Skating Clothing - fsf

[JimStanmore]

katieskater
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Post Title: Skating Clothing
Posted: 07-25-2008, 10:38 PM

Hi,
I have recently realized that many of my skating friends wear : Lululemon,roots,tna. And I was wondering, is there any other brand or store ( in Canada-Toronto) that good skating wear like these that fit well, but for less expensive price? THanks 

isakswings
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Posted: 07-25-2008, 11:09 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by katieskater 
Hi,
I have recently realized that many of my skating friends wear : Lululemon,roots,tna. And I was wondering, is there any other brand or store ( in Canada-Toronto) that good skating wear like these that fit well, but for less expensive price? THanks



I like the Champion line at Target, but I don't know if there are Target stores in Canada or not?

http://www.target.com/b/ref=sc_fe_l_...&node=12913861

If Target is not in Canada, then this won't help you much. Sorry! 

Mrs Redboots
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 10:17 AM

I don't do brands, so skate in whatever the local cheap clothes shop has to offer in the way of leggings/sweatpants, T-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. My practice-skirts were made (professionally) by a friend, and I wear generic supermarket tights! 

frbskate63
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 11:24 AM

I like Rinkratz (http://www.rinkratz.co.uk), but the shipping is expensive if you live outside the UK.

Fiona 

AgnesNitt
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 03:05 PM

I looked at the rinkratz site, and one of the outfits they have on their homepage is a miniskirt over dark ankle length tights. I've seen that look on a lot of teenagers, and wonder if it might look okay on a 56 year old skater doing figures. I do so want to wear a skirt to skate--but 56 year old legs in tan tights just looks soooo sad. 56 year old legs in black ankle tights with a black miniskirt---fashion forward.

And if you're looking for athletic clothing sites try http://www.athleta.com. Pricey, but at the beginning of the season they have some wonderful styles. 

RachelSk8er
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 03:19 PM

I'm all about the workout clothing section at Target! I've also found pants and fitted cotton tops cheap at Old Navy and Express. And I have a few practice dresses that I've bought cheap on sale but I don't wear them often. I'd rather spend money on ice time, coaching, or competition dresses than the Lululemon, SeKu and everything else the other skaters are wearing to the rink. 

Muskoka Skater
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 04:05 PM

I buy all my skating clothing and stuff from a store called Spirals in Barrie. 

sk8lady
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 06:41 PM

I have pants and lightweight turtlenecks made by Energie that were inexpensive and look and feel great. I wear the pants to ref in also. 

Morgail
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 09:17 PM

I second the Target recommendation. I've bought all the shirts I skate in at Target (Mossimo makes great close-fitting, long-length t-shirts) for about $10 a piece. You can also find running pants and yoga pants there for inexpensive prices - both of those work fine for skating (just avoid the flared leg yoga pants...dangerous around skate blades!).

As for skirts, I've bought from Rainbo and Icessorize (both online). These are both US stores, so it might cost more to ship to Canada. But the skirts ran about $30. You can probably find cheaper ones by googling "skating skirts".

I love (love love love) my SixO over the heel pants. They ran about $56 at US Figure Skating, but I've seen them sold elsewhere online. Like here: http://www.skate-mart.com/catalog/separates7.shtml where they're $48 (second column at the bottom). 

jp1andOnly
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 09:22 PM

FYI...there is no Target in Canada. I used to buy yoga pants from Old Navy that worked really well. I also got some from rietmans. Zellers has lots of workout clothes as well. All of these places were under 20 dollars 

RachelSk8er
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 10:31 PM

For the deprived Canadians who don't have Target (oh my god I'd die), Wal-Mart carries Danskin. I actually used to buy some of my skating/yoga pants and that sort of thing there in college because it was the only thing we had in town and I didn't have a car. (I personally hate Wal-Mart though...ugh...I only go there if I have no other options.) 

singerskates
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Posted: 07-26-2008, 10:32 PM

We do have Walmart in Canada and they do have a workout section. Yoga pants are good if you want to wear pants to skate.

I was wearing pants but then found that after a few times of having my toe picks catching in the bottom of the pants legs I starting freak out about having a nasty fall, so I changed to wearing any t-shirt I feel like, a skating skirt and a pair or two depending how cold it is in the rink of skating tights.

You might want to check out a dance store for tights. They also might have skirts with underpants in them like skating skirts. These would be cheaper.

Also try Figure Skating Boutiques's website and look for deals. You might be able to get a deal online that you wouldn't get in person at the store. 

AgnesNitt
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Post Title: Cheap alternate to skating skirts
Posted: 07-27-2008, 12:11 AM

If you don't mind something that's not 'skater' looking, you can try cheerleading skirts with built in shorts--they look like thigh hi shorts in the pictures, so they won't be awful. They're as cheap as $15 (US).
http://www.omnicheer.com/skirts+w+bu...p.axd/Products 

ibreakhearts66
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 04:16 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrs Redboots 
(snip) I wear generic supermarket tights!


how? I'd FREEZE! If I'm wearing a skirt/dress, I generally wear 3 pairs of skating tights, minimum!

As for the actual question, try running leggings/tights. I'd imagine there are fairly affordable ones, not necessarily Nike or Adidas. With tights underneath you should be quite warm. Also, you could buy plain old leggings that only come to mid-calf and wear leg warmers over them. You can buy leggings, legwarmers AND a few pairs of tights for the same amount of money as a pair of "fancy" skating pants. Personally, I wouldn't skimp on the tights, but I'm always cold so... 

BatikatII
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 04:55 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by AgnesNitt 
I looked at the rinkratz site, and one of the outfits they have on their homepage is a miniskirt over dark ankle length tights. I've seen that look on a lot of teenagers, and wonder if it might look okay on a 56 year old skater doing figures. I do so want to wear a skirt to skate--but 56 year old legs in tan tights just looks soooo sad. 56 year old legs in black ankle tights with a black miniskirt---fashion forward.
.



That look is great but just beware that they are leggings so may be as form fitting as tights. I discovered from experience that although black is very slimming in normal life, on the ice it outlines every lump and bump of the legs because it is black against white ice - the highest contrast you can have. One of the reasons why synchro teams practice in black outfits - the coaches can see clearly every line.

I wore black tights and skirt to my first competition thinking it would be flattering - then I saw the photos!

The fleshcoloured tights seem to me to be far more flattering on the ice for mature legs and while I wear black trousers to practice, I will never again wear black tights and a skirt!

Those ones look like they have some pattern on the side though, so might help to distract the eye! I do like the look but am not brave enough to wear black leggings ever again. Perhaps with coloured leg warmers over them though they might look OK - anything to distract the eye from the shape inside!!!!

[JimStanmore]

vesperholly
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 05:22 AM

I have a pair of UnderArmour cold gear tights. They were expensive ($50) but they're so warm, that I had to stop wearing them in the summer because I was melting! They are very form-fitting like any tights, but they're made of a thicker, non-shiny material, so I feel more like my bumps are ironed out/sucked in instead of highlighted. Plus, very slippy so I always slide when I fall instead of sticking to the ice. Totally worth the money.

My favorite pants (Gilligan & O'Malley fitted from Target) were discontinued. 

jenlyon60
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 06:22 AM

I have a couple pairs of stretch polar fleece "winter running tights" from REI, which is an outdoors type store. They're not snug like Underarmour's heavy-weight tights, more like fairly snug leggings. Very warm.

I also have a pair of the Underarmour heavyweight tights/leggings that I sometimes wear.

For the top half, I just wear cheap t-necks from Target or Walmart in the winter and t-shirts or such in the summer. 

sk8tmum
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 11:52 AM

The SIXO skating pants that the SkatingBoutique sells are good: they look good on the ice, they last for a long time, they're warm to wear, and they take a lot of abuse. They're also cut for skating, meaning that you're less likely to catch a blade than with loose fitting bottoms. The tall ones are good for long-legged skaters too; DD used to wear them, she's got very long legs and finds that they are one of the few (other than the LuLulemon ones that she now wears, as the LuLu ones double for dance class and for wearing-to-school-on-skating-days-wear) that were long enough for her legs.

Also found that spending a couple more dollars for Sixo or others of that ilk saved us cash, because we weren't replacing them constantly; others wore thru or tore very quickly. WalMart-type ones always seemed to stretch, bag or tear way too fast. 

Kim to the Max
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 12:09 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by sk8tmum 
Also found that spending a couple more dollars for Sixo or others of that ilk saved us cash, because we weren't replacing them constantly; others wore thru or tore very quickly. WalMart-type ones always seemed to stretch, bag or tear way too fast.


I would echo that...I have 4 (! - I just found 2 pair on eBay for $30 that I couldn't pass up!!) pairs of under armour and one pair of Six-O pants, and I can see myself not needing to purchase more for a long time....except that I'm lazy and don't l like to do laundry, so more would mean that I could put that off for longer, but that's not the point 

Mrs Redboots
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 02:19 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by ibreakhearts66 
how? I'd FREEZE! If I'm wearing a skirt/dress, I generally wear 3 pairs of skating tights, minimum!


I wasn't quite clear - these are the generic 70 denier, or even 100 denier (our discount chain, Lidl, usually has these at least once each winter) ones. Although this morning it was so very hot I wore 40 denier ones!

For those worried about catching their toe in joggers or yoga pants - boot covers! You tuck the bottom of the trousers into the top of the covers, and no worries, and you don't have to worry about catching your heel in your laces, either. 

techskater
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 04:36 PM

For boot cut pants - velcro works too. If you put velcro on the inside pant leg at the very bottom and you get pants that come down over the top of your boot, you can stretch and velcro underneath your skate. 

Tiggerwoos
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 05:43 PM

Have you tried popping down to a dance shop? You can generally get some decent jazzpant type of bootleg trousers there, but without them being so flared that your blade will get caught in them while spinning. 

TiggerTooSkates
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Posted: 07-27-2008, 06:06 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by techskater 
For boot cut pants - velcro works too. If you put velcro on the inside pant leg at the very bottom and you get pants that come down over the top of your boot, you can stretch and velcro underneath your skate.


This is a fantastic idea. Someone should make detachable stirrups - you know, elastic straps with the hooks on them so you could "convert" any pants to safer skating pants with less effort (for the needle challenged).

I wonder if you can buy the types of grip things I'm talking about in a craft store? (Off to Joann's in the AM!) 

Gina10179202
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Posted: 07-28-2008, 04:39 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by frbskate63 
I like Rinkratz (http://www.rinkratz.co.uk), but the shipping is expensive if you live outside the UK.

Fiona




The Rinkratz model is one of my coaches! 

littlerain
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Posted: 07-28-2008, 10:30 PM

i often wear the victoria's secret yoga pants, and in the winters they have fleece ones... I got a pair of fleece ones I wear all the time during one of their semi-annual sales for $15.

You can also try ebay - i've gotten nearly everything there, and i've definitely gotten skirts for $10 or $15 including shipping! 

sk8_4fun
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Posted: 07-29-2008, 11:45 AM

I'm a fan of skating tights with black leggings over the top (coz I like to wear dancers knee pads) I've got long ones and shorter ones which I jazz up with leg warmers. I also wear a chiffon wrap/ black skating skirt and any old t-shirt or layers of cotton vests etc.. depending on the season. I've stocked up on cheap leggings from primark (uk) and sainsburys while they were in fashion.