Made in Egypt. Lightweight dark red metallic thread woven with black (changes as light hits it), slight stretch. All real glass crystal rhinestone embellishment (large 1/4" stones, in chains, individually scattered, and jewelery pieces) except for silver glass seed bead edging on straps, bra edges, skirt edges/hem.

When these first came in, frankly I looked at them and said to myself "oh good, there's one I won't have to fight to keep myself from buying." How wrong I was! Grabbed one on one of those nights where I just HAD to have something different, and WOW! I now love this and think it may actually be one of my favorite costumes -- and I'm a stickler for not wearing under-designed or under-beaded costumes, I have to look like a pro because, well, I am one, and I charge for it :). Anyway, it's impossible to tell or show in pictures the impact that all of those huge rhinestones have, and I think the fact that there is nothing BUT real glass rhinestones is part of it. On the hanger or in the pictures you may think like I did -- way too simple, not much going on. But when you wear it, believe me, OTHER people will let you know otherwise. Every time I wear this, I swear, SOMEBODY says a serious "WOW!", whether it's restaurant staff who've seen all of my stuff, or customers.

Narrow bra "straps" actually tie, halter style around neck, and in back. They attach to bra in V's (two strap pieces) and come together so you are tying just two ends together. Skirt cut is one that I've had in a number of guises on this site. Almost a sarong, but not quite, has much more interesting tailoring and shaping. Gathered slightly over left hip (though in these that's pretty much hidden by the large piece of jewelery). Very high slit starts just below (I closed mine up some, and see "Fiddling" below). Sides of the slit are folded back into what I call lapels, which are covered with individual rhinestones. A side and back seam are cut to hug hips; it doesn't just hang straight down. Top line dips down towards slit. Back zipper.

Fiddling Probably Required - but easy!
I now know why I was told to sell these so cheaply. Although the skirt design is wonderful when done correctly, my opinion is that these were goofed up a bit. As is, only extremely small-hipped people would be able to wear them. I can't totally remember what I had to do with mine, but vaguely remember ripping out stitches and safety pinning at the last minute... and it looks great. A couple of the skirts are a little larger, and just normally small hipped people can fit, barely, with no alterations.

The goof is in the way the lapels are made. I may not be able to explain this well, but the upshot is that by carefully picking out a couple of short seams and possibly resewing, you can get 3 to 5 inches more around the hips, unstretched, a little more with stretch (my best estimate). Bear with me, this isn't as complicated as the amount of text implies!

OK, essentially under each triangular lapel on the sides of the slit, there is a separate triangular fold, like a giant dart. The fold of fabric starts at the top of the slit, running towards the hem. A seam starts at the top of the fold and goes diagonally down, so that the fabric held back by it widens (meaning it tightens the skirt as it goes down). The lapel is (I think) supposed to hang back over this. The seam does not run all the way to the hem. These are the seams that you can pick out, and either resew, or leave the skirt hanging. Like removing or making a dart smaller, hence loosening the skirt around the hip and thighs.

You will probably have to be careful about picking out the seams, and the stitch marks may show somewhat -- though I suspect even if they do, it would show only on the skirts with the longer seams in the front. The skirt I did a little experimenting on I had mixed results, and it totally depended on how carefully I went. Slow and carefull = no stitch line. Impatient = holes. Some of the folds have stones sewn all the way through, you may need to undo and re-sew them. However, these are almost all near the very top and only 2 or 3 stones; since they are near the top (smallest part of the "dart"), you may not even undo the seam that high. A couple of the skirts have white pattern spots (marks for where stones were going to be sewn) that go strangely far back, and MAY show when the fold is undone. Black sharpie pen works wonders.

Regarding the jeweled part of the lapel: no matter what, these tend to swing in (jeweled side in and hidden). I tacked mine back with a couple of stitches, er, safety pins. You'll have to see how yours acts.

I like skin, but I closed up the top of my slit (I'm guessing it's still safety pinned; I never get around to actually sewing anything). I think they will gape if you don't no matter what.

I was experimenting on one of the skirts and I am 100% sure that a good fiddler (you don't have to be a seamstress or good "sewer", you just have to have a good spatial imagination, think reasonably, and not be afraid to mess around with your costume) can make the skirts larger in the hips, looking good, adding at least the number of inches that are shown below. BUT you may have to alter my suggestions somewhat, or do something a little different; I can't forsee everything. That's partially because each of the skirts is sewn a little differently.

All in all, though, there is not anything particularly tricky. As with most fiddling jobs, it's more tedium and patience than any type of sewing skill.

Accessories: None.

Age/Condition: New. Be sure and read "Fiddling...", above. Also, I'm running out of time and may not be able to point out every little glitch, especially for the skirts. But you may need to add a few stitches to hold down loose jewels; trim loose thread ends, there may be some loose bead edging (but not major). For some reason, I guess artsy asymmetry, on the skirt the right back swag of rhinestones is shorter than the left, on some more than others, but all are like this. If it bothers you terribly you can shorten the strands. Anything more serious I would describe with the specific costume piece.

Sizing: Scroll down below photos.