Fabulous Full Figures, Part 2: Leyla Lanty

"When I went in for a fitting, Amira, the designer and owner of the atelier, looked at me in the costume and expressed disapproval. She asked one of her assistants to get a spare orange strap and one of the ankle bands and fix a waist band for it. When this was done, she moved across the room, took one look, and smiled broadly. Yes! this was the look she wanted. I never ever would have thought before this that putting a thin band around my waist in a bedla would be at all flattering. Voila! Much to my surprise, with the waist band I had a waistline!"

This dress was designed and made by Mahmoud Abd el Ghaffar at his atelier "El Wikalah" in Cairo. The photo was by Leyla's dear friend Marcia Morris Conklin:

This dress is a stage version of the everyday dress of most Egyptian women, the galabeya, a type of caftan. It's a T-shaped dress with a large triangular scarf tied around the hips and a matching triangular scarf tied around the head. Leyla uses it for performing a folkloric "country" style of dance.

Here's what Leyla has to say about this dress:

"At Mahmoud's atelier, I saw a model for this dress on a hanger on the wall. I fell in love with it even though it was in a color that was definitely not for me. I ordered it in blue with multicolored paillettes.

"Showing his attention to quality, Mahmoud specified that even a simple T-shaped dress must be made to my measure. So, his tailor, a very sweet woman who really knows her craft, immediately whipped out her tape measure so she would be able to cut it as close as possible on the first try. A couple of days later, I returned at the appointed time for the fitting. The chiffon dress fit perfectly.

"After another couple of days, I returned to find it had been transformed into a dazzlingly sparkly paillette dress for dancing. She had also made two matching scarves for my hips and head. This is a style of costume which I think would be flattering to any type of figure."

Pink Lace Dress

This pink confection was designed and made by Mahmoud Abd el Ghaffar at his atelier "El Wikalah" in Cairo. The photo below was taken by dancer/photographer Jenza Maya (Suzanne McNeil):

The components of this lace dress include a built-in bra and a separate, detachable hip belt.