Courtney Hicks style circa 1965

[trixietoes]

Wow Courtney Hicks!The look is straight out of 1965 . Don't know if that is what her team was going for but she hit it.  The dress was charmingly well themed and loved the colour. I do not know much about her but she had was refreshing at NHK. Some very clever moments in her long. Bring US Nationals.

Just more ramblings from my notes at half season.

[riley876]

The Yellow LP or the Red SP?

I liked the red.  I thought it matched her skin tone very well.   The yellow, less so.   Yellow is not a forgiving colour.

What did you think of her national's white outfit?  I liked that one too.

LOL, and I'm sure there was some skating done somewhere at some point....

[trixietoes]

i meant the yellow. I was impressed with the whole delivery of the concept visually. The yellow was historically correct. I like when the time is taken to get that right. They took care with the Elizabethan details.When I say 1965 I meant, the hair, the cut of the dress,and her silhouette all hearkened back to this era. Check out footage from 1965 World's in Colorado Springs, for instance and you will see what I mean, or images of Petra Burka or Gabby Seyfert from this era. Costumes are very important and never too trivial to discuss. To test this theory, think of the bad ones.

As far as her skating goes, I need to see more but again with the retro theme, I like the classic elements she has incorporated like that Russian split jump.

I am looking forward to seeing what this coaching team comes up with in future years. I think Jere Michael is on the verge of being an "it" coach.

[trixietoes]

So they changed the yellow dress. Guess Dave Lease got to them.

[riley876]

I often wonder if the opinions from the likes of TSL or FSU or GS or even here actually make it to the skaters.  Even if they do get diluted down through coaches, parents, friends, etc.

I guess you do have to assume that they will get exposed to them.  So, it's only polite to at least be diplomatic....    And most competitive skaters have grown up in a bubble, and are when it comes down to it, are barely adults.  So kid gloves aren't a silly idea...

Costumes are very important and never too trivial to discuss. To test this theory, think of the bad ones.

Sure, bad ones spoil things, but literally anything else is fine in my book.  I saw a youtube clip of Davis/White practicing wearing their simple everyday black practice clothes, and wow, it really didn't take ANYTHING away from their performance.   If anything it brought the focus sharply onto the grace and power of their skating.  If everyone wore this sort of gear for all performances,  I wouldn't shed a single tear.   

[trixietoes]

I liked the yellow one. The new blue one does nothing to enhance her program.

Yes, they do read them , their teams read and their uber fans read them.
Jeremy Abbott is taking a break from social media.

[riley876]

Yes, they do read them , their teams read and their uber fans read them.
Jeremy Abbott is taking a break from social media.

Sensible move.  Rule #1 of the internet:  Never read the comments.

OTOH, if you're an emotionally uninvested spectator,  some of the comments ARE gold:  e.g. this entire thread:  http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?55665-Best-Ladies-Flutzes-ever

[riley876]

I liked the yellow one. The new blue one does nothing to enhance her program.

Just watched it now (2016 US Nats FS).  Normally don't bother keeping up with freeskating (it's meant to be scored, not watched, lol),  but I made an exception for this thread.

Costume is not a massive step up, I will admit, but it IS an improvement colour-wise.  Pity she wasn't having an "on day" skating-wise though.   I hope she's philosophical about it all.

I might be turning into a prude in my old age, but I'm actually finding most ladies skating costumes overly sexualised.   Add to the standard idea of trying to look as young as possible (i.e. erase any and all markers of adulthood, e.g. the classic one is absolutely verboten body hair).   I do have to wonder what the skaters/costumers/coaches think of the sexual inclinations of the judges.    But this of course is not a skating specific issue.   It's almost like there's a societal level pandering to pedophiles, but I might be reading more into this than there actually is.

[skategeek]

I might be turning into a prude in my old age, but I'm actually finding most ladies skating costumes overly sexualised.   Add to the standard idea of trying to look as young as possible (i.e. erase any and all markers of adulthood, e.g. the classic one is absolutely verboten body hair).   I do have to wonder what the skaters/costumers/coaches think of the sexual inclinations of the judges.    But this of course is not a skating specific issue.   It's almost like there's a societal level pandering to pedophiles, but I might be reading more into this than there actually is.

Red Nails, Black Skates, by Erica Rand, has some interesting discussions on these sorts of issues.

[riley876]

Red Nails, Black Skates, by Erica Rand, has some interesting discussions on these sorts of issues.

Ooo.  Looks like a fascinating read.  Cheers!