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Fabulous Full Figures, Part 2: Leyla Lanty

© Shira

This article is Part 2 in a series of articles titled "Belly Dancing Costumes: Fabulous Full Figures." It offers inspiration to full-figured women everywhere who would like to learn to belly dance, but aren't quite sure what types of attractive costume options might be available for their lush curves.

A Madame Abla Costume

If you're new to the Middle Eastern dance scene and have never heard of Madame Abla, then it's time to begin your education! Madame Abla is one of a small handful of elite costume designers who make costumes for the top stars of Cairo's dance circuit. She speaks no English, only Arabic. So any dancer who wants to acquire a custom Abla creation needs to make arrangements for someone to translate. A typical feature of Abla's costumes is the asynchronous line, as you can see from the placement of the appliques on the bra and belt of this outfit.

These two pictures, both taken by dancer/photographer Jenza Maya (Suzanne McNeil), show Leyla modeling a bedleh that Madame Abla custom-made to fit her. "Bedleh," which means "suit" in Arabic, is the costume commonly seen in nightclubs and restaurants both in Egypt and the West, consisting of a bra, belt, skirt, and optional (outside of Egypt) body stocking.

In describing this costume, Leyla says:

"When I saw the skirt for this one among the samples in Madame Abla's atelier in Cairo, there was no question that I would order it. She and her assistant Mdme. Tewheeda, custom made this costume to my measurements.

"The most remarkable part of ordering this costume was the measuring process. Mdme. Tewheeda did not use a measuring tape. She laid her hands on my body over my street clothes at the crucial locations. She reported to an assistant what the measurements were as she put her hands around my upper arms, along the front, back, and sides of my midriff and hips and put her "cupped" hands, one around each breast!! A few days later,when I came back for a fitting, the body suit, made of two layers of netting, with built-in hard-cup bra and a big zipper up the back fit like my skin! I was really impressed!"

Leyla's Fiery Orange Bedleh

Here is another bedleh from Leyla's collection of made-in-Egypt costume creations. This photo by photo by Marcia Morris Conklin, a dear friend of Leyla.

When I asked Leyla to tell me about this costume, she said:

"At the Pharonics of Egypt atelier in Cairo, I fell in love with the bra and belt in orange with fuschia and red-purple rhinestone, bead, and sequin embellishment. I ordered the beaded orange skirt and sleeves to go with it. Included were a set of ankle bands beaded to match the bra and belt.

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