I recently took up belly dancing after watching some cool infomercials for at-home workouts on television. Because I have teenagers who would surely find my belly dancing aspirations to be an amusing spectator sport, I decided to take an actual class at my local gym. I loved it immediately! Every week I get more and more comfortable with my body and my hips and, someday, I will be my own Shakira-shaking machine. For now, though, I am still grasping the basics – and one of the coolest basics of belly dance is the shimmery hip scarf. One cool belly dancing hip scarf can take you from feeling like an amateur to feeling like a goddess! You will soon find that you have a giant drawer full of them (I am guilty of this!) – and because I have so many, I know the best places to get belly scarves in a variety of styles, colors, and sizes that will fit every body.
Turkish Corner
Turkish Corner (www.turkishcorner.com) is one of my favorites because the hip scarves are made to fit any body – even mine, and I’m a plus-size girl! The length of each scarf is 60 inches, and the width of each scarf is 32 inches. There are several styles with different decorative elements, but I started with the “Training Model,” because the decorative fringe is in straight lines, which makes a big difference when you are first using a hip scarf! As you move, the fringe does different things – and having curved fringe or fringes of different lengths can be overwhelming. Each model comes is a variety of pretty colors – turquoise, sheer black, sheer blue, sheer red, white and pink – and they are long enough to tie them in a variety of ways. I usually tie mine on the side of my hip, like a sarong. These scarves range in price from $19.99-29.99 and are shipped quickly.
Moondance
Moondance (www.moondancebellydance.com/hipscarves.htm) has a variety of hip scarves – both long and short, and rectangular and triangular – for very reasonable prices. There are nearly limitless colors and styles, and this is a great place for deals – you can find some for under $10.00! The scarves come in different sizes – Small/Medium and Large/Extra Large, and have styles with fringe as well as the more traditional coins. They also carry full belly dancing costumes and accessories for when you decide to expand your collection (and you will… it becomes an addiction quickly!)
The Belly Dance Shop
This is my favorite! The Belly Dance Shop ( www.thebellydanceshop.com) is a slice of heaven for any belly dancer!They are more expensive, but they have gorgeous, luxe fabrics like velvet and silk chiffon, and comes with any mix of beads, coins and fringe that you could ever imagine. They are made for real women’s bodies and come in a variety of beautiful colors. On the downside, they are more expensive (anywhere from $29 – 89), but every scarf is lovely and moves beautifully when you are actually dancing. They often offer discounts and shipping is lightning fast and reasonable.
Hip scarves are a great accessory to start with in your belly dancing career. They have become a love (and a slight obsession!) of mine, and there are many lovely and affordable options that you can easily find online.
