Dawn Devine Brown

Excellent for Tribal (ATS/American Tribal Style) dancers and costumers, this book covers a wide range of garments, with suggestions for embellishment.

However, if you have an SCA Middle Eastern persona, this book will lead you astray. It has very little that even approaches the historical, which makes it inappropriate for the SCA, where we are encouraged to make clothing that is historical. They may *seem* ok, but that is because the standards for Middle Eastern personae is often lower than show more those for European personae. show less

For a Scadian Middle Eastern, or even Indian, persona, this is a good basic book if you need a pattern ASAP, and have intermediate-plut sewing/drafting skills. For a Tribal Dancer, it's much the same, although the preponderance of excellent off-the-shelf cholis and other dancer items lessens the need for sew-your-own costume solutions.
The patterns are simple line-drawings with directions; don’t expect Simplicity/McCall levels of design in the pattern work! If the patterns baffle you, I show more would recommend getting an experienced seamstress on-call at the very least. They are also not period, although the designs pass the 3 foot rule with little problem. Bottom Line: If you’re just starting in the SCA, and want to wear Middle Eastern, these patterns work.
The best part of the book, for me, was the detailed and rich bibliography at the end; well worth the purchase if you’re trying to further document clothing. Also, for Tribal dancers, the book goes into the historical and ethnic basis for much of the clothing and jewelry dancers wear. Since Tribal tends to be a mélange of ethnic influences, it’s great to know where your cool new bracelet came from! show less

This book is a good beginners guide into the world of belly dance costume. It shows all the possibilities, but without much background. Although it shows and explains how to make some of the options I don't find it very user friendly. I'm an experienced pattern maker and sewer, and I still don't understand all she says/draws.

I would recommend this book to people who know nothing yet about belly dance costumes and who want to know more. For those who want to make actual belly dance clothing show more I would only recommend this book to experienced sewers and pattern makers. People who wouldn't have to blindly follow the authors guidelines. show less

An excellent, practical guide for the beginner. It covers everything from how to flatter your body type to basic beading to how to buy fringe. It's easy to follow and makes you want to get out there and start costuming!