The Care and Maintenance of Costumes

At the prompting of one of my most loyal and avid students who purchased her first costume today, I am putting together some guidelines and instructions on the care and maintenance of your Belly Dance costumes.

As dancers, whether student or professional, we spend a lot of money on the costumes we require for performances in student shows, restaurants, stage shows, private functions, etc. Depending on your level of dance, there are certain expectations regarding how you look on stage.

STORAGE OF COSTUMES
Storing your costume is very important. Most costumes have a lot of beading and fringe that can get tangled up together. If you are storing a costume in a drawer or cupboard, fold your costume in the most gentle way possible taking the beading into consideration. You can place the costume in a large ziploc bag or (my favourite) empty plastic sheet bags (the zippered kind that sheet sets are sold in). This will help keep the costume from rubbing against things. You can throw a dryer sheet or other sachel of your favourite scent in with your costume.

If you are hanging your costume in a closet, make sure that you are using strong wooden hangers: straight clippy hangers for the belt/belt skirt. And a regular hanger with grooves for the bra, which you can hang by the straps. Do not hang up circle skirts as they will lose their shape.

CLEANING OF COSTUMES
It is inadvisable to wash your costumes using conventional methods. Sequins are non-washable. There are a variety of methods for "cleaning" and disinfecting costumes. DO NOT DRY CLEAN belly dance costumes. It will destroy them, no matter how good of a job your drycleaner does on your dresses.

For non beaded skirts, head pieces, arm gauntlets, depending on the material you can make the call about whether or not you hand wash them (or need to). Some sequins lose their lustre after they have been washed. Using a gentle soap like soaps for bras and panties would be good for gently washing accessories.

For beaded and ornamented costumes, for overall cleaning, my favourite method of cleaning is through "smoking" the costume. How you do this is you hang your costumes in the bathroom, light 3-5 sticks of your favourite incense (Indian incense is best, ie Nag Champa) and close the door for an hour or so. The smoke kills the bacteria in the costume. To "spot clean" any obvious stains or marks, you can use a face cloth and mild soap.

Another option that I had read about is using a solution of vodka and water in a spray bottle. You spray the inside lining of the costume with this solution and the alcohol helps to kil bacteria and neutralize orders. I have not personally tried this method but have heard great things about it.

AND FINALLY....
The linings of bra and belt sets are made removable for a reason. If your costume is still in impeccable shape, but the lining is looking a little worse for wear, you can get the costume relined.

Also fix little snags/pulls/ missing beads as soon as possible to avoid further unravelling or loss of beadwork.