which dress?

[VAsk8r]

I'm looking for a dress for my artistic program. The song is "Skinny Love" by Birdy. It's slow and emotional and has a lot of piano.

I haven't actually started working on the program yet, so it probably would make sense to do that first. But the competition is at the end of September, and a lot of the dresses I'm looking at are made to fit, so I feel like I need to get on this.

I'd prefer something in dark/royal blue, but purple would be OK too.

These are the dresses I'm considering. Which do you prefer? Any other suggestions? I generally wear an adult small.

Blue lace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/GORGEOUS-CUSTOM-FIGURE-SKATING-BATON-TWIRLING-DANCE-DRESS-MADE-TO-FIT-/271034286868?pt=US_Women_s_Athletic_Apparel&var=&hash=item3f1ae70314

Different shades of blue, interesting style: http://www.ebay.com/itm/STUNNING-BEAUTIFUL-ICE-SKATING-DRESS-MADE-FIT-/120846290577?_trksid=p2045573.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27%26meid%3D1274801089728076980%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D1020%26rk%3D1%26

Royal blue, love most of it but not crazy about the chest/neckline area: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CUSTOM-MADE-TO-FIT-BEAUTIFUL-GORGEOUS-FIGURE-ICE-SKATING-DRESS-/150852227902?pt=US_Youth_Athletic_Apparel&hash=item231f7e533e

Love everything but the color, might ask if it can be made in the royal blue: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CUSTOM-MADE-TO-FIT-ADORABLE-FIGURE-ICE-SKATING-DRESS-/150858318165?pt=US_Youth_Athletic_Apparel&hash=item231fdb4155

[irenar5]

I love the style of #4- it is perfect for the music, very lyrical, nice flowing sleeves.  I also do not love the color, deeper blue (or much lighter baby blue) would be better.

My second choice is #1- it is also very delicate and has a nice color.

The other 2 do not feel lyrical to me, I see them fitting a bolder, orchestral  music.

[slcbelle]

I vote for #3.  It's classic and chic.  And, I'm quite fond of the neckline.  It think it's gorgeous. 

[aussieskater]

Sorry - long post coming, but we have plenty of Tina's Skate Wear dresses at our rink right now, and I thought you might appreciate some first hand feedback.  There are some really pretty dresses in your choices!  I especially like the cut and colour of the last one, but can see it might not suit as it is.

The seller has listed your #3 and #4 as "youth" - I think she would probably be willing to make these in the larger adult size (you say you wear Adult Small), but it would be worth checking.

I've bought a Tina's dress myself, and there are many others at my rink.  Here is my feedback, for what it's worth:

The good

This seller is generally happy to change colours around, as long as she keeps the colour in stock.  So I'd suggest you choose the colour and fabric of one of the dresses in her store (eg: "I would like this dress: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CUSTOM-MADE-TO-FIT-ADORABLE-FIGURE-ICE-SKATING-DRESS-/150858318165?pt=US_Youth_Athletic_Apparel&hash=item231fdb4155 made in these colours: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEAUTIFUL-FIGURE-ICE-SKATING-DRESS-CUSTOM-MADE-FIT-/120872321966?pt=US_Youth_Athletic_Apparel&hash=item1c248d43ae" - I picked a colourway at random, but I hope you can see what I'm getting at.)

Her delivery is quick - the dress I bought arrived here less than 3 weeks after ordering.

Things to watch for

Be careful asking for different fabrics if you want them to match properly (eg: blue velvet bodice and matching blue chiffon skirt) - unless it's something basic like black, the match can be a bit "off".

In the dress I bought, the briefs have limited cheek coverage  at the back - if you lay the dress down, the front of the brief is very similar to the back.  Fine for me as I don't have much in that department, but could be a problem if you're more blessed! 

Decoration

In the Tina's dresses I have seen, it came as a bit of a surprise how much of the decoration isn't actually crystals (plastic or glass), but rather glitter paint and sequins.  What's really surprising is how effective the glitter paint etc looks from a distance, so I wouldn't discount a dress from this seller just because "it doesn't have crystals".

A dress which has used the glue will smell quite strongly as it comes out of the packet.  Something else to check - if glue has been used, can the dress be washed?

Re the 3 Tina's dresses you have linked:

Dress 2 looks to have sequins + seed beads (probably sewn on) below the bust.  I couldn't zoom the camera in sufficiently to get a view of what has been used on the gathered bust area.  The "straps" look to be sequins sewn on in lines, but again hard to tell.

Dress 3 has a band of stones at the top edge and around the neck, either glued or sewn on.  The main bodice has the occasional silver sequin + seed bead (probably sewn on), and some leaf-shaped sequins glued or sewn on, or possibly the leaf shapes have been painted on with glitter paint; it's hard to tell without seeing the dress in person.  The faint glitter on the hem of the skirt - which is really pretty! - is probably glitter paint.

Dress 4 looks to have a mixture of blue stones (either glued or sewn on) and silver sequins + seed beads, which are probably sewn on.

Hope all this helps, and have fun choosing!

[jjane45]

Very thoughtful post, aussieskater! Another thing to watch for is production time, from what I hear it may take longer than estimated

[VAsk8r]

Aussieskater, thanks for all this feedback! This is helpful. I had tried to zoom in on the dresses to see what the sparkle was but couldn't really tell. I will admit to being somewhat turned off by sequins, though I realize in my price range I'm only going to get lots of stones if I do them myself. That's also an option, but I haven't found any dresses that really inspire me to do that.

I really want to not repeat the experience of my last dress. I bought it from one of the Chinese sellers on ebay, and while it is definitely a beautiful dress and a good deal, the little crystals come off super easily. I have to re-glue crystals every time I get ready to wear it, and I live in fear they'll fall off on the ice and kill someone.

Right now I'm leaning towards #1, the lace one. I've written to the seller to ask about how low the neckline is, since it's hard to know from the picture. I'm also a little nervous about how supportive it'll be because I haven't found any backless bra options that work for me. With my current dress, I can get away with not wearing a bra.

[aussieskater]

Glad it helped a bit.

As far as sequins vs crystals etc is concerned, it's quite possible to order a dress plain and stone it yourself.  I have done that more than once over the years, from different ebay sellers.  The good thing about doing that is that you have the hard part (making the dress) done, and only have the fun part (adding the pretties) to do.  The bad thing is that generally speaking, you'll pay the same for the dress whether it comes pre-blinged or not, so you need to mentally add your crystals to the total price you pay.

[momosam]

Hi,
      My daughter's current Free-skate dress was made by GlittR Skatewear, your option #1 dress.  It's decent quality fabric and quite well made.  She has had a lot of Sharene's over the years and I would say that GliitR Skatewear quality isn't as good as Sharene.  I would ask her about the lining of the dress. My daughters is lined in nude mesh, not thicker nude lycra fabric like Sharene. We also have Swarovski's on ours so I'm not sure how the cheaper stones she is offering would compare. The Swarovski option on that dress seems quite expensive to me!  Sharene has a $40.00 off any dress right now good through the 15th I think.  You could get a dress with no crystals for around $120.00-160.00 depending on the style and crystal it yourself. Then you would be guaranteed a nice quality dress.  Just a thought .

[hopskipjump]

For that music, I really like 1.

[VAsk8r]

My daughters is lined in nude mesh, not thicker nude lycra fabric like Sharene. We also have Swarovski's on ours so I'm not sure how the cheaper stones she is offering would compare. The Swarovski option on that dress seems quite expensive to me! 

This is good to know, as the mesh may be a dealbreaker. I need to feel like I'm not naked on the ice! I googled the cheaper stones and found some other reviews saying they really are pretty close, so I'd be OK with them.

I found out #4 can be made in the royal blue, so that might be in the lead right now.

I found a local site that makes custom dresses and has some stock dresses. I found one on their site that I really love, and I wrote to them to ask if they can make something similar in my size. They aren't sure they'll have time, though.

Sharene may also be a possibility.

[Skittl1321]

If the Czech crystal she is offering is Preciosa, I actually favor them to Swarvoski.  The sparkle is beautiful.

[VAsk8r]

If the Czech crystal she is offering is Preciosa, I actually favor them to Swarvoski.  The sparkle is beautiful.

The crystals are something called Value Bright. I googled them and found a review from someone saying she stoned a handbag with them and couldn't tell the difference between them and Swarvoski. I'll keep your Preciosa advice in mind, though, if I end up stoning my own.

[VAsk8r]

Update on this: I found a dress I loved on a semi-local dressmaker's site: http://sacksnbrand.com/readytowear.htm

It's the midnight lace, under the adult extra small. However, it's too small. I contacted them and they agreed to make me a similar dress for around $150-$160. It will have crystals spread throughout the dress similar to the blue lace dress #1 from my original post.

I sent the dressmaker a ton of measurements the other day, and she says she can have it ready by the competition. I'm a bit nervous, as the company is just two people and they mentioned they have lot of other orders for the same comp. They've been very professional and quick to respond so far. I have a couple of last-resort backup options if it doesn't work out, or I could wear one of my current dresses. (This is my first time doing an artistic program, so I'm not expecting great results anyway. I'm doing it more for the experience.)

[skatingmum2]

Thats beautiful. I once had a dress with stretch lace for my daughter - did crystals which followed the pattern on the lace and it really looked great on the ice....