Don't worry about conforming, other than that men have to wear pants. I have skater boys and know a lot more skater men and the only thing that I'll say is that you can wear whatever you want as long as that it shows off your body (not baggy or sloppy) and that if you wear something different, that you can skate up to it. The costume does not matter at all - at all ! What a good costume does is make you feel good and get you in the mood for the test or program and if you feel good, you skate better.

That said, the best thing you can buy as a male skater is heavy duty skate pants in black doubleknit or black stretch velvet. Don't get the thin lycra. They will be good forever, and go with everything.

me personally, i just don't like the look of those body suit type things that johnny weir or evegeny plushenko often wear. i mean, they like it, and at first, i sometimes think it distracts from the skating (especially johnny wier), although he is a good skater and it does kinda go with his style, but i just don't really like the look. it seems too much. i'd much rather see a guy in pants and a top. it lets you focus more on the skating and less on the costume.

I agree with you Sue, although they seem very popular among men of a certain age. One dancer I know always wears one on the ice, with a jersey on the top (so it doesn't look too awful), and I did once see my coach wearing one when he was partnering a higher-level dancer. Don't care for the look, but I can see why they wear them.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Terri, he has illusion fabric in there, so he's fine according to the rules. I think he'll be keeping the costume.

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

UGH!!!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

I saw this guy at the rink today who I haven't seen before - he was wearing tight jeans, a plaid shirt tucked in, a leather belt with a big gaudy buckle, a huge black cowboy hat, and a knife in the case attached to the belt on his behind. It was really, really, not sightly. I bet it would hurt if he fell on that lovely knife he had, and the tight jeans must have really restricted his range of motion. He was a pretty good skater as far as the people on hockey skates generally go (they have a much lower average than the figure skaters, at least at my rink), with decent edges and speed, so I figured he must regularly go to the country ice line dancing club.

Hey Terri

I didn't see it but I do remember last year with that blue ice costume he wore, great outfit..... If it fit....I think he's a great skater , but he needs to gain 20 pounds or find another tailor...

I like the body suits. It gives a nice long line. Iv'e seen a few on male pair skaters that were not my favorite - lilac and pink - but like most I've seen lately on the men. It gives more design options and does not cut the body in half like many pants/shirt costumes. I really like the feel of skating in them - fewer waistbands and more comfortable. I've stopped wearing them recently because I need to wear pants to stuff in the crash pads for doubles.

Hey flo
Im sure you won't need those crash pad for long with those doubles.
Your a good strong skater and you have the drive to land them Im sure.
I remember how you pushed me around the ice when I came to your rink to do that show for you.

You will be at gold before you know it. Look forward to seeing you again at the New Years " The greatest risk in life is not taking one"

Shinn-Reika:

If you are in the U.S. according to the rulebook, a costume that breaks the 'rules' is subject to a .1 deduction. Not that I've seen that happen a lot--most lady ice dancers are in serious violation of the "no excessive use of flesh toned fabric" rule......

For testing basic black is always appropriate. For competing, you'll see tons of variety--the rules really aren't that restrictive. No tights, men must have sleeves (though that one may only apply to ice dance, not sure). Other than that, you're pretty much wide open. You just want to make sure, as others have pointed out, that your costume doesn't out-do your skating! I knew a very beginning lady who wore a gold lame skirt & looked ridiculous.

The way I look at it is, (as a girl) the higher level I get, the more sparkles I get!

Thanks Ross! I'm working on them.
I'm here at work today - waved hello to my car and brushed it off a bit on the way -I don't have to move it 'till I skate tomorrow. Most things are up and moving, but the city schools are closed.
Do you take your skates when you fly? Portland probably has some great rinks. How about flying us to Germany?

No germany routes for me, but the snow has totaly changed my schedule this week. Ill be back in PHL on Wednesday to dig out my car from the company parking lot. Iv got four day's to practice then I have to fly another 4 days before the competition. I get about three hours a day on the ice each time I go. Im in CLT today.

this weekend was our club competition, and the only male skaters (with the exception of one lone synchro boy) were adult men.

The only rhinestones on any of them was on one gold lame Elvis jacket, with silver on the lapels.

There was a tuxedo.
The rest wore black pants.
On top, there was a turtleneck, a Tommy Hilfiger sweater, a cableknit fisherman's sweater, a tuxedo shirt, and a nice buttondown dress shirt in plum.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

About 2 years ago in an artistic event I skated against a man who broke most of the skating attire rules. Rust/Bronze in color, no sleeves, unzipped midway down his chest and skin tight pants w/ beading up the side. He was a very fit late 50's year old man, but it seemed more to be an advertisement for his gunship arms, and legs. He was very nice but it might have been just a bit much.

la

ISU recently changed the clothing rules to allow men to have bare arms and chests as well as removing "full length" from its trousers definition. Since the USFSA follows the ISU instead of doing there own thing, they have adopted the new rules.

Those of you who know me know that I despise both the written and unwritten restrictions placed on male attire.

While I am seeing more males flexing their limits on costumes, they still have a long way to go in achieving the level of freedom that the females have enjoyed, and with the new rules, now enjoy an even greater choice then ever before.

I went to a competition and counted the items one vender had to offer, on the rack they had eighteen outfits geared towards males. Two styles of leo shirts, and two styles of trousers, and any color you wanted as long as it was black. On the female side I counted about three hundred and eighty items, and while I didn' get a color chart to see about any missing colors, most assuredly most were accounted for.

For males one usually sees them wearing the same thing from practice, to testing, to competition with little variation between the three.

For females however there is a great disparity between a practice and a test outfit, and an even more so one between a testing outfit and a competition one. And lets not forget about all the extras that females also can use such as hair styles and scrunchies, face paint, over the boot tights, body glitter, wedding points, lipstick, exposed or simulated flesh, etc etc.

Well, I better stop as I'm far past my .02c

Skating should be about skating only and not attire, but skating is also about you, the individual, be you, and if you want, let your attire reflect that.

Steven

(Who didn't wear the mandated trousers last time he tested, and usually doesn’t wear them when he skates)

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"A sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." - Albert Einstein
"A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson
"Got Edge?" - Steven J. Arness - Coachless, two years and counting.
"He who carves himself to suit others will soon whittle himself away."
"Sometimes you get what you want but loose what you have."

For testing, I agree that subtle is good. But once you are competing with a program, you need to use your clothing to help the judges understand the mood and theme of your music. In the last adult competition I attended, half the men looked like they had gotten up that morning and said, "Hmm. . . What should I wear today. . . Let's see, it's Saturday but I'm going out, so I guess I'll wear these slacks and this polo shirt." I'm not saying you should use rhinestones or anything; I'm just saying you need to put as much thought into what you wear when you perform your program as you do when you choose your music and choreograph it. Otherwise, you are giving yourself a real disadvantage in the presentation department.

I was wondering if anyone knew if it agaist skate canada rules for ladies to wear pants to compete/test in?

I don't know the answer to this but would assume that the national skate bodies would all abide by the ISU rules and if it's good enough for ISU it should be good enough for the National skating associations.

I was initially disappointed that they changed the rules to allow ladies to wear trousers as I like to see the lovely dresses but I think I have changed my mind after seeing Fumie Seguri's gorgeous black lacy trouser and lacy bodice outfit. Dont' think any of them wore trousers for the long programme at World's though - maybe they didn't want to be pictured on the podium in trousers if they got there?!

As for guys. My son tends to wear skating trousers of the matt gaberdine-look lycra type as they are comfortable and practical. For practices he wears them with T shirts or rugby shirts and for tests or competitions he has a skating shirt I made him - the old one was blue lycra to match his pairs partner - but not tight fitting and his current one is matt black. He's never liked the ones with attached pants so I've used poppers to attach them to undershorts or cycle shorts worn under the trousers. He wears his trousers quite loose fitting too. I got his first pair for £3 (US$5 ish) at our club's second-hand sale and he wore them at a national level competition so it doesnt' have to be expensive!

My personal preference is to see a guy looking like a guy, with trousers and a top or shirt, rather than all-in-one outfits. I particularly dislike some of the all-in-one outfits in coloured velvet that look like babygro's to me. Having said that, I do like some of Johnny Weirs outfits but maybe that is because I love his skating (those whisper quiet and soft jump landings - swoon) so anything he wears is fine by me.

If you want a bit of sparkle to catch the light but don't want sequins or rhinestones there are some great metallic lycras about which are suitable for guys (e.g. black/silver), either for the whole top or an accent.

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'skating is not just a sport - it is an obsession'