It's not so much as undefined as the belly is there. I'm not tall either. I have found that the lower waisted skirts that are so popular right now ar very unflattering as the dip "frames" my stomach and emphasizes (?) it. Keeping that in mind, it is difficult to find things that fit. I tend to make the same skirt style repeatedly and change the top to get different dresses.

I did like some of Freida's dresses, and do plan on finding out real sizing....but I'll wait until I am able to skate again. Kind of silly to spend money on dresses when I can't even use them.

Haha what dress did you buy from me?

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- Ashley

It was a capezio. Sort of a fuschia and black, as I recall. I gave it to one of the kids at the rink who also has no hips.

I splurge and get my competition/test dresses custom-made by Judy at Figureskatewear.

I'm short and chubby... but even if/when I'm thinner, I still have a definite set of hips and a large bustline.

I've been pleased with the quality of the dresses that Judy has done for me. None of them came cheap but the fit is right on, and the quality of the trim and stoning is superb.

For practice/lessons, I usually wear running tights/leggings from REI and Target (I actually found some shorter non-bootleg cut leggings at Target recently...)

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Yuck I remember that one. haha

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- Ashley

Hi all:

In regard to adult skaters, I think that one of the most important things is the "fit" ... if a garment doesn't fit properly, we don't feel good or comfortable wearing it. I don't know about anyone else, but after returning to the ice as an adult (I was a child skater), it took a long time for me to get up the courage to put on a dress. There are probably many adult skaters who can fit into and feel good in a stock dress .... and there are probably just as many who, because of adult body characteristics (i.e. tummies from childbirth, larger boobs, thicker waistlines, to name a few ..... not saying everyone has all of these ....) require more customized attire.

If a garment fits properly, it will look good ..... and don't we all want to look good when we are out on the ice ... irrespective of our skill levels.

-- sheilagh

I've had luck with Ebay and Ebay Stores. You can find some great deals there.

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~AF

I sew. When you're six feet tall and 180 lbs as a teenager, it's sew or look like a geek. I sew most of my own clothes, making a skating dress was just a different direction, I never bothered to try off the rack ($120 for that little thing?!) but have tried some on and discovered that the "average" skater must be about 5'2" - 5'4". I fit the measurements for adult XL (hips 42") but they lose me on the girth, it's funny to see.

It's not just as easy as going to a dressmaker and saying "I want this". Most skating dressmakers work with kids and don't know how to fit adult flabby bits and smooth them out (note: it's all about powernet, baby) and make the skimpy unlined dresses that they make for the kids who have no flab whatseover, or the ones that have a clue about making women look good aren't into skating/dance dresses. Finding someone who can do both is rare.

I made a dress for someone last week, a skinny girl actually but who was very long in the body, and I lined the dress. Her mom was shocked, no one had ever done that before. It made for a such smoother fit and I charged slightly extra for it. Not to toot my own horn, but I learned the hard way that foundations matter, no matter what the body type.

And what Canskater said, KwikSew is a bit boring but they're a start and can be designed up. Jalie is for a skinny figure with no belly and the waist is on the thin side, I also have issues with the panty and gave up using it for anything other than design inspiration. Since last year, I draft my own slopers with PatternMaster Curves if anyone's interested in computer aided patternmaking.

Is this a program that would allow me to fit my still-haven't-lost-all-my-extra-weight yet body?

www.wildginger.com

Yes, you take a lot (a lot! ) of measurements and enter them into the program, it will create a basic leotard. Based on how that fits, if you have to, you adjust the program measurements and make another test garment. Then, everything you design should fit if the test garments were OK. If you gain or lose, remeasure and make another test leotard and off you go. There's no size limitation. I made a bathing suit for a 48-45-53 woman with a 78" girth.

The Curves program is about $150, so not for everyone and it took me a year to be comfortable with it, honestly. I still sometimes draw stuff out on tracing paper instead of fiddling with the computer.

For what it's worth to join in to this conversation, I used to alter the basic quicksew pattern, raise the skirt, add an inch to the panty that was too skimpy, change the sleeves, etc. I only went thru this ordeal a few times, then figured a great sale somewhere was well worth the time I put into it.

What I wanted to suggest is what my coach used to do. She'd use patterns for wedding dresses to design the top of the skating dresses which would turn out to be quite elegant.

I never tried this, but sounds like a good idea for that one of a kind dress. So, if you have altered a pattern to fit you perfectly for the panty and skirt, then you can really add about any top from a dress to design a unique outfit.

Hi:

I'd just like to add a word to the wise for those to might want to take up Elsy's suggestion of using bridal / formal wear patterns. As we all know, there are significant differences in woven vs stretch fabrics ..... you might take a size 10 in a garment made from a woven fabric, but only a 4 - 6 if that very same garment was made of a 4-way stretch lycra .... and there might be other modifications required to accommodate the differing amount of ease. (I have done this, and in fact I am currently working with / modifying a pattern to make a Tango dress for a skater).

I've only tried demo / beta versions of pattern making software and have found most of them tedious to learn (due to lack of time) ... and since I don't have a large format printer, I also find taping printouts together not only frustrating, but unless done exceptionally carefully, you can introduce error into your pattern.

-- sheilagh