Tell Me About Tights | Golden Skate

Tell Me About Tights

Cinderella on Ice

Bless you, Fairy Godmother, I'm Having a BALL!
On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Hey, you want to laugh? Up until now I have skated only in stretchy pants for practice and when I've tested I've worn either a leotard/wrap skirt and black footed tights or a black velvet skating skirt and black tights.

But on Thursday, before my Silver test, I bought myself "real" skaters tights (tan with the boot covers built in) and I felt like I had "graduated" to real skating!

That made me wonder--are black tights ever acceptable? I think I look so much better in them (slimming, you know ;) ) and I noticed that they DID have black tights with the boot covers built in, so SOMEONE must wear them.

What kind of tights are appropriate at your rinks? Do you wear just to the skate? Covering the skate? Footed inside the skate? Tan? Black? Fuzzy? Smooth? Thick? Thin?

Inquiring minds want to know!
 

blondeanglskate

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I wear tan footed tights that are smooth and in-between thick and thin ... lol. No one at my rink wears black tights but I have heard of people wearing them (i just cant remember where). If you prefer black tights and no one has ever said anything before to you about them then maybe you could buy the over-the-boot black pair you saw and try those.
 

rachelstarlet

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I don't have that much to add to this subject, but I've always thought it would be nice if skaters (at the rink, on TV, whatever) wore tights that matched their skating dress. Who said we had to simulate being bare-legged? I think a monochromatic look is nice. That being said, most females at my rink wear tan/beige tights that go over their boots. A few girls wear the tights w/ a pair of shorts, not a skirt. I sometimes wear my old pink ballet tights under my pants because they keep me a bit warmer :)

Except I've always wanted to know - those tights w/ boot covers, do they have an extra layer inside, or is your foot just bare inside the boot?
 

blondeanglskate

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I believe your foot is just bare. A lot of the kids at my rink that wear over-the-boot tights wear too pairs, those and footed under them.
 

Cinderella on Ice

Bless you, Fairy Godmother, I'm Having a BALL!
On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Yeah, your foot is bare unless you wear a short sock or a second pair of tights like blondeanglskate said. Since I work myself into a sweaty froth at almost every practice, I just put a short nylon sock underneath and it was very comfortable. I don't like the thought of bare (sweaty) feet in my skates.
 

blurrysarah

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 21, 2003
I've skated a few times with bare feet - the end result is NOT pretty :laugh:
I have a million pairs of ankle high nylons lying around, I just grab two before I skate. Of course, most of the time I grab a black one and a tan one, but at 5am I really do not care.
 

starshinexavier

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I wear Mondor footed microfibre tights and Mondor stirrup tights over top, with my black skating pants (either fleece or non-fleece depending on the season) over top the stirrup tights. That's for practice. For tests/competitions, it's just the footed and stirrup tights. I LOVE Mondor tights, they're sooo warm, and they're the only ones I'll get. I sometimes even wear them under my pants when it's 25 below before the windchill. They're definitely multi-purpose!
 

Norlite

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I just wanted to chime in to say that yes, many skaters wear a thinner pair of footed tights underneath their sturrips, footless, over-the-boot whatever, they wear on top. I have seen a few skaters wear a thin trouser sock, but that is more rare. Not too many seem to go bare footed, that seems to be more a hockey thing.

About the black tights,

I have never seen a competitive skater around our area wear black tights at a comp. or test. I'm sure a judge would tell the skater (at a test) lose the black tights. At least write it on their test sheet. I have seen judges write - lose the boot covers,- your dress it too distracting, / inappropriate for your age,- polish your boots, and any number of these type of suggestions. :sheesh:

That being said, they are more forgiving of adult skaters at tests. We had an older (and a little larger) lady, (late forties) do preliminary dances in slacks and it was fine. :)
 
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Cinderella on Ice

Bless you, Fairy Godmother, I'm Having a BALL!
On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Oh gosh, Norlite, I hadn't thought about judges making comments like that right on the test form! I skated my first several tests in black tights and black boot covers, and no one said anything (either because I'm "old" :\ or because it might have looked like I was pulling together a "costume" because I was dressed in all black).

My skates are very old and outdated-looking, which is why I switched to the tan over-the-boot tights for this level of testing. I really appreciate everyone's comments here, because I think I was looking out of place with the black. Funny, after I posted, I did see one higher level skater (probably around 19) come in with black stirrup tights (over the boot, but not the full boot cover). And I noticed in the Capezio ads that Sarah Hughes is wearing a hooded sblack sweatshirt, short black skirt, and black over the boot tights (and black fingerless gloves). Maybe when I'm an Olympian, I can get away with it! :laugh:
 

Norlite

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I'm sure you looked wonderful on your test day, all in black :)

I shouldn't have used the words "older, larger", sorry, the lady taking the preliminary dance tests was younger than me...and I'm not old...LOL. And we are all very proud of her!

Sarah's ad in black was practice wear...IMO, nothing looks better on the ice for practice than black, particularly a sleek black unitard!
 

Cinderella on Ice

Bless you, Fairy Godmother, I'm Having a BALL!
On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Norlite - don't worry, I wasn't offended by your words at all. In fact, I'm the one who said I was "old"!!!

You're right, I forgot about the fact that Sarah is dressed for practice. Gosh, my wretched fashion sense follows me out onto the ice. I am a total loser when it comes to pulling together anything fashionable!
 

Yazmeen

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
I wear Capezio foot tights for practice and competition, and use thicker, Mondor footless tights over them for practice for extra warmth. My biggest argument with Mondor is that their colors don't stay stable after washing. My Mondors vary in shades from beige, to pink-beige, to rather pink. The Capezio's are very color stable, and I prefer them by far. I wish they would make a thicker, footless tight for a second layer.
 

blurrysarah

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 21, 2003
I wear Danskin tights in whatever-exotic-name-for-beige they come in. I've got one pair of Mondor, but I tend to find them a little on the thin side compared to the Danskin ones, plus I prefer the Danskin's colour. Of course, that could be the model of the Mondor tights, I'm not entirely sure.


(On another note, never wrap the OTB part of the Mondor tights around your bare feet and walk on loop pile carpet. OUCH!)
 

megsk8z

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I wear Mondor 335's tights so there is something between my feet and my skating boot. Then I put a pair of Mondor 3373's over them so I stay warm. The 3373's just pull down over my laces so I don't have to think about tripping over them while skating.
I've got both kinds in black and wear them the same way. If I were competing, I would just wear the 335 compression tights; they're fabulously comfortable and have a nice light look to them.

As for testing in black tights, it seems to work just fine around here if you are testing moves and choose to do so in that color.

I'm sure that my prejudice against over the boot tights is due to my age and the "ladies wear clean white boots at all times" recited almost daily by a former coach.

Some judges don't mind the over the boot tights, some loathe them. Nobody seems to deduct anything either way. But they certainly don't want to see your flowered panties passing by during any test. Better they should see your clean white boots or, if you're younger and don't have short stumpy legs like me, over the boot tights with no runs.
 

blurrysarah

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 21, 2003
I think that OTB tights only make your feet look clunky if you are tall and/or skinny. They do a great job of lengthening the leg for people with short, stocky legs (such as myself). For synchro teams they help keep everything looking in unison too.
 

Emilieanne

Rinkside
Joined
Sep 3, 2003
The judges I know do not put anything on the test papers regarding appearance (clothes, etc)...if there is a problem, they make it their business to quietly and tactfully tell the coach.

I agree...there are some fashion blunders I wish would disappear. Bad grooming, dirty anything, underwear showing, holes in tights, clothes that do not fit properly and such lead that parade...

Also, the judges I know do not have a problem with black tights as long as the rest of the outfit is black...they do, however, prefer to see clean white skates with fresh laces instead of the over-the-boot tights.

Also please test-drive your outfits before any performance so that you can take care of anything that needs attention. The judges I know do not like to see skaters pulling at their clothes during a performance.

I could go on and on about what I have heard over the years...but this covers just about all of the blunders I have heard judges complain about.

Remember...if it can be seen by the video-camera, it can be seen by the judges!!
 

mkfanatic

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
i use capezio otb tights! i use otb tights incase you injure or cut your leg or something. just for time and especially in comps.
gemma
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
There are much better choices now than when I skated. I wore tan or beige tights. Black was not in. I always thought they looked kind of funny with white boots. I guess if one had the type that cover the boots - black would be okay.

I had a friend who was a ballet dancer and she wore white tights! Now that I think about it, was not a bad choice.
 

peachstatesk8er

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 1, 2003
rachelstarlet said:
I don't have that much to add to this subject, but I've always thought it would be nice if skaters (at the rink, on TV, whatever) wore tights that matched their skating dress. Who said we had to simulate being bare-legged? I think a monochromatic look is nice.

That trend came and went in the late 80's/early 90's. Check out Valova and Vasiliev from the '88 Games and Mishkutteniok and Dmitriev from '92 for the black tights or monochromatic look. Kristi also wore it a time or two when skating pairs with Rudy. It's not as nice looking as one might think.

I really like Mondors or Danskin microfiber skating tights; they seem to last forever.
 
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