Skating skirts vs dresses | Golden Skate

Skating skirts vs dresses

SydneyH

Spectator
Joined
Feb 2, 2019
My parents want me to start paying 50% of my figure skating outfits and practice dresses are really expensive. I was thinking about getting skirts and wearing them with jackets instead, but I've never used figure skating skirts. Anyone have a take one way or the other?

My program doesn't let us practice in pants. Has to be skirted.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
My parents want me to start paying 50% of my figure skating outfits and practice dresses are really expensive. I was thinking about getting skirts and wearing them with jackets instead, but I've never used figure skating skirts. Anyone have a take one way or the other?

My program doesn't let us practice in pants. Has to be skirted.

Yes, have worn skirts on practice many times in the past. Leo, wrap skirt, tights, leg warmers :)
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
My program doesn't let us practice in pants. Has to be skirted.

How ludicrous.

Another thing you could do is make your own skirts. It's super easy, and in the long run would probably be cheaper than buying a heap of practice skirts. Additionally, there's also Ic3Rabbit's suggestion of a ballet wrap skirt over leggings.

Long-term it may be worth suggesting to the club/program/whatever that it is, in fact, the 21st century.
 

sandraskates

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
Yes - skirts are great to wear to wear and there are lots of options!

There is the traditional skating skirt that is basically a skating dress without the upper body. Just search for 'skating skirt' and you'll come up with lots of vendors. If you can sew, they are also easy to make.

There are yoga skorts that are found in stores or online. The skirts don't flare as much but they are also good to skate in, just make you get one with Lycra / Spandex for the needed stretch.

A skating friend wears golf skirts; the skirt part is usually very straight, no flare. They are too straight for me as my figure is curvy.

And lastly as mentioned, there are wrap / ballet skirts too. I feel most comfortable wearing these with a leotard underneath to wrap the skirt over, but that's me. And sometimes I do just wear them over leggings.
These are also very easy to make and you can find beautiful floaty fabrics in the stores.

There are vendors on ETSY that offer skating and ballet skirts at good prices.

Have fun with skirts!!!
 

sandraskates

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
It could be that the OP needs a skirt / dress for a team, Theatre on Ice, dance or other specialized program practice.
Although I mostly wear athletic pants now, I miss the days when dresses and skirts were the common skating togs for ladies. <yeah, I'm a dinosaur>.
 

jf12

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
What about tennis or badminton dresses?

I play tennis and skate, tennis material is usually thicker, more opaque, and less stretchy than you want for skating. They are designed to be heavily sweated on and not show through, not as much a concern skating in the cold. It also negates the whole point because they are often just as expensive or more expensive than skating and dance skirts. However, if you already have some hanging around that you don't have to buy, might as well try it.
 

funnybunny

Spectator
Joined
Jul 10, 2019
Since you guys have started this topic I'd like to poke my nose in too. Desperate for advice, facebook friends have no experience whatsoever. But I'm desperately looking for a gymnastic outfit for my Annie (7). She's really slim and is anxious lately. It's her first competition, so I want to boost her spirits any way I can. I'm thinking about custom tailoring (on a budget though). Has anybody ever ordered such a thing online? Found this one: https://rg-leotard.com/figure_skating. They say they're all custom made, but I'd like to hear some customer reviews. Tried looking for an outfit locally, but we recently moved so I'm not quite acclimatized to Houston yet. Sorry again.
 

sandraskates

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
Hi funnybunny,

Start locally. Ask others at your daughter is training establishment for suggestions. There might be a parent or coach that also makes costumes.

I took a quick look online at eBay.com: putting 'gymnastics leotards' into their Search box yielded thousands of results.

The site you linked to is actually located in England - although the site said they ship worldwide.

Edited to add: GK is a reputable company that's been around for umpteen years and make great leotards:
https://www.gkelite.com/collections/gk-gym-kids-leotards?priceMax=200&priceMin=0
 

WednesdayMarch

Nicer When Fed
Medalist
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Country
United-Kingdom
I much, much, MUCH prefer skating in skirts to dresses. Skirts are so much more convenient. I'm currently working on a range of skating wear (to be launched in a couple of months, hopefully) but the most popular thing I make at the moment are the chiffon or georgette ballet wrap skirts. I wear my (ancient) black one that I bought about 25 years ago over leggings pretty much every time I skate and I love it. So many people at my rink admired it that I've had to make some. They really are nice to wear, give a little more coverage for anybody who is a bit self-conscious, and fold up so small that they don't take up space in your kit bag. I also like Lycra/Spandex skating skirts which are just like the bottom skirted half of skating dresses. Unfortunately, my old one has a 16" waist and whilst that fitted me when I was 31, it most certainly doesn't 20 years later. I will make myself another one, but I'm a bit busy with wedding dresses at the moment...
 
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