Create your own personal unique style. Perhaps you already know what kind of person you are, what kind of clothing and accessories you prefer, and what words de­scribe your personality. Do you like to be creative and unpredictable in your approach on the ice? Or maybe you prefer traditional, old-fashioned costumes and hairstyles? If you are female, do you like to be very feminine and romantic? Or no matter what sex you are, you like to be a cool and highly contemporary person on the ice. Whatever style you choose for yourself, follow it whenever it’s possible!

While spending hours and hours working on elements of your new program, and listening to new music over and over, think about those things that will add more interest and credits into your future performances.

Body Shapes & Costumes

People are all different and have different body shapes. Do not copy other skater’s costumes! What’s good for one person will never be good enough for you! Here are just a few tips to keep in mind:

For Female Skaters:

• Avoid high necklines if you don’t have a “swan” neck.
• Avoid sleeves cut in half or three quarter.
• Do not put very heavy decorations on the shoulder areas.
• Leave your hands free and open to the public.
• Try to avoid skirts that are put on at the waist line.
• Skirts made from light fabrics always look better than heavy ones.

For Male Skaters:

• Avoid very tight upper parts to your costume unless you like to lift weights.
• Do not open the neckline too deep. (This is the female’s privilege.)
• Pay attention to your shoulder pads. (They have to stay there where you put them even if you do a back flip in your routine!)
• Like a woman’s skirt, light “flying” shirts are always better. Pants - not too short!
• Match the color of your boots to color of the outfit you are wearing.
• In my opinion, men always have to be men, no matter what routine he’s performing - less is better than more!

Fabric

There are mainly two ways to choose fabric. One is when you have a sketch or complete design picture of your costume ready. Follow the idea and find the needed materials. If you designed it yourself, you probably already know what you are looking for.

There’s another way that works well too. Just step into the fabric store and you’ll find hundreds of ideas in thousands of colors and textures. With today’s choices of material, it’s very hard to advise what to buy but make sure you like it, it suits your outlook, and matches your device. I always suggest to use lighter materials such as a very thin Lycra, without too much shine, for the female’s dress; light silks for skirts and men’s shirts; and thick stretchy material for men’s pants. Stretch velvets look good too and I really like them because of their amazing depth in color. Be careful when matching spandex and velvet in one costume. They can be slightly different in hues when you’re looking at them on the ice!

In my experience with using fabrics for skating outfits, dots, stripes, flowers, and other PRINTS were not our preference. We preferred to have patterns that were made of stones, ribbons, or tiny pieces of fabric leftovers - everything worked. Make sure that the pattern is big enough to be seen from a distance, or small enough to combine together into one rich and un­usual color.

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