You only get to wear your wedding dress once! To me, this felt like such a shame. So, I decided to get a custom-made dress, which I could transform into a bellydance costume after the wedding. It was a crazy idea, but it worked!
It started out as an almost ordinary wedding gown...
Photo by Timea Jaksa
...but it was already showing signs of a dual identity at the wedding.
Photo by Timea Jaksa
To begin the transformation, I cut the dress in half. Kitty supervised.
I shaped the two pieces into a top and a skirt. Some of the lace patterns were cut in half, so I had to replace them with whole pieces.
I sunk the costume in blue fabric dye.
I had tested the dye on the lace, but I didn't have extra pieces of the other materials, so the result of the dye job was going to be a surprise.
I was happy to discover the mesh was immune to the dye. With blue and nude as the new colors, it was time to decorate the costume with beads, crystals, and sequins.
I still had some extra lace, so I made gloves out of it.
I debuted the costume at a wedding in Chandausi, Uttar Pradesh. Thankfully, no one confused me with the bride.
Back home in Phuket, I took it for another spin.
Photo by Jessi Cotterill
This before-and-after picture is my response to all those who assume bellydancers leave their profession - and stop being who they are - after they get married.
Photos by Timea Jaksa & Jessi Cotterill