So, after writing my first two season recap posts in two days, I took a break from blogging because I was going to use up the whole series in a week and then be upset that I had nothing to blog about. But now I’m back, with probably my favorite topic to blog about: costumes!
Since this is a very broad category, I’m splitting the favorite costumes segment into two posts. This one is for ladies, and the next one will be for pairs and dance. (I didn’t really like any of the mens’ costumes, so there will not be any in this.) This is structured somewhat the same as the programs posts: a certain number in each discipline, depending on how many I can remember that I liked.
Best Ladies Short Prorgram Costumes
- Evgenia Medvedeva (“Melodies of the White Nights”)
This is as close to a perfect dress as I saw this season: the color, cut, crystals, and overall design were absolutely gorgeous, and it looked fantastic on Evgenia. Age-appropriate but stunning. I’ve raved about this dress approximately 95 times already and I’ve probably said it all by now…
2. Adelina Sotnikova (“Besame Mucho”)
IT HAS A FRINGE SKIRT, GUYS. Costume aside, I could not get enough of Adelina’s programs this season, and she has officially vaulted onto my top-5 list of ladies skaters (somewhere in between Gracie/Elena/Yulia/Mao). Спасибо, Adelina, for being awesome.
Okay, I kind of only put that in because wanted to show off my Russian, but of the smattering of Russian I have yet memorized-Спасибо, Вода, Да, Нет, Где, собака, молоко (water, yes, no, where, dog, and milk)-that seemed the least nonsensical. LOL.
3. Elena Radionova (“J’Taime”)
Yes, I know this hides the front of her dress, but the back is my favorite part, and none of the pictures that showed the front showed the back, so I went with the back. I love the orange beading and the flowy orange pieces of fabric coming off the back-they looked like flames when she moved. She may have had some serious costume failures this season (the watermelon dress at Worlds…), but this one was great.
4. Gracie Gold (“El Choclo”)
From the front, this looked like a practice dress, but the back and underskirt were fabulous. I am also running out of ideas. I would use juniors’ costumes for this, but I already committed to doing those in another post…gergh.
5. Gabrielle Daleman (“Mr. Paganini”)
It’s so PURPLE and SHINY…I like things that are purple and shiny. 🙂
Top Five Ladies Free Skate Costumes
- Tyler Pierce (“Danse Macabre”)
I discussed Tyler’s free skate costume here and am too lazy to write it up again. Random note: there are far more good pictures of this costume floating around Google now than there were after Junior Worlds, so apparently I need to wait two months if I want any good pictures of a costume.
2. Mao Asada (“Madame Butterfly”)
Mao is basically the queen of impeccable costuming (possibly only rivaled by actual rival Yuna Kim and the famously fashionable Kiira Korpi), and this season’s dresses were no exception. I preferred this one because it was more unique-I saw nothing else like it except for that one dress that looked like a ripoff of this one. Having the entire costume made of mesh gave it lovely movement, and the butterfly appliques were a nice touch. Everything about it was gorgeous, but if I had to pick a favorite thing about it, it would be the sleeves. Mesh bell sleeves are right up there with sparkly sweetheart necklines and ombre on the list of things I am a total sucker for.
3. Ashley Wagner (“Moulin Rouge”)
Okay, whoever thought to put gold beading/crystals/whatever on bright-white fabric was a fashion genius. The “sparkly stuff” (don’t know if it’s crystals, glitter or beading) really stands out against the white bodice. The faux-necklace neckline was very cool as well. If a top skater wears a white dress, I will inevitably become obsessed with it-examples: Anna Cappellini’s SD dress, Rachel Parsons’ SD dress, Victoria Sinitsina’s SD dress…and this one. I would go so far as to say this costume kept the program “fresher” than it would’ve been if she didn’t change the costume. Then again, maybe it was just that I liked staring at this dress. 🙂
4. Rika Hongo (“Riverdance”)
Rika’s sadly-replaced original “Riverdance” dress was one of my favorite dresses this season. It was suitably Riverdance-y without being the “WOOHOO I’M RIVERDANCING AND THIS IS A RIVERDANCE PROGRAM SO TOP O’ THE MORNING TO Y’ALL!” kind of Riverdance-y. (It was a lot prettier when she was moving – still photos don’t show the actual color well.) The green underskirt and well-placed green crystals added a little color so it wouldn’t look too somber, but the extremely dark color made it more refined than if it had been the typical emerald-green. This season was really a breakout season for Rika in terms of programs, and her costumes-especially this one-definitely did them justice.
5. Mirai Nagasu (Selections from “The Great Gatsby”)
If you have read certain things on this blog, you probably know that I love 1920’s-themed anything in skating, so Mirai Nagasu’s fabulous 20’s-inspired free skate dress was bound to end up on this list. I loved the subtle blush color, which is not a color you often see skaters wear, and the very “directional” crystal placement (by which I mean it was clearly meant to be shaped a certain way). The crystal “straps” and the chevron pattern in the cutout were very nice touches-no detail was spared with this dress! The headband was a cute addition. Fresh and youthful without looking too young.
Salchows and Swarovskis 
