Let's Have Fun Talking Costumes!

[katymay]

Everyone in my family ooooo'd and ahhhhh'd over Yuna's black and white and red checked dress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BItUhqzbrEo

 

[lappo]

Some more ladies in green (or partly green):
Xiangyi An 2019 FS: https://twitter.com/XiangyiAnfans/status/1163711203107102720/photo/3 (I'm not sure if I like the close up but the dress looked very pretty in motion...also it makes here look much more mature than her actual age)
Rika Hongo 2015 dresses: https://www.insideskating.net/2015/...igh-this-season-first-stop-gold-at-fin-trophy
I found the first one a little bit fussy, even though I understand that it was related to the circus theme of the SP. The Riverdance program had several costumes, of which I liked the one in the article above better. One thing in common was the shape of the gown, which closely resembled that of the Irish dancers and really added to the movements - particularly the spins - in motion. The other costumes she used at later competitions (such as Worlds) were darker but kept the undergown a light green but I didn't like the bigger stones used on the bodice.

 

[lappo]

Also I haven't seen her mentioned before but Zijun Li was one of the most consistently well dressed ladies, especially her blue Moonlight Sonata, her pink and black Moonriver costume and both her red and black dresses for her last competitive season.
Take a look: https://www.google.com/search?q=zij...UGM-wKHZZhCxIQ_AUoAXoECAUQAw&biw=1536&bih=754

 

[mrrice]

Akiko Suzuki's Peacock Costume was Gorgeous!!!!

Akiko SUZUKI (JPN) FS - NHK Trophy 2012

www.youtube.com

 

[elegance]

In my humble opinion....

• If gloves don't match a costume, they clash and create a discordance that does the skater no favours in PCS. The same goes for nude mesh and skin tones; they either match or clash.
• Sasha Trusova's new R&J dress is a stunner. (Would you call it green or teal? And is that proper dupioni silk or just a trick of the light?)
• These two dresses from Daria Usacheva are quite lovely, especially the green one.
• Kamila Valieva is dressed sublimely as the Girl on the Ball.
• Alina Zagitova's Cleopatra costume is impressive, in part because its lines are not Egyptian but Greek, thus reflecting the queen's actual ancestry.
• Stanislava Konstantinova's Anna Karenina costume is beautifully understated. I think I like Evgenia Medvedeva's 2017 take on the concept even better. Compared with the version she later wore to the Olympics, this costume is far less cluttered at the neckline. It also demonstrates another instance of historical accuracy: Victorian ladies sprinkled jet beads all over their mourning dresses. And the suggestion of a necklace completes the look perfectly.
• Speaking of Medvedeva, her costume was lovely in Tosca and stunning in Memoirs of a Geisha.
• Elizabet Tursynbaeva wows in red and electric blue. Such wonderful jewel tones!
• Liza Tuktamysheva rocks the sophisticated 1920s and 1930s ambience. And when it comes to tiaras, she's a true empress!

For most of these, I've provided links to performances so that you can see these lovely costumes in motion as well as in close-up.

Enjoy!

 

[mikeko666]

Akiko Suzuki's Peacock Costume was Gorgeous!!!!

Akiko SUZUKI (JPN) FS - NHK Trophy 2012

www.youtube.com

That's one of the costumes by Shizuko Orihara, my favorite designer. She has made costumes for Akiko, Yuhana, Sota, Shingo, Utana, and many other Japanese skaters.

She is also mother of Yuka Orihara who now represents Finland in ice dance.

I'm not a fan of illusion mesh long sleeves with rhinestones. I like this sleeveless illusion mesh done by Shizuko for Akiko with perfect color matching. Akiko said the designer adjusted the shade very carefully, little by little using tea leaves.

I am not a fan of skin colored gloves, either. I understand that they are for safety and am O.K. with junior skaters wearing them. But I want senior skaters to skate without them because they don't look beautiful and hide expression of their hands.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Just giving my opinion on some of the bigger questions
1) Favorite designer (Ladu designs, Lisa McKinnon, Brad Griffies, new up and comers)
Vera Wang. I love her simplicity.
2) Green or yellow on the ice: an absolute no-no?
I wouldn't say so. I think it depends on the person. If they are ver superstitious, then best not to with the green, but I do not think it looks bad.
3) Are illusion mesh long sleeves with rhinestones immature?
No. I'm surprised some people feel this way.
4) Gloves: no? yes? safety concerns?
No, I hate them. I've never had a problem not wearing gloves and don't wear them to practice unless I am jumping. You will not cut your blade from touching it to do a biellmann or an I-spin. Skate blades aren't that sharp. If they were sharp enough to hurt your hand, they'd go through those thin gloves anyway. They only time I think they're okay are when they actually add to a costume.

Really? I didn't know that skate blades weren't that sharp; I always believed they were like knives, since skaters have to have them sharpened every 6 weeks or so. I'm kinda iffy on whether gloves are a yes or a no; usually they look immature or out of place [e.g. Trusova's new green dress is stunning but with the gloves she kinda looks like she's attending a garden party] but then I think of that male skater who severely cut his hand during a program a few years ago and there was blood left on the ice. Or recently, Paganini cutting her hand when touching her blade.
I have no idea. Sometimes I'm ok with it sometimes I'm not.

 

[sadya]

I didn't realise that skate blades weren't that sharp either, until I recently began skating (recreational skating that is, which means trying not to fall and after a minutes sometimes look as if I know what I'm doing ). Theycan still cut you though.

 

[sadya]

A question about green costumes: why are they considered unlucky? When did this superstion originated?
This is the earliest reference I found but it does not mention how it was born: "One of Sonja Henie's rivals, Cecilia Colledge, wanted to wear a green satin dress for her free skating performance at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Though she always felt she skated best in the green dress, her mother insisted she wear silver. Not even her 'lucky zoo' of stuff animals saved her from finishing the event in second place. One of Cecilia's successors, Daphne Walker, started wearing a green elephant talisman at the age of eight for good luck and collected over three hundred elephant ornaments. Like Cecilia, she often wore green dresses in competition, flying in the face of the superstition that green was an unlucky colour" (I took the quote from this super interesting site: http://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2018/08/lucky-socks-and-unlucky-frocks-strange.html)

I don't understand green being unlucky in skating. One of the most elegant skater ever was very lucky in fancy green:
https://www.theatlantic.com/enterta...-fleming-and-the-1968-winter-olympics/552635/

I love this costume worn by Kostner, I just wich the shade of green was different:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2018_EC_Carolina_Kostner_2018-01-20_22-03-09.jpg

Katarina Witt didn't shy away from green either:

Katarina Witt 1985 Worlds Exhibition

Katarina Witt 1985 Worlds Exhibition Music : ・Malaguena ・Granada ・Flamenco Fantasy

www.youtube.com

Jill Trenary had one of her best performances in green in 1996, again I do wish it was a different shade of green:

Jill Trenary 1996 Ice Wars AP

Jill Trenary 1996 Ice Wars AP

www.youtube.com

It's the career filled with unjuries of people like Szewczenko which might make people think that green really is unlucky, even though she skated beautifully in green:

Tanja Szewczenko GER - 1996 World Championships SP

QB : 3rd, SP : 5th, LP : 6th, 6th place March 17th-24th, Edmonton, CAN

www.youtube.com

Those people would also say it was the green which kept Bourne/Kraatz off the podium in Nagano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Ee3onj1QE

After watching skaters in green for decades, I can't say for sure how lucky or unlucky it is. Personally, I'm fond of very dark colours and love dark green.

 

[McBibus]

Jill Trenary had one of her best performances in green in 1996, again I do wish it was a different shade of green:

Jill Trenary 1996 Ice Wars AP

Jill Trenary 1996 Ice Wars AP

www.youtube.com

Where did you bring me on memory lane?

I had such a crush for her between late 80s and early 90s.
She's just a bit older then me and I looked at her like a gorgeus elegant and unreachable dream.

At the time in Italy you could literally see skating a pair of time a year (EU en WC), so after her WC gold i knew nothing about her injury until the moment I expected to see her competing the followiug year.

I still have a great memory of seeing her live in a exibithion in '89 or '90 I think (so strange no to be sure of the the year because I remember being there with a broken leg.. hard time staying the night since my mobility was very limited, but that allowed me a seat close to the ice and and high five exchanged with many of the skater while they were circling the ring and salute all togheter at the end.

Thank you.

 

[lappo]

I'm not saying green dresses are unlucky,I know that many medalists wore them at various competitions. I remembered reading about this particular superstion and I did a bit of research, ending up on the Skateguard forum (the most comprehensive source for figure skating history). However I couldn't find an explanation as to why in the first half of the century green dresses were thought to be unlucky, so much that some of the skaters were discouraged to wear them in competitions. Still hasn't found an answer by myself, not for lack of trying! If I ever manage to find a reasonable answer I will let everybody know.

 

[anonymoose_au]

Indeed the "Green is unlucky" superstion is indeed a puzzler.

I was just catching up on the Junior ladies SPs at Stage IV of the Russia Cup and Liza Osokina's SP dress is total goals!

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

www.youtube.com

 

[McBibus]

Indeed the "Green is unlucky" superstion is indeed a puzzler.

I was just catching up on the Junior ladies SPs at Stage IV of the Russia Cup and Liza Osokina's SP dress is total goals!

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

www.youtube.com

with her skin tone and hair color it looks amazing.
Great pick

 

[gliese]

Really? I didn't know that skate blades weren't that sharp; I always believed they were like knives, since skaters have to have them sharpened every 6 weeks or so. I'm kinda iffy on whether gloves are a yes or a no; usually they look immature or out of place [e.g. Trusova's new green dress is stunning but with the gloves she kinda looks like she's attending a garden party] but then I think of that male skater who severely cut his hand during a program a few years ago and there was blood left on the ice. Or recently, Paganini cutting her hand when touching her blade.
I have no idea. Sometimes I'm ok with it sometimes I'm not.

I sharpen my skates every two weeks and I'm fine usually. It's all about how you hold the blade. If you're holding it the way your supposed to, your hand is out of the way of the super sharp part of the blade (which still won't be a problem unless you have a lot of force). It's when extreme mistakes get made when hands get cut. Those aren't common.

I think it depends on the gloves. If they actually add to the dress they're okay. Usually it looks like they said "I need gloves" so the dress maker made matching gloves.

 

[yume]

**Favorite designer: South Korean designers.
**Favorite costume of the 90's: Surya's dark grey costume.
**Funniest costume malfunction?: I don't think it can be funny, for the skater.
**Favorite costume of the 2000's: Mao Asada 1st dress for 2007-2008 sp https://youtu.be/pqh2kaHVmsw
, Yuna's danse macabre dress.
**Favorite costumes of 2010-up : Hinano Isobe 2016-2017 FP dress https://youtu.be/vdWoMQ74iF , Wakaba James Bond blue dress, Mao's first firedance FP dress.
**Are illusion mesh long sleeves with rhinestones immature? No.
**Favorite "simple elegance" costume? Satoko Miyahara 1st 2018-19 FP dress.
**What would you do to make this costume better? Ugly Mao's 2010 olympics dresses. For the SP i would have recycled the back one or the deep red she had the previous season. For the FS i could have cut all the fabric around the neck and made a bustier dress with illusion mesh sleeves. Like the 2014 one.

 

[mrrice]

I don't understand green being unlucky in skating. One of the most elegant skater ever was very lucky in fancy green:
https://www.theatlantic.com/enterta...-fleming-and-the-1968-winter-olympics/552635/

I love this costume worn by Kostner, I just wich the shade of green was different:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2018_EC_Carolina_Kostner_2018-01-20_22-03-09.jpg

Katarina Witt didn't shy away from green either:

Katarina Witt 1985 Worlds Exhibition

Katarina Witt 1985 Worlds Exhibition Music : ・Malaguena ・Granada ・Flamenco Fantasy

www.youtube.com

Jill Trenary had one of her best performances in green in 1996, again I do wish it was a different shade of green:

Jill Trenary 1996 Ice Wars AP

Jill Trenary 1996 Ice Wars AP

www.youtube.com

It's the career filled with unjuries of people like Szewczenko which might make people think that green really is unlucky, even though she skated beautifully in green:

Tanja Szewczenko GER - 1996 World Championships SP

QB : 3rd, SP : 5th, LP : 6th, 6th place March 17th-24th, Edmonton, CAN

www.youtube.com

Those people would also say it was the green which kept Bourne/Kraatz off the podium in Nagano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Ee3onj1QE

After watching skaters in green for decades, I can't say for sure how lucky or unlucky it is. Personally, I'm fond of very dark colours and love dark green.

It makes me a bit sad to watch Jill doing that fabulous number when I find that her husband was a big cheater. Does anyone know what she is up to these days. I really liked her skating and her personality.

 

[gliese]

I often love Trusova's dresses:

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I hate that she wears over the boot tights though. Anyone have opinions on tights?

 

[macy]

I often love Trusova's dresses:

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I hate that she wears over the boot tights though. Anyone have opinions on tights?

she doesn't wear them anymore, she has nude colored boots that provide the same effect. over the boot tights are kind of an outdated trend, they usually give the appearance of longer legs. i feel like we don't see them very often nowadays vs 15 years ago.

 

[Magill]

As for me, the unbeatable queen of costumes is Zhenya Medvedeva. Apart from a few unlucky choices at her very first outings with Brian, anything she wore under Eteri or later with Orser was just stunning, Actually I suspect it is just the case of her being stunning in whatever she wears. But, yes, I adore each and every one of them.
Otherwise, I also adore the newest version of Sasha Trusova's green Love Story dress. It's beautiful and she looks beautiful in it.
Alina Zagitova's Cleopatra costume was also VERY classy.
And let's not forget Anna Shcherbakova's gimmick Firebird dress!

 

[gliese]

she doesn't wear them anymore, she has nude colored boots that provide the same effect. over the boot tights are kind of an outdated trend, they usually give the appearance of longer legs. i feel like we don't see them very often nowadays vs 15 years ago.

I'm super weird about it. I love tan colored boots (on some people, they look stupid on others), but over the boot tights are just ugly imo.