together to form these costumes. My personal mission was to make garments that would hold up to the rigorous life of dancing outdoors at festivals, historic events, on the beaches and around the campfires. They were sturdy, made from materials that could be hand washed and laid out to dry, ready for the next performance.
I adored dancing at Renaissance festivals and other living history presentations. At a festival, you might have to wear your costume for 4, 6 or even 8 hours in a row, longer than you would wear a spangled glam costume for a restaurant. They need to be flexible, and have give. And, they need to be made from period inspired materials.
Of course, a modern commercial bra isn’t historical by ANY stretch of the imagination, so covering it up with embellishments, and wearing it under a dress, vest, or coat, a period impression is created, without sacrificing modern comfort. Like these two lovelies on the left, Mollie and Alisha wearing Byzantium bras paired with wash-and-wear cotton tunics. Of course, a few were so lusciously embellished that they were stage-worthy like the costume below, worn by San Francisco/Bay Area pro dancer Setareh.
Thanks for joining me on this little blast from the past!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
August 17, 2015
I’m please to announce that Andelee, over on the website has just published my article 
I enjoy working with modern assiut and I often use my sewing machine for seams and hems. Many dancers like to open the side seams of their assiut garments from hem to hip for maximum freedom of movement. Most ready-made assiut robes, however, arrive stitched closed to the hem. Although assiut doesn’t fray, a clean smooth well stitched hem will hang and move better.
3 – Use your iron – Using your chalk line as a guide, fold and press your new hem in to place.
4 – Pin parallel to the hem – After your fabric has cooled off pin your new hem into place. I like to
6 – Sew slowly – Always go nice and slow so you can control the shape of the seam and pull your pins out as you sew. To remove your pins easily, simply use your thumb to capture the heads of the pin and as the machine pulls the fabric through, your thumb will pull the pin out of the cloth. This technique works best when using big-headed pins with brightly colored heads.
If you’ve been following my blog, you have probably read some of my DIY costuming books devoted to Middle Eastern belly dance costumes. However, I find that many novice seamstresses purchase my products and find they need advice on basic construction. Fortunately, there are already numerous books on general sewing technique available today. But which one to choose?