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Fabulous Full Figures, Part 4: M'shisha al Fo'awi

© Shira

This article is Part 4 in a series of articles titled "Belly Dancing Costumes: Fabulous Full Figures." It offers some costume ideas to full-figured women everywhere who would like to learn to belly dance, but are reluctant because they don't know what they would wear.

This gallery features M'shisha al Fo'awi modeling some of her favorite belly dance costumes from her collection. It wasn't easy to drag her into the park for our photo session, but she eventually gave in. Here's what she has to say about it:

"To be honest, I never think I look good in photographs. Shira had to practically wrestle me to the ground to get me to actually pose once I'd agreed to be a part of her "Fabulous Full Figures" series. I'll bet many of you feel the same way. Being tall, as well as round, I'm also quite aware of how silly I can look standing next to the troupe member who isn't even five feet tall (and who I always seem to end up next to in the dance numbers!).

"But you can't let that kind of thing stop you from dancing if you want to dance--or doing whatever it is you want to do. Studies have proven that we are our own harshest critics when it comes to our appearance. Please, ease up and enjoy yourself; don't wait until you're some arbitrary weight or size to nurture your soul."

Pantaloons And Stretch Blouse

M'shisha al Fo'awi likes this costume because, "Not only does it look nice viewed from head on, it looks pretty good walking away, too." This ensemble proves that a dance costume doesn't need to be expensive in order to look attractive. It consists of a collection of pieces that M'shisha al Fo'awi had acquired individually. The idea to wear these items together with each other just came to her one evening.

M'shisha al Fo'awi likes the way this costume looks on her because its black color creates a slimmer visual effect. She chose to wear a flesh-colored body stocking because she's long-waisted and felt the contrast with the black top and pants would emphasize the length, creating a narrower illusion. The draped ends of the hip wrap add another vertical line to the overall look.

M'shisha al Fo'awi commented, "A long-long-time friend of mine who has never seen me in costume was present the day these photos were taken. She was quite impressed with how it looked on me. Don't know what kind of costumes she thought I wore, but she seemed pleasantly surprised the first time she saw it."

The copyright of the article Fabulous Full Figures, Part 4: M'shisha al Fo'awi in Middle Eastern Dance is owned by Shira. Permission to republish Fabulous Full Figures, Part 4: M'shisha al Fo'awi in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.