How much does a belly dance costume cost to make? Is it worth it? Let’s break down the real cost and where you can save!
When making your own costume, it’s so easy to overspend, even when you’re trying to save money.
So, in this video, I’ll break down the real costs of my recent costumes and share money-saving tips to help you stay on budget. Let’s get started!
Part 1. Belly Dance Costume Cost Breakdown
Each costume includes fabric, embellishments, and materials like a bra base, zipper, and thread. Jewelry isn’t included—let’s see what these 3 costumes cost to make!
Costume #1. Navy Blue Leyla Dress
For this Leyla dress, the fabric cost about $62, and the embellishment was about $25. The other materials were about $12. The total cost was about $99.
Costume #2. Pink Fifi Lace-Up Dress
For this Fifi dress, the fabric was $65, the embellishment was about $20, and other materials were about $10. The total cost was about $95.
Costume #3. Beige Fifi Lace-Up Dress
For this Fifi dress, the fabric cost $82, the embellishment about $40, and the other materials about $10. The total cost was about $128.
And don’t forget, each costume took hours to make. For example, this pink Fifi Dress took me about 10 hours to make, and the embellishment took 6 hours.
If, let’s say, my hourly wage is $30, then $30 times 16 hours equals $480. So the grand total cost of this dress is $575. But this number changes depending on your hourly wage.
What do you think?
Now, what you DON’T see here is the development cost.
To make each one of these dresses, I had to brainstorm, research, plan and test patterns, and pay for materials for test dresses. Sometimes, this part can take 20-30 hours and another $50 or so in materials.
But you can skip that if you join my All-Access Membership. In my All-Access Membership, you can access all my courses with currently over 30 designs available, including the dresses you saw above (Fifi dresses will be added next month)! You can create all of them to fit your unique measurements and budgets. If you’re curious, click on the image below.⤵
So if you just look at the materials, they only cost about $100 each, but with labor, it seems quite expensive, right? So what are the benefits of making your own costumes?
Part 2. So, why do I make costumes?
Let me quickly tell you why I make my own costumes:
- I can design my own costumes.
- I can make them fit well.
- I can perfect the lengths of my skirts and dresses.
- I can choose the colors to match my needs/visions.
- I can control the quality of materials.
- All of which make me a happier and more confident dancer.
- I can learn new skills.
- There are potential business opportunities (or in my case, it’s become my career and life mission)
- The creation process is fun.
- It’s meditative.
- Which makes me a happier person.
Just to name a few.
But if you’re thinking of a friend who can sew to make a costume for you for the cost of materials, you might want to treat them to a nice girls’ night out too 😉
But even though I love costume making, I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on materials for each outfit. So here are my 2 biggest money-saving tips.
Part 3. 2 money-saving tips
Tip #1. Try Acrylic Rhinestones
If you like using rhinestones on your outfits, try acrylic options instead of glass ones.
The price difference is huge. Take a look at this. These acrylic rivoli rhinestones on Aliexpress are $4.07 for 100 pieces (now on sale for $0.99), while this Preciosa crystal rivoli rhinestone is $1.10 each.
Belly dance costumes are usually seen from a distance, so I often use these cheaper acrylic stones. They still sparkle beautifully!
Plus, they are much lighter than crystal ones, so your costume won’t feel too heavy once it is fully decorated.
This is the main reason why my embellishment costs are pretty low.
Tip #2. POS
POS stands for Plan and Order Samples.
It’s very tempting to buy fabric before you even know how much you need, which is risky because you could get less than you need, in which case you have to order extra and pay another shipping fee. Or you could get more than you need, which leads to overspending.
So plan your pattern first, then figure out the amount you need plus maybe ½ m or yard extra just in case you want to make matching accessories or something like that.
And before ordering the amount, order samples of the fabric you like so you can actually see and make sure it’s the right color and feel the fabric before committing to yards of fabric.
Shops like Fabric Wholesale Direct are great because they show you the stretch of the fabric in a video, and their customers share photos of their creations so you can see if the fabric is suitable for your project.
I hope these tips help you create beautiful outfits that fit your budget and your vision!
And if you liked this video, you might enjoy my 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Making Belly Dance Costume video, so you can avoid all the beginner mistakes I made!
And if you want to start making more costuming pieces, check out my FREE email course “Belly Dance Costume Making 101” here!
Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!
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Like what you read? Want to make more costuming bits yourself?
Learn more and sign up for my free email course, Belly Dance Costume Making 101