Why can't men wear those ice skating pants like the women do?

thevaliantx · Jan 28, 2012

I hope this is the correct place for this thread, if it's not then please mods move the threads.

Up front I will say that I have always enjoyed wearing some combination of mens' and womens' clothing. My favorite pair of shoes are womens', for two reasons. The design and the fit. I have wide feet, and men have a tough time finding wide-sized shoes at the typical 'cheap shoe' stores.

On the ice, I've noticed the women wearing those skating pants where the backs go down below the sole of the foot. It looks SO COOL

Yet, when I go online and look for men's skating pants it's the same ol' crap, 'dress jeans' type stuff. I would rather wear a lycra suit any of the week, ON ICE, than boring old dress pants and golf shirt.

I just hate how figure skating is trying with all its might to keep women where it feels they belong, and doing the same to the men. If figure skating were more endearing of the Johnny Weir's than the sport might be more popular than it is. Just my two cents!

Your opinions and advice is welcomed!!!

louisa05 · Jan 28, 2012

I don't think figure skating as an institution is responsible for this issue. It is actually an issue with the people who make the clothing. Why not communicate your desire to purchase this type of skating pant to the companies that produce the clothing? They may not be aware that men would like to have the option.

treesprite · Jan 28, 2012

This is true. Supply and demand always starts as demand and supply.

thevaliantx · Jan 30, 2012

They're not going to listen to little ol' me, though. If it were an organization doing the contacting, sure, maybe even a celebrity skater would be enough to get the ball rolling, but not some guy. Someone has to make the decision as to what they design and produce, and I don't think it's individual skaters. I don't think it's retailers, either (they just get what the merchandisers order).

thevaliantx · Jan 30, 2012

To add to what I initially posted, I am unable to find any men's skating pants out there that look anything like what the womens' pants. Would someone else here mind helping me out in my search?

mskater93 · Jan 30, 2012

Competitive men skaters don't wear "skate boot cut pants" like the ladies because it would be a costume violation (they are considered "tights" or "leggings" which are a deduction). That being said, why not contact one of the manufacturers of skate boot cut pants and request some for a guy? I am sure Leslie at Flowerdaze would make them for you if you explained what you need (she's still a really small player and does most of the work herself).

CdnSkateWatcher · Jan 30, 2012

I am confused. My kid is a skater ... and wear's men's skating clothes on the ice. I'm not sure what you mean by "dress jeans"? His practice pants are cut like narrow fitting sweat pants, with straps under the sole to keep them down; his competition pants are lycra, stretch, and are cut like a normal pair of dress pants, again with straps. We have tried using normally cut athletic pants, with or without straps, but that is a safety risk as when he crosses over in a jump, the blade can get caught in the material (and the straps are necessary to keep the pants down.

He also wears running tights when he is in a cold rink and needs something warmer. That's always an option for male skaters, and we see many guys who are taking to these, along with yoga pants. UnderArmour, LuLuLemon ... all are popular.

Tangogirl · Jan 30, 2012

CdnSkateWatcher said:
I am confused. My kid is a skater ... and wear's men's skating clothes on the ice. I'm not sure what you mean by "dress jeans"? His practice pants are cut like narrow fitting sweat pants, with straps under the sole to keep them down; his competition pants are lycra, stretch, and are cut like a normal pair of dress pants, again with straps. We have tried using normally cut athletic pants, with or without straps, but that is a safety risk as when he crosses over in a jump, the blade can get caught in the material (and the straps are necessary to keep the pants down.

He also wears running tights when he is in a cold rink and needs something warmer. That's always an option for male skaters, and we see many guys who are taking to these, along with yoga pants. UnderArmour, LuLuLemon ... all are popular.

I'll check what the guys at my rink are wearing, from what I remember Underarmour is popular.

thevaliantx · Jan 30, 2012

mskater93 said:
Competitive men skaters don't wear "skate boot cut pants" like the ladies because it would be a costume violation (they are considered "tights" or "leggings" which are a deduction). That being said, why not contact one of the manufacturers of skate boot cut pants and request some for a guy? I am sure Leslie at Flowerdaze would make them for you if you explained what you need (she's still a really small player and does most of the work herself).

That was the point I was making in the opening of my thread. It IS the figure skating institution that decides what skaters can or can not wear. The reason male skaters can't wear "skate boot cut pants" is because the skating institution feels they are tights or leggings. Personally, I think they are ignorant as surely it wouldn't be that difficult to make male figure skating pants that are shaped like that at the bottom (can't be worse than Evan's feathers at the wrists) without making them into tights. I remain convinced that figure skating thinks women should be in short skirts and men should wear what effectively look like dress pants. You know, "have to be a gentleman", right?

thevaliantx · Jan 30, 2012

What exactly are you confused about? You basically just said that your kid wears what look like dress pants. When I wrote "dress jeans" I meant "dress pants". I wasn't talking about "blue jeans".

CdnSkateWatcher said:
I am confused. My kid is a skater ... and wear's men's skating clothes on the ice. I'm not sure what you mean by "dress jeans"? His practice pants are cut like narrow fitting sweat pants, with straps under the sole to keep them down; his competition pants are lycra, stretch, and are cut like a normal pair of dress pants, again with straps. We have tried using normally cut athletic pants, with or without straps, but that is a safety risk as when he crosses over in a jump, the blade can get caught in the material (and the straps are necessary to keep the pants down.

He also wears running tights when he is in a cold rink and needs something warmer. That's always an option for male skaters, and we see many guys who are taking to these, along with yoga pants. UnderArmour, LuLuLemon ... all are popular.

gkelly · Jan 30, 2012

You can wear whatever you want for practice. The clothing rules apply only to competitions and tests.

mskater93 · Jan 31, 2012

What gkelly said.

The rule was put in place because some Championship level men were actually wearing what were effectively tights in competition in the 1980's and it just didn't look good in the same way all those feathers on Katarina's costume were overdone.

As for the dress rule, that only applies to dance. Ladies can now wear unitards/pants for competition. Very few skaters look really good in them (Irina did) and most actually look better in a skirt. The skirt doesn't HAVE to be short - look at Alissa's LP skirt.

thevaliantx · Jan 31, 2012

mskater93 said:
What gkelly said.

The rule was put in place because some Championship level men were actually wearing what were effectively tights in competition in the 1980's and it just didn't look good in the same way all those feathers on Katarina's costume were overdone.

As for the dress rule, that only applies to dance. Ladies can now wear unitards/pants for competition. Very few skaters look really good in them (Irina did) and most actually look better in a skirt. The skirt doesn't HAVE to be short - look at Alissa's LP skirt.

That's my rub. The skating institution says that it "doesn't look good" on men because it doesn't fit their sexist views of what men should look like. In their eyes, men should 'look' like gentleman, and women ..... well, how low can you go. The day that the 'institution' starts looking at how well someone skates, and not how good they 'look' in skates, will be the day that folks become more interested in skating. A huge problem with the interest level in skating, as it pertains to the adult population, is the whole notion of "well, I just wouldn't look as good as those other girls, I'm too old". I know this conversation has veered off in various directions, but I'm grateful to at least know where the majority of the skating population (in addition to the skating institution) has its minds. The folks who choose to not comment on this topic are even louder.

louisa05 · Jan 31, 2012

Honestly, I have had a billion people explain reasons they don't watch skating to me. How the skaters were dressed or the fact that they don't look like the skaters is not one of the reasons. It usually has to do with thinking it is not a sport and that is because of music and dance elements.

If people didn't watch sports because they wouldn't look good in the uniforms or were too old to look/be like the athletes, no one would watch any sport. Have you looked at the fans in the stands at baseball, basketball, and football games????

Mathman · Jan 31, 2012

Here is Artur Dmitriev.

http://img2.tianya.cn/photo/2007/9/15/4794191_10024826.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXkncOJyUTs

Here's John Curry. (Ottavio Cinquanta himself approved the costume.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3wewU5xcXY&feature=related

Michelle Kwan:

http://cherryloop.com/Images/products/SeKu/155/seku_115a_lg.jpg

Edited to add: Hey, wait a minute. That's not Michelle! Can anyone guess who it is?

http://www.sekuskatewear.com/images/09images/140_A.jpg

mskater93 · Jan 31, 2012

thevaliantx said:
That's my rub. The skating institution says that it "doesn't look good" on men because it doesn't fit their sexist views of what men should look like. In their eyes, men should 'look' like gentleman, and women ..... well, how low can you go.

The issue was, quite frankly, that a certain high level skater wore a pair of tights so tight that his male parts were much too, um, "prominent" in said costume. That being said, I see many men skaters (adult men included) who wear running tights for practice, especially the UA cold gear type. I wear running tights/leggings as well (I am a woman) and if you buy them a size larger than you wear normally or the longer ones, you can pull the backs down over the heel of your boot without having to order a special pair.

Most adults I know will not learn to figure skate or stop progressing at a certain point due to fear (I am going to get hurt, I will be out of work and then who will pay the bills?) not because they don't look good in a dress or skating pants. Most people I know who DON'T watch figure skating don't watch because they feel the judging sucks/it's not really a sport/they already decided who the winner is weeks ago, etc.

ivy · Jan 31, 2012

Men in tights! Bring it on! If costumes are part of the reason figure skating isn't taken seriously as a sport, it isn't because they're too revealing. Wrestling, track, swimming, diving, gymnastics and more have more revealing sports attire then anything we've seen in skating. You don't like form fitting outfits on guys, tell it to Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. It's the sequins, the crystals, the feathers, the exaggerated characters that make most non skating fans shake their heads. Don't work for me either, but heh, it's figure skating.

Tangogirl · Jan 31, 2012

Back from the rink: Former Sr National team( now pro) skater: lululemon pants, underarmor top. Jr men's competitor" Nike top and bottoms. Basic blac rules! You should be fine in running gear, Underarmor has a nice fleece-lined winter running tights. Depending on how cold the arena is you may want to wear long johns under those. Happy skating in either case!

Come visit my adult figure skating blog!

Tangogirl · Jan 31, 2012

ivy said:
Men in tights! Bring it on! If costumes are part of the reason figure skating isn't taken seriously as a sport, it isn't because they're too revealing. Wrestling, track, swimming, diving, gymnastics and more have more revealing sports attire then anything we've seen in skating. You don't like form fitting outfits on guys, tell it to Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. It's the sequins, the crystals, the feathers, the exaggerated characters that make most non skating fans shake their heads. Don't work for me either, but heh, it's figure skating.

lol that's one of the reasons I've come to enjoy football so much

thevaliantx · Feb 1, 2012

Okay, lots of responses and I love to hear how others feel about topics that I am sensitive to. You see, in the past I enjoyed cross-dressing and expressing my feminine side (won't go into any more detail than that, and so I LOVE watching the likes of Johnny Weir who happens to like wearing feminine clothing...it brings out 'who he is', so to speak. Wearing 'under armor' isn't going to do it for me. Conversely, I don't think wearing tights would, either. Otherwise, I'd be living my life as Peter Pan (just kidding!!!)

But, definitely, I think there is no reason why they can't make figure skating pants for men, where the bottoms of the pants cover the backs of the skates. It's the skating institution, in a secret fraternity sort of way (if I'm making any sense here), that wants to be able to distinguish men from women on the ice.

Why can't men wear those ice skating pants like the women do?

thevaliantx

louisa05

treesprite

thevaliantx

thevaliantx

mskater93

CdnSkateWatcher

Tangogirl

thevaliantx

thevaliantx

gkelly

mskater93

thevaliantx

louisa05

Mathman

mskater93

ivy

Tangogirl

Tangogirl

thevaliantx

Similar threads

Connect with us