Sorry for the long wait between posts. It's approaching the end of the semester for both of us, so things are slowing down a bit on the figure skating fashion critique front.
2009-2010 Season in Review: Part 7 of 16
Ladies: Part 3 of 4
Júlia Sebestyén. Current World Ranking: #11
Short Program: Song from a Secret Garden by Secret Garden/Libertango by Astor Piazzolla performed by Bond
We think this looks sort of like a prom dress you could find at Deb. It's pretty basic, but tacky.
[top: Grand Prix Final, bottom: Olympics]
Free Skate: Selection of Music by Raul di Blasio
Although we weren't very fond of Sebestyen's costume at the Grand Prix Final, we hate the version that made it to the Olympics. Elle thinks it looks like one of her lace sleeves is trying to choke her. Bee can't see past the hideous tacked-on glitter swirls.
Although we weren't very fond of Sebestyen's costume at the Grand Prix Final, we hate the version that made it to the Olympics. Elle thinks it looks like one of her lace sleeves is trying to choke her. Bee can't see past the hideous tacked-on glitter swirls.
Rachael Flatt. Current World Ranking: #9
Short Program: Sing Sing Sing by Louis Prima
Rachael is another one of those skaters whose costumes we didn't even need to look up pictures to talk about, since we had spent so long discussing her costumes during the season. This costume has the same rhinestone owl-stripes thing that Caroline Zhang had going on. We would like to see it in a different color than hot pink. The color is just a bit too Barbie for our tastes and we're not sure the aesthetic matched the song. We'd love to see Rachael in something more swing-inspired.
Free Skate:Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff
If figure skating were a sport with uniforms, we would want this to be the uniform for this season. Both of us are head-over-heels for Marchesa, so seeing Rachael in a Marchesa-inspired dress was a dream come true for us. We want Marchesa to be to ladies skating what Vera Wang is to Evan Lysacek. This is the only dress of this season that we think is completely flawless. This is absolutely our favorite dress of 2009-2010.
Alena Leonova. Current World Ranking: #8
[top: Grand Prix Final, bottom two: Olympics]
Short Program: Barynya Russian Folk Music
We didn't like Leonova's original costume at all. The color scheme was an example of taking national pride too far. We like the changed costume, despite reservations. Bee thinks the pattern looks a little like her aunt's carpet, and Elle thinks the way the design creeps down her arms makes it look a little like she has a skin disease, but a really pretty skin disease. There is just one thing we can't forgive, and that's the fact that Leonova is wearing skin-colored gloves. Whatever your opinion on tights over boots, we think we can agree that tights over hands is too much.
We didn't like Leonova's original costume at all. The color scheme was an example of taking national pride too far. We like the changed costume, despite reservations. Bee thinks the pattern looks a little like her aunt's carpet, and Elle thinks the way the design creeps down her arms makes it look a little like she has a skin disease, but a really pretty skin disease. There is just one thing we can't forgive, and that's the fact that Leonova is wearing skin-colored gloves. Whatever your opinion on tights over boots, we think we can agree that tights over hands is too much.
Free Skate: Chicago Soundtrack by John Kander
Look, if you don't get this costume, you clearly don't have Leonova's sense of artistic metaphor. Her heart is a delicate flower, okay, and it's bleeding purple all over her. Or something. Okay, there is just nothing good here. If style sense were water, this would be the Sahara. There is literally nothing we like. That hemline is awful.
Look, if you don't get this costume, you clearly don't have Leonova's sense of artistic metaphor. Her heart is a delicate flower, okay, and it's bleeding purple all over her. Or something. Okay, there is just nothing good here. If style sense were water, this would be the Sahara. There is literally nothing we like. That hemline is awful.
Akiko Suzuki. Current World Ranking: #7
Short Program: Andalucia and Fire Dance by Bill Whelan from Riverdance
We give this costume a thumbs-up. It's classy. She's wearing black and orange and we aren't thinking about Halloween!
We give this costume a thumbs-up. It's classy. She's wearing black and orange and we aren't thinking about Halloween!
[top two: Cup of China, middle: Grand Prix Final, bottom: Olympics]
Free Skate:West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein
We are excited about Suzuki's free skate because she is one of the only skaters who managed to make her costume look better every time she changed it. We were extremely offended by her choice of costume at Cup of China. Under no circumstances should a skater put on a blouse over their skating dress. Elle really adores the version of this costume from the Olympics. Bee thinks it would be perfect if it featured the skirt from the Grand Prix Final.
We are excited about Suzuki's free skate because she is one of the only skaters who managed to make her costume look better every time she changed it. We were extremely offended by her choice of costume at Cup of China. Under no circumstances should a skater put on a blouse over their skating dress. Elle really adores the version of this costume from the Olympics. Bee thinks it would be perfect if it featured the skirt from the Grand Prix Final.
Miki Ando. Current World Ranking: #4
[top: Grand Prix Final, bottom: Olympics]
Short Program: Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
We're hesitant to say this, because both of these costumes are hideous, but the version Miki Ando wore at the Olympics was a definite improvement over her first try. Well, in Bee's words, the Olympics costume was "mildly more tolerable". The costume she wore at the Grand Prix Final looked like she had pipe cleaners crawling up her body. Unfortunately, when she was changing it up she didn't ditch the giant sparkly cross. We hate crosses on costumes. Actually, it would be quicker to list things we like about the Olympics costume than things we hate. We like the colors. That's it.
[Cup of Russia]
[Grand Prix Final]
[Japan Figure Skating Championships]
[Olympics]
[World Figure Skating Championships]
Free Skate: Rome (soundtrack) by Jeff Beal/Marco Polo (soundtrack) by Ennio Morricone/Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra from Asterix and Obelix (soundtrack) by Philippe Chany/Marco Polo by Loreena Mckennitt
So here's the thing about Miki Ando. Sometimes skaters change their costumes once or twice, and we look through the pictures and talk about which ones we like and don't like, and whether we think the changes were good or not. This series of photos, however, was like an unending parade of horror. There's just no way to look at these and say "Yes, that was a good choice, no, that could have been better". Elle wants to find Ando a twelve-step program somewhere and Bee is trying to make "illusion-mesh" into a verb so she can say things like "The snake is my favorite of the pasties Ando illusion-meshed to herself." We think the costume she wore to Worlds was probably the worst. Is that enough fashion commentary? Can we stop looking at these now?
So here's the thing about Miki Ando. Sometimes skaters change their costumes once or twice, and we look through the pictures and talk about which ones we like and don't like, and whether we think the changes were good or not. This series of photos, however, was like an unending parade of horror. There's just no way to look at these and say "Yes, that was a good choice, no, that could have been better". Elle wants to find Ando a twelve-step program somewhere and Bee is trying to make "illusion-mesh" into a verb so she can say things like "The snake is my favorite of the pasties Ando illusion-meshed to herself." We think the costume she wore to Worlds was probably the worst. Is that enough fashion commentary? Can we stop looking at these now?
[Photo Credits: Ando FS1, FS2, FS3, FS5, FS6&FS8, Flatt FS, Suzuki FS1&2: AP. Ando SP, FS4&FS7, Flatt SP1&SP2, Leonova SP1, SP2&SP3, Sebestyén SP1&FS2, Suzuki SP: Getty. Ando FS9&FS10, Leonova FS, Sebestyén FS1, Suzuki FS4: Reuters. Marchesa dress: George Pimentel.]
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