Brands | Golden Skate

Brands

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
Comfy.

"brands" like Chloe Noel or NY2 or whatever are entirely unnecessary. You'd be best off saving your money and putting it into the things that ACTUALLY matter like lessons and ice time. A pair of $20 leggings from the department store will do the same job.
 

cl2

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Comfy.

"brands" like Chloe Noel or NY2 or whatever are entirely unnecessary. You'd be best off saving your money and putting it into the things that ACTUALLY matter like lessons and ice time. A pair of $20 leggings from the department store will do the same job.

Even they were more expensive than store bought apparel, my NY2 pants and my Chloe Noel sweater have lasted me more than 5 years of moderately intensive use. Plus, they are designed with skating in mind. The sweater is form fitting for skating, so that your coach can see your arm and body lines. The pants have the right amount of flare and a nice design for pulling down under the heel of the boot, so my blades don't get caught in the pants, as they have done with other generic activewear pants. I also have holes in the pants from stabbing myself with my blades, and the pants have still held up even with the holes, and tons of washings, no loose waistbands, etc.

I would say, go for a brand's apparel for its quality and functionality, not for its name. Buy the most basic design to keep costs down. It may cost a bit extra, but will serve you longer.
 

loopy

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
If you can find pants made for figure skating, go for it. When my daughter was a young skater, I thought she could use regular leggings, she was soaked and freezing by the end of her session, they absorbed water like a sponge. I have also found success with some of the heat labeled Reebok athletic wear. For tops and jackets, anything works. I just make sure they are fitted, no hoods, and full zip, my skater starts in a jacket but finishes in a tank top or tee so a full zipper makes getting the jacket off easier
 

cl2

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
When it comes to skating tights, my fav is Mondor. Not only is it very comfortable and soft on the skin, it isn't slippery like regular store-bought nylon opaque tights, so your feet don't slip in the boots. Mondor also has knee-highs, which was the best discovery of the summer for me (thanks to some other posters' suggests in a different thread).
 

VegMom

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 25, 2017
I think everyone is different in what they prefer. But there are some designs that are most often used for figure skating and there are good reasons for that. Example: no hoodies. The hood can whip around and slap you in the face while you’re spinning.

For instance, pants should at least taper in at the ankle. I assumed regular track pants were fine for my son for quite a while because in competition boys usually wear regular width style pants (no ankle taper) and boys can’t wear tight legging style pants for competition (I actually think there’s some stupid sexist rule about it). But it’s actually much safer to wear tighter clothing. So leggings are better than track pants. My son likes the Target C9 fleece style exercise pants that taper and are designed for the cold. They have zipper pockets. And he loves his Chloe Noel club jacket.

But his friend gets too hot in that and prefers a regular t-shirt with track pants. They both like undershirts for competition. My son only likes those plain cheap gloves (for “all sizes”) but other skaters prefer warmer thicker gloves.
 

jf12

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
I think it's key to wear clothes made for athletics, and not wear 100% cotton leggings - but it doesn't have to be for figure skating specifically. Where I am most people get tights from lululemon/ivviva, athleta, old navy, and the boys pants are mostly those adidas tapered pants and underarmor tight fitting shirts.
 

concorde

Medalist
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Completely depends on the skater and the level. For years, my daughter used pants designed for skating. First it was Chloe Noel and later NY Sports fleece lined pants in the winter and fleece free ones in the summer. Both of those brands lasted for YEARS and were forgiving as she grew.

She finally outgrew them and now she is using greatly on sale Lou & Grey thin leggings we got at Loft. These leggings are mostly cotton with some spandex thrown in. She has had not issue using but pads with these.

It was clear to me from day 1 that these will not last as long the Chloe Noels / NY Sports but I also paid alot less for them. I was also concerned that the material was not thick so she would get cold but it has been about 9 months and no complaints.
 

lines

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
We really like the Chloe Noel all black pants. They have lasted many, many years and washings.
 

theoreticalgirl

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 23, 2006
I would say that 75% of my regular exercise clothes wardrobe comes from Old Navy and Target. My splurges are the Lululemon Enlite Bra (100000% worth it, keeps everything not moving + comes in a color close to my skin tone), plus some pieces from Alo Yoga and Climawear. Other than that, I sew a lot of my own gear, including my competition dresses, and buy tights from Danskin/Balera (wide array of colors and sizes).

Based on personal experience, I think the clothing geared towards figure skating isn't very well-constructed.
 

concorde

Medalist
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
IBased on personal experience, I think the clothing geared towards figure skating isn't very well-constructed.
I'm curious what brands you had a bad experience with?

I think Chloe Noel and NY Sports practice pants were great and worth every dime. My daughter used then for YEARS skating at least 4 sessions a day, at least 5 days a week.
 

theoreticalgirl

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 23, 2006
I'm curious what brands you had a bad experience with?

I think Chloe Noel and NY Sports practice pants were great and worth every dime. My daughter used then for YEARS skating at least 4 sessions a day, at least 5 days a week.

YMMV. I tried the CN pants and wasn't thrilled with them. I work for a major clothing retailer (see sewing experience above) and tend to err on the picky side with construction/fabric choices.
 

jf12

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
YMMV. I tried the CN pants and wasn't thrilled with them. I work for a major clothing retailer (see sewing experience above) and tend to err on the picky side with construction/fabric choices.

Personally I think that the Lulu/Athleta pants at a similar price point have a lot more seaming and shaping to them, with wide waistbands, which helps them stay up. The CN pants look way too 2-dimensional to me. That's just my personal preference though.
 

theoreticalgirl

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 23, 2006
Personally I think that the Lulu/Athleta pants at a similar price point have a lot more seaming and shaping to them, with wide waistbands, which helps them stay up. The CN pants look way too 2-dimensional to me. That's just my personal preference though.

Exactly! TBH, I was surprised when I found ON's leggings to fit me really well, particularly in the rise, as most mainstream retailers typically don't. (My ON leggings are the basic block I use for my home-sewn leggings.)

One thing that I majorly disliked about CN pants was the lack of a flatlock seam for construction. I find this construction technique holds up against endless spirals, camels, etc., and is one of my "must-haves" when buying any pair of legging.
 

Tavi...

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
I have 2 pairs of under armor cold gear compression tights bought on sale that are still going strong after 3+ years of frequent wear - they are super opaque, warm, and comfortable, and they haven’t pilled or stretched at all.
 

Chump12

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 30, 2015
For warmer weather I wear compression tights from GAP. They are around $30-$60 and are well made.

For cold weather I need fleece lined skating pants. I like Chloe Noel because they are thick, warm and sturdy. I've worn mine for years and they have held up in the wash.

For all seasons I wear dance knee pads under my tights.
 

davincisoprano

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 19, 2015
I wear Victoria's Secret leggings, as well as newer Chloe Noel leggings. My short frame (or my navel piercing) doesn't like the high waist leggings that seem to be in style right now, so I try to stick to low rise. That said, the VS ones that I have I have had probably for 2 years now and they're still going strong. If there's pilling, I have a depiller razor thing that I use to clean them up and they look much better as a result. Same with Chloe noel. :)
 

skatespin

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 2, 2014
I 100% recommend Lululemon. It's probably the most worn brand at my rink for figure skaters not including beginners/basic skills skaters. Lululemon makes clothes that are designed to work well for a sport such as figure skating and many items are similar to items sold by the figure skating brands like Chloe Noel and Karisma, but the clothes tend to fit better (more flattering). They also can be worn for non-skating stuff. For kids who can't fit into Lululemon, there is Ivivva. They share the same owner, it's basically the kids version of lululemon.
Lululemon quality, a long time ago was amazing, now the quality has gone down somewhat, but it's still decent overall, with perhaps a few items experiencing problems. If an item has a problem you can typically have it replaced with something else for free, they also offer free hemming. In my experience figure skating brands like Chloe Noel, Karisma, and NY2 sportwear have okayish quality, the pants will pill and get holes eventually, it also seems to be an unspoken thing around where I am that they are more kiddish and people stop wearing them once they are in their mid-teens. Out of all of them I'd say Lululemon and Athleta have the best quality. I've never really used the more mainstream brands like Nike, Adidas, Gap, and Target for figure skating, so I won't comment on their quality. Style and fit wise I found Lululemon light years ahead of these brands. Some of the really popular items that have been around for years are the Define Jacket and the Wunder Under Legging. But they also have a ton of other jackets, pants, shirts, and sport bras to choose from.

Athleta has good items, they are somewhat similar to Lululemon, and they have great customer service and return policy.

If price is a problem, see if you live anywhere near a Lululemon outlet, those have items that are a little cheaper. Athleta sometimes has promotions like 20% off, they also tend to have a lot of sale stuff, online will have more options than the store. If you have no stores near you, I believe both companies offer free shipping and free return shipping so check out the websites.

I don't know if you are any type of athletic instructor, but Lululemon and Athleta both offer a discount to those who are. Just show them proof in the store and they will be register you in their system. For example, since I teach at my rink, I brought my PSA card and my Learn to Skate Instructor card to sign up. Follow the link and see if you could qualify for the program.

https://tools.lllapps.com/register/sweat-collective/

A few tips, if your leggings/pants don't feel warm enough at the rink, wear tights underneath them (either footed or footless). Also dress in layers such as a shirt, a pullover (1/2 zip)/thin jacket, with a heavier jacket (not too thick or restrictive) on top and remove or add layers as you get warm/cold.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Lululemon, Nike or Adidas is what I mostly wear and have for years. They fit great and do what I need.
 
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