Is it different? Yes. Pretty? Yes.

Would I pay more than $200 for it? No.

I can do my own beadwork. If I wanted something similar that badly, I'd make it myself.

Sorry. I think it's way overpriced.

It's pretty but way overpriced. Even with real semi-precious stones it's over priced.

...please tell me there's more to this costume! $3500 for a bra and belt?? Oh, and did you see the shipping charges for the US - $75.00......hmmm, didn't look, but must include insurance and tracking.

...and for me, just not all that much to drool over.

apparently people like her stuff...

They are buying it. Insane as they are.

Apparently if you start charging tons of money for simple things and use the right keywords, people will buy it!!! WOW!

The beadwork is dense and impressive and the materials definitely superior in their costliness to a "typical" costume. I suspect if you counted up the hours of labour (at a reasonable or moderately generous living wage) as well as the cost of materials, you coud come at least close to justifying the price. That being said, I don't know who will buy it. I'm not sure there are any bellydancers in the world who can really afford costumes that expensive, and if I WERE looking to blow that much on a costume, I'd want a custom, one-of-a-kind design, made to fit ME. For $3500, that's not unreasonable.

However, there's the posibility that this costume isn't really expected/intended to sell. Somtimes retailers will stock a few *really* expensive items, not because they sell, but because they make other, cheaper items sell better. Eg. the customer looks at the expensive thing, reels in shock at the price, and then the other, less expensive items---in her case, the jewelry, say---look positively inexpensive and a good deal. (I knew a fellow who ran a gift shop. They stocked a few $200 leather jackets, not because the jackets sold, but because after looking at the jacket, the $40 T-shirts seemed cheap). At the same time displaying the item with the high price creates a sense of the designer's value---"she must be something special to charge that much, I'm really excited to be able to get just a little, much more affordable, something else".

As to that costume itself---while I have to say the closeup of the beadwork made my jaw drop, I wasn't impressed with the overall effect. The detail doesn't carry well from a performance perspective. Maybe it would be good for close-up restaurant work, though.

Design-wise, I consider it a masterpiece, at least from the front. And you ladies know that getting the design just right can be the most labor intensive part of the process. If she spent.

However, there are some unanswered questions about its suitabilty as a hard-working professional costume. We don't see shots of the sides or back, so you don't know how it is fastened or what it looks like to the 75% of the audience who is not looking at you head on at any particular time. The strap around the neck does not meet with my approval, even if you are small breasted - dancers will need that part of their spinal cord when they get older! And the tied belt --- unless the belt is properly contoured (which cannot be determined from the picture) instead of a rectangle then that belt is likely to travel.

Right now, it might be nothing more than great art for the wall. But yes, worth the $3500 when compared to other pieces of art I saw today!

"However, there's the posibility that this costume isn't really expected/intended to sell. Somtimes retailers will stock a few *really* expensive items, not because they sell, but because they make other, cheaper items sell better. Eg. the customer looks at the expensive thing, reels in shock at the price, and then the other, less expensive items---in her case, the jewelry, say---look positively inexpensive and a good deal. (I knew a fellow who ran a gift shop. They stocked a few $200 leather jackets, not because the jackets sold, but because after looking at the jacket, the $40 T-shirts seemed cheap). At the same time displaying the item with the high price creates a sense of the designer's value---"she must be something special to charge that much, I'm really excited to be able to get just a little, much more affordable, something else"."

That makes sense. Especially after I looked at her other items. I'm sure they were time consuming to make but I just can't spend $40 on a pendant either. I guess it works. She sells a lot of stuff.

Granted, that is a beautiful costume, very nicely done and very unique.
But I can guarantee that it did not cost more than a couple hundred dollars to make it - if that much, and no more time to make it than other costumes. I'd be surprised if she had many customers. Even if I was rich and I had thousands of dollars to spend on costuming, I would rather by several, equally beautiful and well made costumes.
Thanks for posting this, though! Very unique costuming elements - I'll save the picture for inspiration.

Though the cost is in the "OUCH, that's expensive", the amount of beading, materials,sewing, the variety of beads as well as their age, I'd say it's reasonable. I've also noticed that when you start using vintage materials, cost goes up. I've done bead embroidery like this, not that extensive mind you, but I've covered small things and that was time consuming in itself and I'm a slow beader/sewer because I like to be thorough and as precise as possible. LOL! Designing the piece, I can only imagine how much time she spent on that, in fact I sent her a message asking her.

I planned on doing some beading on a wedding album, simple border design, not a lot of flair and I spent about $30 in the beads alone, seed beads/pearls in whites and creams. I also planned on incorporating a few wedding flowers, beaded trim and a few ab crystals and tiny silver beads as accents. The rest of the construction of the album, antique white wedding satin, cream and white lace, batting, glue and poster board, which came up to about $40.. That's $70 bucks and I haven't even started with my time yet. Without the beading, just covering the album alone would take me approximately 5-6hrs and that doesn't include dry time for the glue. Now add that to a reasonable wage of say $10hr, I'm practically up to $100 bucks now. I'm sure that would be a reasonable amount, but if I added the beading work it's going to quadruple in cost, if not more. Of course I know I'm a slow beader so I'd charge a bit less for my time, $7-$8hr. Some people would think that was just crazy. I figure after tweaking the design, transferring it onto the material and beading it, i'm looking at approximately 50hrs of work maybe more, maybe less. I don't think anyone would want to pay almost $500 for a wedding album but the amount of work/time put into it, makes it worth that much if not more. If I was to sell it, I'd be lucky if I got half. Now is that fair to me? No. Of course the idea is all approximation. I have yet to start that album but I still have all the materials for it. I guess I could start on it now and hopefully be done by the time my daughter marries. I figure I'll have about 5-10yrs to finish it. LOL!

To someone looking from the outside in, the cost is outrageous but to those of us who have done work like this or have done even a fraction can understand the time, the blood, the frustration, the joy put into creating a magnificent piece of art, be it for a conversational piece or a functional working piece.

looking at the costume, she's definitely charging for her time. 20.00/h works out to 175 hours.

I suspect that she's either new to belly dance or has friends who are newer dancers - looking at the costume I don't see that there is much by way of shaping to the belt, and that other than the lovely beadwork there is no other embellishment such as drapes or fringe or any finishing work to the bra other than the cups (straps and sides are very plain). My guess is an experienced beadworker/artist making a foray into belly dance costume. For as lovely and extensive as the beadwork is, the details of the ensemble look too simple and 'unfinished' to my eyes.

i think the scarf ties make it look cheap, and i am no fan of costumes without any fringe at all

1-i agree with so many others... my time IS worth money.
1.5-"i can do that", yes, but WILL I? hell no! as a crafter/artiste, my rule is this - if i can't figure out how it's made, or i don't have the time, i buy. (25-yarders online for me, yo! then i make my own bra/belt combos.)
2-in a modern Western world where "art" can be piss-in-a-jar-with-a-cross that goes for thousands of dollars, and taxpayers are billed for public works of "art" that are no more than bronze slagpiles or roughcut marble cornerstones (the price of materials in these cases nowhere nearly justifying the cost of the 'piece') --- THIS WOMAN DESERVES THE PRICE SHE IS ASKING. given money to burn, i would rather stare at this in my lounge than a Picasso or Pollack any day of the year.
3-it is a great showpiece for her talents, and likely will get her other work.
4-there are markets for obscenely expensive clothing. gowns worn to the Oscars? wedding gowns? etc...

i admire her art and her audacity.