Studio Bedlah

To withstand the rigors of performance, your costume needs to be well-constructed, comfortable, and stay firmly in place without restricting your movements. Some pieces look great in photos or on the mannequin, but ask yourself, “How will it perform?” You can’t bring the Magic if you’re worried your costume will betray you. As a dancer myself, I understand how a costume needs to fit in order to be a reliable companion on stage. Each Studio Bedlah design is “battle-tested” to ensure it meets the above criteria before building pieces for performance. I aspire to achieve a magical balance between supportive, trust-worthy garments, and a twinkling beauty that is as layered and full of texture as the dance itself.

Greetings and thank you for stopping by my website! My name is Gretchen; I’m the proprietor and creative force behind Studio Bedlah. I opened the studio because I wanted to provide the Belly Dance community with beautifully constructed costume pieces.

I learned to sew while still in elementary school, and started belly dancing at sixteen. I began stitching my own costumes basically as soon as I started dancing. These were the days before the Internet, sourcing good costuming was very challenging and prohibitively expensive. A dancer really had to be crafty and experimental in order to be well outfitted. Good bras were especially difficult to find, so I spent a lot of time working on covering and decorating bras in such as way that does not compromise the structural integrity of the bra, nor the size and shape of the cups.

I invite you to take a look at my work, all cataloged in the Portfolio section.

Wishing you joy in dance!

Coming Soon: Images of current and past projects.

Please direct inquiries to studiobedlah@gmail.com