Style File is a compact dictionary of the specialty terms associated with Middle Eastern dance costuming. This concise visual guide is an invaluable reference tool for dance students, teachers, and belly dance costume designers. Over fifty beautifully illustrated original drawings are supported by easy to understand text that identifies the garments and accessories unique to our dance form. Covering high-glamour bedlah to earthy folkloric, tribal fusion to historical reproductions, each style is broken into its component parts. From assuit to zardozi, this handy book is a must for the reference library of Middle Eastern belly dancers who want to push past the basic cabaret costume.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
... a worthwhile purchase for those who would clarify and simplify their vision of Middle Eastern dance costuming styles. -- Aziza!, Gilded Serpent, October 11, 2002
About the Author
Dawn Devine Brown is an internationally-known costume historian and belly dancer living in California's Bay Area. She has been dancing for over fifteen years and has been designing historical costumes nearly all her life. She has degrees in both Art History and Fashion Design. Her other books include Costuming From the Hip, From Turban to Toe Ring, and Bedlah, Baubles, and Beads.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great little resource; mix and match inspiration!,
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This review is from: Style File: A Visual Vocabulary of Middle Eastern Dance Costume (Paperback)
At only about 40 pages long, this book isn't going to take up too much space on your shelves! It is, however, a nifty little compendium of different belly dance 'looks', grouped according to basic classifications (bedlah, beladi dress, tribal and so on) and illustrated with clear, simple line drawings. There is also a good quantity of background information in these pages (though little that an experienced dancer is likely to find new!) This is a great little book to thumb through for inspiration, and I'll be coming back to it again and again. There's nothing particularly 'new' or innovative in it, but there doesn't need to be.It is important to note that this is not a book on how to make costumes, though it does give a few ideas on what can be used or adapted for some components. AS the title suggests, this provides you with a 'visual vocabulary' - a selection of style fundamentals from which you will be able to build design ideas of your own. Even if you're not into the 'mix and match' design, even just photocopying the line drawings and experimenting with different colour combinations will lead to a wealth of design ideas...
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Low production values, detailed, informative, short,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Style File: A Visual Vocabulary of Middle Eastern Dance Costume (Paperback)
This odd little book is not quite what I expected for the money, but it's adequate nonetheless. While $13 is a little high for a Very simple black and white guide consisting of a mere 40 glossy, monochromatic pages put together with only two staples, the content is well-researched and concise. The drawings convey the styles well and with enough detail, though they are irrefutably amateurish. The proportion is only so-so, and all the faces are left blank, and while an "independently produced" book will have a low budget, the illustrator could have tried to make it a little more professional-looking, but I have seen worse illustrations in mass-produced books, so kudos for the independent writer team, the Browns. The fact that there are so many illustrations (at least one per page) with such diverse styles and pieces shown, I would still buy this book knowing all I know now. As a costume designer and dancer, there is plenty of inspiration in these humble pages, and while much of it can be found in bits and pieces on the internet, this is well-compiled and useful.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Overview of Costume Styles,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Style File: A Visual Vocabulary of Middle Eastern Dance Costume (Paperback)
This small book graphically demonstrates the differences among the various styles of Middle Eastern dance costumes. It would be of assistance to any dancer, costume designer, or dance historian.
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