Many fashionable belly dancers would love to have Dina Bra costumes that fit them well.
As you saw in my previous post, it’s definitely possible! I shared with you how I went from buying that worst fitting Dina Bra costume to making my own Dina Bra that fits me well.
And you saw Jennifer, Karma, and Paula’s gorgeous Dina Bras, which they made using my Dina Bra making methods. (Click here to see their Dina Bras if you haven’t seen yet!)
Yes, it can be done! 😀
…but it’s not easy. 🙁
In fact, when I switched my approach from looking for a pre-made Dina Bra to buy to making my own, I was overwhelmed.
First of all, where do you find a bra base like that?
I looked everywhere including many discussions on Bhuz (a belly dance forum) and Facebook…
Then one day I saw some crafty dancers were making Dina Bra style costumes, using pre-made Dina Bra bases.
They would buy pre-made bases, and simply cover them with fabric of their choice.
“This is it!”
I thought I found the solution.
So I started searching for these pre-made Dina Bra bases. But in the end, I found that even Dina Bra bases come with problems…
So I want to share with you 3 biggest problems I experienced when I started, because it’s so easy to lose motivation when there are too many hurdles at the beginning. I want you to be aware of these problems and help you avoid them!
3 Big Dina Bra Problems
Dina Bra Problem #1. Hard to FIND
It wasn’t an easy search.
I went to Google, Amazon, online belly dance costume stores… I couldn’t find much.
I went back to those Facebook posts and luckily, someone posted where they got their Dina Bra base from. It was an eBay vendor.
It turned out, there were a few eBay vendors all located overseas selling these Dina Bra bases.
Then here’s another problem – all these vendors carry their Dina Bra bases in A, B, C, and D cups. I’m 30DD.
You really have to be careful when vendors only tell you the cup sizes and not band sizes, even if the side straps stretch. That’s because cup sizes only make sense when they are combined with the band size. For example, 30B and 38B are completely different bra cup sizes!
After contemplating on the risk of this vague sizing info, I ordered a couple of sizes to try from one of the vendors.
To my huge disappointment, I faced the same problem as my first Dina Bra costume…..which is the next problem.
Dina Bra Problem #2. Hard to FIT
The larger size was way too big. The smaller size fit me better, but still my breasts disappeared into those cups, and yet the edges dug in, and the cups were hard as a rock.
See the image to right – when you knock on it, it sounds like you are knocking on a door. You can’t even bend it.
Sturdy? Yes.
Comfortable? Definitely no!
The only people who would fit in those cups well are those who have the exact same breast shape as the moulds they used to make those Dina Bra bases with!
Once I took it to my own hands and started to make Dina Bra bases myself, I realized Dina Bras don’t have to be so hard and inflexible. You can have a soft Dina Bra that doesn’t dig into your skin.
I’ll tell you more on that in a minute… and here’s the third problem.
Dina Bra Problem #3: Hard to DECORATE
Another thing I noticed about these pre-made Dina Bra bases was that the cups were so hard that it’s very difficult to put a needle through these shells.
“How am I going to cover this with fabric and THEN decorate it!?”
If you have an infinite amount of time, patience and a pair of pliers to pull needles with, you may be able to work with those hard shells.
But I don’t.
Okay, I have a pair of pliers… but I’m not the most patient person.
I’m the type that wants to go through the bra covering process as quickly as I can, so I can decorate it with sparkly gems! 😀
I can’t afford to have my fingertips raw and sore before I even get to decorate it! 🙁
So after discovering these problems of pre-made Dina Bra bases, I switched my approach to creating my own Dina Bra base, which turned out to be the BEST decision I ever made!
You see, when we have no idea how things are made, we fall for a poor shortcut that appears to make sense in our heads….until we try it. In this case, that poor shortcut was the pre-made Dina Bra base.
It’s natural. We don’t have time to test different things and waste bras.
But the problem is, many dancers try these pre-made bases, and face the same exact challenges! They get frustrated, and end up giving up on Dina Bras 🙁
….when they can make their own Dina Bra bases!
Yes, YOU can make your own Dina Bra bases 🙂
Forget searching for a Dina Bra shell that’s rock hard, inflexible and made only up to size D.
Instead, make a beautiful & soft Dina Bra base, based on your size, and customize it to fit you well!
The best part is, you can use an ordinary foam bra to make a Dina Bra base!
In my next post, I’ll share with you an easy technique to find the right bra to make a Dina Bra base with, so you can start making your own! So if you’re curious about learning more about Dina Bra making, be sure to sign up below and I’ll email the post to you 🙂
Click here to hear about the bra finding technique!
Thank you for reading, and keep sparkling!