While visiting the pro-shop that I got my skates at and I mentioned something about them not possibly having skirts or dresses in my size (all the ones on the racks were TINY) and they said they did but that most adults don't really wear them unless they are testing/competing or they are very good. Is this true in general? One of the reasons that I wanted to skate (I know this sounds dumb) is to get to wear a skirt or dress, it's something that I have always wanted to wear and now that I am learning to skate I figured that at some point in the near future I would try it. Now it sounds like the very far future.....

Any thoughts? Part of me says, "who cares, if it makes me feel good while on the ice it doesn't matter" and the other part is embarassed...

I say skate in what you want to. However, if someone new showed up at the rink in brand new skates, a brand new dress/skirt and couldn't even waddle across the ice I might have to think it was a bit strange for an adult.

If you can keep yourself steady, then I don't think I'd even bat an eye at it. We all like to feel confident and sometimes wearing pretty clothes make us feel like pretty skaters.

I usually wear pants because I'm lazy. I have a skirt I wear on occasion, but I don't wear dresses at all. (until I compete)

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

It's true that most of us wear stretch pants for practice (as do the "very good" skaters like Michelle Kwan) but I do know one or two adults who wear skirts or practice dresses just because they like them. You can find skating skirts at some dancewear stores, and several online stores sell practice dresses. You can do a search or Mondor, Capezio and Jerry's skatewear to find some online stores.

Now before someone jumps on me...I am speaking just about my rink so not making a generalization.


If an adult shows up wearing a frilly dress and they are obviously a begginer (i.e. basic spinning, waltz jumps, basic edges) they tend to get some very strange looks. It has slowly become unnaceptable to wear dresses over the age of 12 tops, except for testing and competitions. Even high level skaters get some strange looks when they wear dresses. I sometimes can't help it myself because as soon as I see an adult skater in a dress the first thing that comes to mind is...beginner. I have yet to see an advanced adult skater wearing a dress except for doing programs for a competition.

Personally I wear under armour leggings and I am very happy with them. Have tried tops with skirts but somehow my legs feel more protected from the blade in leggings lol (even if its a mental thing), besides I am cold in tights. Most skaters wear leggings, some wear yoga pants and a few wear skirts with a jacket over (this is very different from a fulll dress), if you are doing a program and you wear dresses no1 will give you looks.



now again...this is my rink so do not get at me...I am not making generalizations about adult skaters in dresses.

You could also consider a ballet leotard with a wrap-around skirt and skating tights. I know an adult ice dancer and an adult freestyle skater who wear these sometimes and I think they look a little more sophisticated than a skating skirt. Check out http://www.riversedgedancewear.com
The 16" wrap skirt by Watercolour is very pretty and comes in any color combination you can imagine.

One benefit of a skating skirt is that, if you're prone to falling (me on my double salchows) and you skid across the ice, the skirt picks up the snow ... not your bloomers.

I've started wearing skirts sometimes, just because I don't like having wet underwear.

Of course, I do tend to wear out my workout clothes, and I can find pants and leggings cheaper than skating skirts. That's a drawback.

__________________
"Gravity is a harsh mistress." -- The Tick

Shorts and tights. I haven't done this in a while because a) it's been "chilly" in florida so I don't want to parade around wearing nothing and b) I put on some weight and my thighs aren't the most attractive thing to see. I did like wearing the shorts with the tights though because my coach could see my line better and it was as close to a skirt as I could but not actually wear one. I usually do yoga pants nowadays. I will admit though if I see anyone over the age of say, 14 or 15 wearing a skirt I expect them to be very good, or very not so good. I've yet to see anything in between so that's where my expectations come from.


And I'm TOTALLY fighting my coach on wearing a skirt at testing. They made the pants rule for a reason, and I'm a good example of that reason. She's old school and refuses to let me test in pants. Oy.

When I started I wore 2 pairs of pants... leggings and jeans... I then went down to just leggings/dance pants once I got more comfortable and hubby wasnt happy with such bad knee bend

I am now starting to consider wearing a dress, but probably after I get my prelim test (1st test that everyone has to do here prior to going on whatever stream)... or at least leading up to it so I get used to it....

I know LOTS of skaters who wear dresses and skirts when practising... in ice dance I assume its because the skirt is longer and youve got to get used to it being there eventually!

My point is that if you want to wear a dress, why not? If it makes you feel more comfortable, check out the rink and see what other people wear, but going against the grain isnt a bad thing

Also, check out ebay.... they have heaps of skating dresses online and many of the sellers have different sizes

__________________
--------------
-Erinna-
aka cassarilda

My Progress Report!
"Did I mention there is only ONE rink in Melbourne?!"
"If you're not flying, you're obviously not trying!!!" - courtsey of the guy who helped me up off the ice after my last spectacular and sore fall

Interesting timing since I have been thinking about when to "introdce" a skirt or skating dress.

In observing the four clubs where I have skated in the three months since I started, I notice that the younger (under 20) girls all wear a practice dress (not fancy) as do the 20 to 35 year olds who are advanced skaters. (They probably work hard enough to keep warm with minimal covering!) Everyone else is in pants, except the coaches who are usually buried under about 4 layers - LOL! A very few of the young girls wear a nice skating dress (probably last year's competition dress). I have only seen a REALLY nice skating dress a day or two before someone is headed to a competition - getting used to it I expect.

I am a fair bit over-weight but plan to compete in the not too distant future (plus I still have knock-out legs at age 56! ) so I am trying to figure out when and how to transition to a practice dress without looking out of place. My personal decission is to wait until I have all my edges down pat and am working on some more advanced moves (like spins, which definately look better in a dress).

I skate with stretch pants over tights and find that keeps my legs warm and dry. I usually start with 3 layers on the top and peel down to a long sleeved T-shirt when I work up a sweat.

__________________
Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

Some days (when it's COLD) I'll wear leggings and a turtleneck, some days a practice dress.
I have been having a hard time finding leggings lately, as I do not care for a flared hem- worried about catching the blade in my pants and falling!

__________________
Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Thanks everyone so much for your input!

I currently have been wearing stretch pants with a pair of warmup pants on top (to solve the wet underpants from falling issue, though I am not really falling all that much...at the moment) and I am thinking about starting to maybe take off the top pair of pants and thought that it would be a whole lot more fun if I was wearing a skirt than just wearing stretch pants/tights.

I am working on my XO's along with starting Mowhawks and 3-turns, my edges aren't the cleanest yet, though my instructor commented on my nice freeleg position for front edges the other night with was very cool, and have been skating for about a month and a half, I am 29.

I think I like RustyBlades idea - when I start learning spins, I will get a skirt to try wearing then for fun occationally . (I don't even know if I will like it, I may very well freeze!) I don't think I want to wear a dress for practice, I'll leave those for testing/competitions, but I would really like to at least see what it's like to skate with a skirt (which is probably why you see all of the beginners in skirts and then they get better and go to pants hehe).

Thanks again!

This is what I like about my rink. Nobody cares what the heck we wear, LOL. I have 1 skirt, and I wear it maybe once every 3 or 4 weeks, LOL, but I mostly wear a fitted top, with sport pants, like adidas or nike, stuff like that. It's very comfy to skate in, and I also like wearing a leotard, and then that kind of pants over it, so that way you don't have to worry about your shirt riding up while you're running through a program, haha. There is sort of a noticable trend of what people wear here though. About age 14 and over people wear pants, maybe an occasional skirt, and anyone younger than that, almost always wears skirts or simple dresses. But no one usually takes note of what someones wearing, as we're too busy having fun, cause we have a smaller club compared to a lot of ones out there. It's awesome cause it also means cheaper ice and lessons! LOL. (sorry getting off topic, LOL)

~Jess

I too felt a little awkward starting to practice in a dress i did it a week before my first competition to get used to skating in a dress and i personally liked it better like someone else said my coach can see my lines better, i find it less restricting than pants sometimes for some of my moves like spirals and i find it keeps me cooler i tend to get really hot when i am skating. I havent gotten any funny looks that i have noticed most people at our rink wear dresses except some of the adults and even some of them do. Another rink i skate at i have seen several adults in dresses as well. Personally i prefer to skate in a dress and dont care what anyone else thinks. If it makes you comfortable then go for it.

You could pull a Kwan and take a test when your coach is out of town just kidding!

__________________
Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

One of the things I like best about skating, after the skating itself, and the social aspect of competitions and workshops, is the skating dresses. And because I sew, I have lots of dresses.

I have always worn a practice dress and tights, many times two pairs, thin tights underneath thicker stirrup or over-the-boot tights. If you got great legs - show them off.....

The sessions I skate on are all pretty much equally divided between skating dresses and pants/leggings.

__________________
If you keep your eyes on God, you can walk on water.

For the folks who mentioned wet undies....don't wear them. If you wear at least one pair of tights under your leggings/work out pants you don't need them. No panty line and no wet undies.

Chico

__________________
"I truly believe, when God created skating, he patted himself on the back."

That's what I used to do The watercolours skirts are gorgeous. I also bought myself an overlocker and made my own wrap-over skirts Got leopard print the lot

We weren't allowed anyway, some people wore thongs (g strings) but I ended up having to readjust them all the time. You don't need undies with proper dance/skate tights anyway.

__________________

The best whisper is a click

Your comment about wearing a skirt once you start working on spins brings back memories. . . I told myself I could start wearing a skirt once I started landing the loop jump, and when I did, I went out and bought 3 skating skirts, LOL! They are stuffed somewhere in the bottom of my closet now. . . hmm. . .

I think the clothes are an added attraction for skating. As a returning adult, I am itching to get into a skirt. Most of the skaters at our rink who do jumps and spins wear a skirt or dress for club practices, and either skirt or dress, or leggings at public sessions.

My main barrier to wearing a skirt is that I am fat. Leggings aren't a good look, but a skirt is even worse. I can sew, and could easily make skirts or dresses my size once I work out a pattern. But I keep holding off until I lose more weight.

The more people wear skirts and dresses, the more people will wear skirts and dresses. Go for it.

__________________
Karen

I skate - therefore I am

If you want to wear a dress wear one!
I started skating wearing leggings or pants but then had to switch to a dress for competition. After that I've never worn pants again. I feel much more comfortable wearing dresses even when I'm in the minority at Golden Skate here. I did find though that other women followed once they saw someone making the start.

Good source for nice less expensive dresses is Ebay.

It runs all across the board at my rink-pants, shorts, skirts, dresses, etc. for both girls AND adults, although the adults do lean towards pants (the very beginner adults wear jeans). Except occasionally the advanced adults wear dresses just for fun.

However, I like to wear pants when I'm working on difficult elements (things I'm more likely to fall on) because it gives me more protection: 2 pair tights plus pants vs. 2 pair tights and a skimpy dress.

I got into the practice of wearing a dress for ice dance class because it helped make me feel more graceful, and in the weeks before a competition, I would wear my competition dress (or dresses I was trying out to see how they felt).

I just think you should wear whatever you want! I do!

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

Dark tights or a catsuit with a chiffon skirt on top can be very slimming Better than leggings

__________________

The best whisper is a click

I feel more like a 'real skater' (as daughter's coach says ) when I wear my practice dress or skirt. Most skaters here wear skirts/dresses for lessons, every age and skating level. Of course, I wear leggings/warm-up pants on public ice.

__________________
blades, gary, Lucy, Emily, take care of Aiden and Sami. Sami is my sweetest heart, and always will be, forever. RIP Cubby Boy, my hero dog.

So much of what people wear to practice depends on the particular rink... for example, at my rink almost everyone wears skirts/dresses, from the pre-pre girls up to the senior ladies, with very few exceptions. The days I wear leggings I stand out!

__________________
Where are those knives when I need them?
----------------------------------
I need a detachable left foot!

I have the opposite problem - where do you find the leggings with the flared bottom? I have been wearing workout trousers or a skirt over black leggings, but I prefer to wear more fitted trousers.
I had one really good pair but they have a hole in them