What to Wear - Skating Style

[FigureSpins]

Had four separate discussions about various skaters' couture today and thought that it would be an Fun Friday discussion topic.

What skater(s) made you think "I wish s/he had (not) worn ..."?

[FigureSpins]

A recap of two of my discussions today:

Debi Thomas - longer skirts.  They were just too short for her body and those long, long legs.
Rachael Flatt - Dresses without the ballerina off-the-shoulder illusion mesh.  It made her look stoop-shouldered.

[riley876]

I think Meryl Davis's exhibition/show outfits lately have been bordering on lingerie-like.  It's not really flattering.  It's just distracting.   I think she looks better in her black practice gear.    Nicely understated.   Lets the classiness of her skating show through.

OTB tights on anyone is a mistake.   Even stirrup ones.

[Cush]

I can't erase that awful guitar/cello inspired unitard from 2 years ago. Don't remember the competition nor the skater, but I do remember my horror.  I hope never to see something like that again!

[AgnesNitt]

The Israeli ice dance brother and sister. Remember the thong that horrified the networks?

[trixietoes]

Do not even know where to start. I will say I think costuming has improved greatly from 1990's and 2000's. Also think Canadian skaters overall down through the years have had the best costumes in terms of taste, fit, fabric and suiting the music. The Japanese women also have a long history of beautiful costumes. Their men not so much. This is a great topic and it may take me some more time to think about it How far back are we going ?

Wish they had not worn :  ( in very random order )

Duesheneys   costumes 1987-88 year

anyone wearing what I call " lingerie on ice "

MTM   chess outfits

Jason Brown  last year  pants before Kori switched them

Han Yan   bare mid rift  needs help

Patrick Chan  This year's short but only because it made him look heavy. He should sew up pockets. The vest was better
                     So cute at 4CC some one gave him a teddy dressed in the costume.
Gilles / Poirier  The free dance from this year, both. The skirt was just wrong, earlier in season and when I saw it live at Canadians. They wore the new red on the practice on the Saturday morning and I wasn't sure what was going on. Both the grey and the red bubble out when air is caught and is unflattering .

Many . many dance outfits from past years  , especially Fusar Poli
K.Osmond  - too over done , would like to see her in a simpler costume.
Adam Rippon- the purple non shirt from this year

any women in jumpsuits with no skirt - KMT, Debi Thomas, the French women , etc.

Brasseur and Eisler  - most of their costumes, in particular the blue "fish" like costumes with the fin like flaps in Olympic year


Loved these costumes

Weaver Poje  : Romeo and Juliet costumes
                        The new short dance costume this year
                       really, anything they wear

Dorothy  Hamill   elegant simplicity
                           love her in green, even if here are longstanding jokes
                            pink free dress 1975 Nationals first use of skin tone cut outs I ever remember
                           Olympic costume classic
                           white chiffon dress with rain colour teardrop cut outs circa 1971-72
                           Red velvet number with chiffon ( see on the letter post recently)
                           can't think of a bad dress, maybe something in Capades where she had no choice

Toller Cranston everything , including aqua jumpsuit

Wilson Mc Call  -  white dress with sparkly top and yellow multi layered skirt  a dream
                            Rob dressed as a duke or a soldier
                            1988 Olympic free dance  costumes

Janet Lynn -  all those simple 1970 dresses.
                     I love the yellow free program dress circa 1970
                     The white one with the orange ring around yolk 1971-72 world tour
                     The white beaded one  1973 World tour

Megan and Eric  - everything

Adam Ripon  - the white shirt from last year



Ok I will think of more. My mind is racing back and forth  between the decades.

[twinskaters]

I really hated Max Aaron's Tron costume. Too, too literal.

[amy1984]

I tend to just erase the 80's and early 90's from memory. Too many horrible costumes to mention.  The short skirts on ladies, the feathers and ruffles.  I wish we could erase much of those years from memory in terms of costumes lol.

[dkd]

I really love the simplicity of skating dresses from the 60s and 70s, as well as what the men wore during that time frame. Peggy Fleming looked great in that green. Janet Lynn's light blue dress from 1970 is pretty too. Why does everything have to be so flashy now? I would love to wear simple costumes at competitions, but you can pretty much only find the super glittery stuff now. I say we bring back the plain dresses and focus on the artistry of the skating, not the awful costumes.

[trixietoes]

Well said !  Yes the 1960's and 1970's . And do not forget simple short and sassy hair . Janet Lynn, Laurence Owen, Karen Magnussen, Dianne DeLeew Linda Fratianne, and of course, Dot.

Yes, lovely simple dresses with maybe some sequins on the collar, such as Peggy's much copied chartreuse dress.

Really beg skaters to think about that Olympic long costume very carefully. That photo will go down in history. The best look as a backdrop of the most coveted ornamentation of all is no decorations to clutter the visage. Exhibition A, examine at the pictures of Kristi Y.  vs. Peggy or Dorothy on the Olympic podium.

Yes ! No feathers. Dick Button used to" Say some skaters are all fuss and feathers with nothing happening". And he said it long before Miss Witt.

[riley876]

Whatever you wear, remember folks:  In the kiss and cry,  keep your knees together.   And yes, guys too.

The roller singles skaters are tragically bad at this.   

[sampaguita]

Yuzuru Hanyu's Johnny Weir-designed costumes are just...horrible. I think he looks better with a shirt/pants uniform than a unitard.

[trixietoes]

One tries to forget but somehow one cannot....Kulik 1998 long program...."Walking in the rain in New York City" was how it was explained.

From the back it looked like a giraffe or a holstein cow.

[Ethereal Ice]

One tries to forget but somehow one cannot....Kulik 1998 long program...."Walking in the rain in New York City" was how it was explained.

From the back it looked like a giraffe or a holstein cow.

Of course I had to go look. From the front it looks like whatever creature is wearing a tuxedo. Curious.

[twokidsskatemom]

Whatever you wear, remember folks:  In the kiss and cry,  keep your knees together.   And yes, guys too.

The roller singles skaters are tragically bad at this.

My sons coach told him at sectionals to keep his legs closed, you are on Tv lol. He was 14, and never thought about it

[trixietoes]

In the not to wear category :   arm spats...ugly.  I have notices several this year from North American skaters and it is a trend better left uncopied. Just takes away from the whole look. Worse than gloves.

[trixietoes]

Love G and G Moonlight Sonata navy and white. Also the read and black Spanish outfits. First time I remember the lace overlay look on ice. Perhaps Jef Billings.  In 1988 I saw them live and op very close. I loved the pale blue with flowers, roo. So fresh. They really grew up in 4 years.At 15 mad skills and such presence. They could have worn burlap bags.

[trixietoes]

Am I truly the only soul amongst us who liked Courtney Hicks' first yellow dress ? It was perfect for the music and the theme. The second blue one does nothing. It could be in Vegas or on a cruise ship, but clearly not 16th century England.

[Neverdull44]

I did not care for Tonya Harding's red dress with the extra deep & wide mesh "V" in the front.  Not only was it 'too much', it made her look wider.  Also, she liked to wear some frills & puffed sleeves, which only made her arms look heavier than they were.   She should have worn sleeker outfits to complement her strong muscles.

[riley876]

Guys.  Don't get too creative.   Just wear simple black, and dazzle us with your skating instead.

e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8vqBmzsBR0

His famous 2010 Vera Wang "snake" outfit worked too - precisely because it was really just pretty simple black too.

Guys don't get much of an opportunity to dress up, but seriously.  Save it for halloween.   I don't care how fabulous you think you are.  *cough* Johnny Weir *cough*.   It ain't going to do you any favours.

[PrettySk8Dress]

A recap of two of my discussions today:

Debi Thomas - longer skirts.  They were just too short for her body and those long, long legs.

One of the worst that I have ever seen was Debi Thomas at the USFS Nationals in her black unitard ( also called a 'cat suit' ) that " fit like a second skin ".

[AgnesNitt]

My advice to skaters contemplating costumes---avoid anything that makes your grandmother say "That reminds me of the 80's!"