Top Knot Bun: Not Only Practical But Big Fashion Impact Too | Golden Skate

Top Knot Bun: Not Only Practical But Big Fashion Impact Too

BusyMom

Medalist
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/beauty-high-impact-the-rise-of-the-ballerina-top-knot/#1

Many people criticized GG's top knot during the OG. I'm not so sure why. Radionova also looks great in it. I had 14 years training of ballet. So I always think it is the most practical hair-do not just for ballet but also for daily lifestyle too. With more than 35 years practices, as the article sites, I mastered it pretty well even be able to do it with one hand.;) I no longer dance but my skill has been in high demands during my kid's ballet tests, recitals and skating competitions.

I'm not going to say that GG is the trendsetter but she definitely the forefront one.
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
I'm with you there. It looks pretty, tidy and classy IMO, though I like variation in hairstyles as well as costume styles in a competition: buns, braids, ponytails, and loose hair. I wish I was skilled enough to twist the Gracie bun! :p
 

YLFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Apr 3, 2014
I think it depends on the girl and also the position on the head. I think Radionova looks a lot better without it. As far as Gold's I am indifferent.
 

Ven

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Grace looks attractive and stylish off the ice. Skating however, she looks like a little girl trying to imitate her grandmother's hair and makeup. It's an awful juxtaposition of old and young. Next year I half expect her to wear gaudy jewelry.
 

desertskates

Medalist
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
Grace looks attractive and stylish off the ice. Skating however, she looks like a little girl trying to imitate her grandmother's hair and makeup. It's an awful juxtaposition of old and young. Next year I half expect her to wear gaudy jewelry.
Yup, this. I'm guilty as sin of the untidy topknot in casual situations, so I'm well aware of it's practicality. But with the prim red lips it was just a bit much for a girl so young, imho.
 

Amei

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
I often times do a messy bun to get my hair out of my face for various reasons, and at the end of the day it's all personal preference. But with both Radionova and Gold I dislike the bun.

Radionova, I feel they style the bun too large for a petite skater, it really looks disproportionate to her head. Gold, like others have voiced, it's her overall styling that needs work; I liked her hairstyle from last season much better when her hair was bundled lower on her head.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
My favorite hairstyle of Gracie's was the one last year with the French braids framing her face. As with many of the rest of you, I prefer her with a lighter lipstick. But BusyMom, I agree that the topknot is very distinctive. Where I live a ballet school is nearby, and I often see young girls walking together on the street. You can always tell the ones going to or from the school because of their hair--and their posture, of course. This hairstyle also seems to make the neck look longer, though that also may be a function of dancers' wonderful posture!
 

BusyMom

Medalist
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
^^ I agree that the French braids do look good on most skaters. But it need more skills and time to work on them. I'm so guilty of have too little patient to accomplish them since my kid had AD/HD-Hyperactive(She couldn't sit still for more than 2 minutes:laugh:).

Ballerinas are distinctive with their postures for sure.;) Especially when they were in group. I have a friend who sent her kids to ballet classes for the posture reason alone.

I might be bias towards Radionova. I thought she looks great no matter what. Even in the Zombie dance, with her hair all fuzzy, she looked amazing adorable. But with her hair down she looks absolutely gorgeous. :love:
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Yup, this. I'm guilty as sin of the untidy topknot in casual situations, so I'm well aware of it's practicality. But with the prim red lips it was just a bit much for a girl so young, imho.

it seems to be the de riguer of the day so to speak but I wish we would stop using initials and assume everyone knows who we are talking about. Because Gracie Gold could have been Gordeeva and Grinkov of G squared or ....It also makes it hard to bring newcomers in when they have no heck what we are talking about or who we are talking about or even hae a clue how to look it up GG. Sorry for the pet peeve tangent though I too am guilty of this.
 

skatedreamer

Medalist
Joined
Feb 18, 2014
Country
United-States
Yup, this. I'm guilty as sin of the untidy topknot in casual situations, so I'm well aware of it's practicality. But with the prim red lips it was just a bit much for a girl so young, imho.

Double yup. :biggrin: It was the combination that did it. She looks lovely with her hair loose but as BusyMom points out, the knot/bun is practical. Personally, it would be sooooo nice to have enough hair and the skill to do a French braid. Can't figure that out nohow!

General comment: hope this thread doesn't turn into a Gracie-bashing fest like another one did recently.

Ven -- I get what you're saying about initials and kudos to you for being concerned about newbies. It did take me a while to pick up on some of them but began to understand that most people use them just b/c typing a whole name takes too long! :laugh:
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
I think Gracie would look kind of washed out with pale lipstick - she's so fair. But quite frankly, I don't much care about their hairstyles as much as their skating. I think long hair is distracting. Gracie is a very pretty young woman and I don't think she looks like she's dressing up as her grandmother or whatever the comment was.
 

jennyanydots

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 1, 2013
I love the ballet look and am all for the high bun. If anyone has ever watched the movie Center Stage, I used to be obsessed with Amanda Schull's look. Unfortunately in real life, I can only manage a passable bun using a net. French braids are actually easier for me. To me, a low bun can be more aging than a high one. But I suppose people's perceptions depend on what they've been exposed to and what stereotypes have been ingrained in them.
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
shows how much impact Gracie is making in US Figure skating, she is setting a trend for ladies figure skaing
also trend, fashion seems to follow her, IMG, Vogue, Pandora, Cover Girl :)
 

BusyMom

Medalist
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
I think Gracie would look kind of washed out with pale lipstick - she's so fair. But quite frankly, I don't much care about their hairstyles as much as their skating. I think long hair is distracting. Gracie is a very pretty young woman and I don't think she looks like she's dressing up as her grandmother or whatever the comment was.
I also have no problem with her red lipstick but I would love to see her exploring more varieties in her make-up next year.
 

Brenda

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 25, 2004
I also have no problem with her red lipstick but I would love to see her exploring more varieties in her make-up next year.

I think it's a nice look for off-ice (seems like every girl her age is all about red lips) and for certain programs, but there were times it felt so out of place. Her look is so specific--very 1940s, and with her fondness for printed scarves and button-down shirts rolled up at the sleeve, I'm betting she has a Rosie the Riveter poster somewhere. It didn't go at all with her Gershwin SP for example; Three Preludes is from the mid 1920s. I wonder if had she gone all out with the thin drawn-on brows and Clara Bow lips, perhaps the screechy music could've had a slightly warmer reception (by making sure the program was perceived as a period piece as opposed to generic pretty music, which it is NOT). At the very least she could've gone for the Hollywoodized version of the 1920s look and copied Carey Mulligan in The Great Gatsby (in fact Carey has the same hair/eyes/skin coloring as GG).
 

BlackPack

Medalist
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Exactly. Some of the complaints are much ado about nothing.

The bun is the most practical hairstyle for skaters. Sometimes skaters go for the windblown hairstyles for angsty themes, but how do they skate with hair in their faces going 20 miles an hour? It's not comfortable. It's itchy. It may even hurt.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
My favorite hairstyle of Gracie's was the one last year with the French braids framing her face. ...

... I agree that the French braids do look good on most skaters. But it need more skills and time to work on them. ...

:agree: I'm on Team Braids all the way. I miss the visual interest and sheer prettiness of Gracie Gold's. They made me sit up and take notice of her (as opposed to the topknot just blending into the crowd, IMO).

And for me, the braids subliminally enhanced an aura of confidence, which I liked. Gave me the impression of: "I'm so well-prepared to compete that I don't have to worry about how I will skate. I easily can afford to give extra time and attention to making these killer braids happen." :laugh:

GG's braids looked great off ice too.

.... General comment: hope this thread doesn't turn into a Gracie-bashing fest like another one did recently. ...

I would say that this thread puts GG in good company :) -- meaning that the only other one devoted to hair centers around the ever-popular Charlie White. The reviews of his new style are not unanimously favorable, but I do not think anyone over there is bashing him.
 

BusyMom

Medalist
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
This: https://www.etsy.com/listing/100725037/poppin-pink-peach-lip-gloss-10-ml-tube
along with a lower braided bun would look lovely on her. And Ashley, for that matter.
That is a very pretty pink. People with pale skin tone always pull off the pink shades nicely. Darker skin looks great with orange or earth tone I think.



I would say that this thread puts GG in good company :) -- meaning that the only other one devoted to hair centers around the ever-popular Charlie White. The reviews of his new style are not unanimously favorable, but I do not think anyone over there is bashing him.
I hope it stays this way too. ;) These two-pages shows us the possibilities that people could have different opinions in a very constructive way. Talking about hair-style and make-up is fun and put us in lightening moods.
 
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