The super-glamourous author/dancer Princess Farhana featured me in a write up about “The Cloth of Egypt: All About Assiut!” entitled “The Queen of Assiut.” I’m so very honored to work with Princess Farhana, who is beyond a triple threat – working as a dancer, instructor, workshop leader, costume designer, and author! We were so pleased to feature her in a gorgeous, retro inspired rhinestone embellished assiut costume on the back cover of the book. Alisha Westerfeld shot the Princess at the last big MECDA show, Cairo Caravan in 2013. In this photo, she is wearing a teal and blue assiut bra encrusted with rhinestones and dripping with jewelry. This bra is part of a collaborative costume design, where I designed and built the bra and the Princess made the belt and skirt. The white vintage assiut is very special, a treasure from the trove of the Princess. During Cairo Caravan, I actually worked on this bra, finishing up the fitting details and the last of the embellishments.
Lynette Harris of Gilded Serpent eZine and I shared a table at this event, and during the outreach, we had the opportunity to chat with dancers, costumers, teachers, and even had a visit by the dance impresario Miles Copeland of Bellydance Superstars. Through it all, I was pleased to get this beautiful bra completed.
Facts
about the Costume: The turquoise and blue rhinestone costume was fun to design and build, and I wanted to take a few moments to discuss this particular bra. The base was purchased at Target for under $20. I bought the two colored assiut panels direct from Egypt from a vendor on eBay, total cost with shipping was $100. The blue bi-cone Swarovski crystals were purchased from Rhinestone Guy. The tummy drape is two necklaces from Shiny Sparkly Things. Other materials that went into this bra includes: thread, hooks and eyes, grosgrain ribbon and buckram interfacing. The total for materials and supplies of the bra and belt are approximately, $140. Not bad for such a bright and blingy costume.
When the bra was completed, I gave it, and all the rest of the materials and supplies to the Princess to complete the design. In August 2014, the completed costume was debuted at Assiut Fest, and this photo was snapped by Alisha Westerfeld. What a beautiful costume on a lovely dancer! Wanna see it in action – check out the video below.
There is nothing like a tasty treat on one of the USA’s most important holidays, Thanksgiving. So, to celebrate, I’ve begun to put up the videos from our party, Assiut Fest, held back in August. We had an incredible lineup of dancers and a great turn out. This is a performance from that show by the lovely Bay Area rising star Basinah performing to classic music in a retro fusion costume that appears in Cloth of Egypt. Video was shot by Mark Scott and edited by Jerry Case. Thanks to everyone who came to the event, supported the production of the book, bought me coffee, or just gave me a shoulder to cry upon! You, my friends, family, and fans, are what I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving!
