What is it about suntan skate tights? For fair skin toned ladies, it seems harder to find lighter shades of skate tights. Even light tan seems a little dark. In my opinion it looks very odd to have a skater that has a fairer complexion in the face and arms and have darker legs.
Where can I find lighter shades? (without looking too pale )

Dharma trading has tights/leggings that you can custom dye to your exact skin color (helpful if you are a woman of color)
http://www.dharmatrading.com/cgi-bin...i?query=tights
You could also try Danskin tights, they seem to come in paler shades than the Mondor ones.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

I suppose, if you're invested in the idea that the whole purpose of tan tights of any shade is to 'match' the skin tone, to make it look like bare legs. Since I know that a skater's legs really aren't bare (except for Surya), the color or shade of a pair of tights doesn't bother me in the least. They're just tights, and it's just a color. And I say this as a very fair-skinned person. Although I suppose I might do a double-take if a very dark-skinned person wore regular tan tights. It would probably be more the 'light on the bottom/dark on the top' phenomenon though, rather than a non-skin-matching issue.

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well, I do like the illusion that matching tights gives. I thought for a long time that many female skaters just skated bare-legged! Wondered how they dealt with the cold so well. I don't like the look of over-the-boot tights, because it doesn't look like feet and I'd know they have to be wearing skates anyways, even if I didn't have a clue about skating.

I've been seeing links to dharmatrading.com EVERYWHERE recently, I'm going to have to look at their site and see what it's all about.

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I feel like I have "cankles" when I wear over-the-boot tights. but then I have heard from others that there is a straighter leg line wearing them. I haven't decided which I like better. It is just a pet peeve of mine to have "tan" legs that don't match the rest of my "lily white-ness"

skate@delaware, thank you for the link. I will have to check it out

Danskin does a variety of different shades from a 'fair' to 'cocoa' through to black. I never bought suntan after buying a pair of 'suntan salmon' coloured Capezio which looked absolutely horrendous.

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I have found that Danskin is the lightest of the bunch and that is usually what I have settled on wearing. Locally where I skate, most of the dance and/or pro shops carry Capezio which looks orange to me, Danskin in no other colors than black or suntan and Mondor in Suntan. When I ask for any other color, they tell me I would have to special order in bulk. I guess the lighter shades just don't sell which baffles me. Traditionally, isn't skating a Winter sport? I ask myself who needs to be tan? I have a few places online to check out to see if they might have a better selection in the Danskin line. I seem to be in a minority of lighter skate tights preference.

Well, from seeing a bunch of competitions and always thinking how bad it looked when I saw the pale tan colors, I will tell you that lighter colors make legs look a LOT bulkier than darker tan. Darker tan flatters everybody, and highlights muscle tone. Light tan looks weird on the ice, IMHO. It's too close in color to the ice so your legs don't get outlined as well, and it's just not very good contrast. And hey, there's always self tanner or fake'n'bake if you want the rest of you to match!

I know what you mean about dark skins and "nude" fabric, though - one of our skaters wore a pre-owned dress, and the "illusion" fabric gave a completely different impression on her skin than it was meant to. It looked very nice, but wasn't the look the designer had had in mind, I don't think.

As for tights - I only wear "proper" dance tights for competitions and tests, and then I wear over-boot tights; never particularly noticed the shade, just sort of normal..... but for practice I buy either supermarket 40 denier black tights (the cheapest option!), most of which have such a faint thigh line you can't see it from a distance, or else slightly more expensive ones from a department store, which come in a range of colours, from pale ivory and camel to black, and include bottle green, denim blue, etc. Great fun!

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Mrs Redboots
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Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I dont like really dark tights but have found that if you soak them or put them inside a pillow case in the washing machine, a lot of the colour will come out.

Cheers
Grace

Back in the late 50s the ladies did compete bare legged. According to one of our judges, who was competing back then (and I saw the photos), they had wool leggings or overtights that they wore until the last minute to keep their legs warm, then off the woolies came and they skated.

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Am I bad? I meant Capezio but wires got crossed in my puny little brain......

I don't usually wear Capezio. I wear Mondor tho I'm pale anyway I like how thick they are. I don't worry that I'm much paler than that! I've discovered 'tan-in-a-can' this year so I may have that department covered. Or, I'll make some long-sleeved t-shirts out of flesh-colored (darker) mesh so it looks like I've got a caribbean tan (he-he-he)

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

My goal is not to exactly match my skin tone, it is merely to lessen the contrast.

Yes, I agree, If I can't beat 'em join 'em and give in to the sunless tanner idea. Bath and Body Works has a real good one that I have tried. You can actually see where it goes on since it is a bronzer too (so you don't miss a spot )

Perhaps suntan tights are a blessing. Would rather wear them than skate bare legged brrrr!