In a moment of insanity I've agreed to compete Freestyle 1 in an in-house ISI competition at my rink on February 12. This will be my first competition! I usually skate in leggings and a sweatshirt or a practice skirt and sweater--I don't own a skating dress of any kind. Obviously I need to rustle one up in a hurry. I don't want to look dowdy but I would rather get something that isn't too flashy for practice so that I can also wear it in lessons. And, of course, I am on a budget!

How twinkly should a grown woman look when skating a low level at an in-house comp? Is it feasible to buy a plain dress and baste on some sparkly trim that could later be removed? Any ideas on "accessorizing" a dress?

...Anybody have an Adult Large dress or two they'd be willing to let go cheap?

Check on Ebay. Lots there at all sizes.

If all else fails, get a nice black leotard and black wrap skirt from a local dance store or online (Discount Dancewear has a good selection).

www.skatewear4less.com carries Capezio dancewear.

www.tidewaterice.com carries some GK, Capezio and Rebel plus their house brand.

www.freidab.com makes very adult-friendly (in terms of sizing) skatewear

I'm sure others will chime in with the sites they know and have used.

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

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

My advice would be a plain dress, no sparkles. You could also wear a leotard & wrap skirt that's a pretty print. They make lots of dresses that are pretty just because of the fabric/design without sparkles, which as you suggested, look out of place on a lower level skater. Then you can still wear it for practice also.

ETA: Capezio dresses run insanely small, so be careful if you go w/ that brand.

Same problem here - though I already own a dress I could wear: a simple plain black one with knitted turtleneck and sleeves, but I was concerned it wouldn't go well with the programme: I look in it like an older and bigger version of Janet Lynn, and the music is a tense piece that would go much better with a unitard or at least something less schoolgirl-like. Club's closed competition is in January and the next one is only in May. In my shoes, would you buy a competition dress a.s.a.p. or would you go with what you have?

__________________
My other car is a Zamboni

If all else fails, dash out to the sales and see if you can get a pretty gold top, and/or disco skirt. If you have a plain dress - or sweater and skirt, you can always dress it up with a "bling" necklace.

And don't forget you can wear trousers if it's free skating - you could wear plain black all over, leggings and top, and maybe a pretty scarf or something as a bit of contrast?

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

*Patsy emerges from lurkdom for a moment to tell Nerd on Ice that she's living (totally non-skater) Patsy's dream*

I second the ebay recommendation. That's where I bought my last 2 competition dresses! As far as jazzing up a plain dress goes, it depends on how good a seamstress you are. Plain dresses are fine; you could buy some hotfix crystals and use them to decorate the neckline or skirt of a dress. Or just find a pretty pin to put on the dress.

GK has some great dresses and you can call the outlet to see if they have what you want at about half price. Also, take a look at these clearance dresses from The Leotard Lady.

__________________

Everybody, thank you for all the suggestions! I will hopefully see my coach tomorrow and find out what she thinks as well.

sceptique, I think a black turtleneck dress would go great with dramatic music. What if you wore black OTB tights with it?

Hmm... while we're on the topic, since I will be competing "as soon as is reasonably possible" as my coach says in his light Brit accent, I have no idea what I'm going to do about costumes... Anyone have any male oriented tips? Not to hijack Nerd's thread, but it seems appropriate to the topic...

Yes me too. I might do a collegiate champinship soon.

__________________
The spotted bird flies
Rising through winds of turmoil
I am not regret.

Pants with some give or stretch (have some straps that will go around the instep of the boot sole sewn onto the pants), nice shirt (polo or button-up or nice-looking long-sleeve t-shirt), sweater if you want.

Several places online sell men's skating pants and bodysuit tops... specifically I know Del Arbour does (www.delarbour.com) but there's other vendors as well.

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

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

You can get some very nice stretchy slacks and have someone sew the velcro straps on the bottom for you. Also, what the guy ice dancer in my rink wears are shirts obtained from http://www.internationalmale.com ! ! ! Go for the brightly colored satiny ones! And, (I know this sounds bizarre and weird) tuck the shirt into your underwear to keep it from creeping up!

Good luck!

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

Nerd_on_ice:

I forgot to mention in my previous post:

I got some very nice dressy dresses at the Goodwill, they were sparkly and short (mid-thigh) stretch velvet, all I had to do was add bloomers (which cost $8 at a cheer/dance supply store) and I was good to go! Being an adult has advantages, as I can dress differently than the little kiddies! So, if you shop thrift stores, you can pick up bargains for skating!

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

You know, I'm a fan of wear what makes you feel good. I'm a large tall woman all my life and got over dressing to suit other people a long time ago. However I have some sense and don't wear tight things that suit a teenager, I'm not that kind of "wear and don't care", but other than a pair of black pants, there's not much plain in my closet.

I also sew skating dresses for a lot of kids, and can do totally over the top bling. When it came time to make my first dress for myself, I was fairly plain, however it was bright red. (I had an overstock of red fabric....) My current dance dress is lavender with no trim at all and a chiffon skirt. I think of it as just a basic, and have worn a boa with it, fancy pins, jewellery, flowers, you name it. It's just like dressing up a street dress.

Alright, I sew, that makes it a whole lot easier, but I guess my point is, don't limit yourself because you're an adult and the low level of competition. If you see something that you love, why not wear it?

As for men, the current trend against one piece jumpsuits is a bonus for skating men . First buy yourself a good pair of skating pants (Mondor, Blueskys, DelArbour) in black. You will wear them forever (unless you get fat, to the consternation of my old skating coach). Then, as mentioned by Skate@Delaware, go shopping at the menswear stores and find a shirt you like. There is a way to add either leg straps or a manpanty to an existing shirt so that it will stay tucked in, and a local skating dressmaker can do that for you at a small fee. You can dress up the shirt or again, whatever makes you feel good.

I don't think I've ever seen black OTB tights- do they really come in black? I'll have to keep my eyes open for those. I know I've (occasionally- I really want another pair but now I can't find them) seen black footless tights- that would work with a black dress too, if you found those somewhere.

__________________
Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

My husband has one pair of really old-fashioned skating trousers that he got in a jumble sale - rummage sale in the US? - by mistake, years before we even thought of skating. Then he found an old bag of jumble in a cupboard and decided to go through it to see what was there, and lo and behold, there they were! They are actually a size too small for him, but he won't let me buy him a new pair on the grounds that "it makes me keep my weight down"!

He wears them for social dance evenings, and also for competition - for dance, usually with a white or black shirt and black bow-tie (all the male adult dancers in this country wore black shirts last year, it was really funny, you'd think they were a load of fascists, which they aren't!). I don't know what he'll wear for his first free skating competition, probably a T-shirt of some sort, or I might just have some ideas up my little tiny sleeve.....

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

I own a pair but they don't actually look too great, especially with a black dress: you look like you are dressed for a funeral. Gloomy rather than elegant.

__________________
My other car is a Zamboni

Garage or Yard Sale is what you're looking for, I believe.

Not quite, because those are usually run by private individuals (we have them, too); jumble sales are usually in aid of, and run by, some charity or other.

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

I think that might be a flea market then? Or at least, that's what I call them. Not sure if that's what they actually are.

They do! I have a pair. I got them at a Capezio store but it looks like they also have them on the Web site.

Well, the dress search has come to an end. I ordered a purple velvet tank dress--Capezio, as it happens--this afternoon. Once I get it I will decide whether to put any decoration on it. I really appreciate everyone's suggestions!

That's what I would call it.

According to Merriam-Webster: Rummage sale - a usually informal sale of miscellaneous goods; especially a sale of donated articles conducted by a nonprofit organization (as a church or charity) to help support its programs.

__________________

It's been forever since I had to buy skating dresses....but I was having fun looking and some of the camisole dance dresses available are very flattering. They do have seperate trunks/panty, which actually can be a good thing perhaps. Prices are nice. Check some of these out:

http://dancewearsolutions.com/

Just click on the dresses category.

I always had good luck with GKElite and Capezio. If there are any pro shops at rinks near you they usually have a small supply of dresses to try.

Skate@Delaware, do you sew the bloomers to the dresses? Or is the dress fabric heavy enough that the skirt never comes up high enough that you'd see a gap between dress and bloomers?

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