0 Figure Skating Fashion Minute: ISU Grand Prix Final 2011-2012--Ice Dancing Costume Changes!

Costume Changin' Ice Dancers...

Backless Cha Cha Queen, or...

Violet Sequined Princess? Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and her change of costumes--which one is better? Read on...

The Top Three Ice Dancing Teams: (Left to right) Canada's Virtue and Moir (Silver), Davis and White from the USA (Gold) and Pechalat and Bourzat of France (with their Bronze medals)--ISU Grand Prix Final Pavillon de la Jeunesse Quebec City, Quebec Canada

Alright Figure Skating Fans, we've come (finally) to my last "Figure Skating Fashion Two Cents" posting for last weekend's ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. I'm sure those non-figure skating fans reading my blog were thinking "What Is With All the Figure Skating Fashion posts??" Well, kids I LOVE the sport and LOVE the costumes even more...so there! But you can breathe a sigh of relief: this is the last one--well until the next Figure Skating event (most of the National Championships are next month--in 2012--so get ready for more!!).

Let's get to the Costume Changes for these Two Ice Dancing Teams. I begin with...

Virtue and Moir of Canada: They were the favorites to win--especially on "home turf" at this 2011-2012 Grand Prix Final held in Quebec City. They garnered a very close 2nd place (Scott fell on the Short Program and well, that was "it"). Now, in terms of their costumes, I was very surprised to see a costume change for Tessa.

For their "Hip Hip Chin Chin", "Temptation" and "Mujer Latina" Latin-inspired number, she wore this backless sequined fringed mini "flapper dress" in a gorgeous degrade' pink that went from light to dark. It was GORGEOUS! Love the backless silhouette and that one silver crystal strap. The style was sassy, saucy and very "Miss Republica Dominicana" in its design. Take that style to the floor and huney, you've got a Miss Universe Runner Up...if not the Winner!

This Royal Blue-and-Silver sequined dress above is what she last wore at Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris last month. I liked this then. It was elegant, very "Dancing With The Stars" cookie-cutter Dance Number Fab (and nothing wrong with that). But it did miss the "Hot Latina" edge. And I think the new pink number, brought that. I, for one, was happy for the change. It definitely was a change for the better..or shall I say, for the Sassier! What do you guys think? Pink or Royal Blue: Which do you prefer?

Shibutani Costume Change:

Shibutani and Shibutani of the USA: Brother and sister Ice Dancing team, Alex and Maia Shibutani skated well in Canada at the Grand Prix Final, getting a respectable fifth place overall. I absolute love these two; their skating, their fun enthusiasm, their passionate grasp of the Latin Dance...Speaking of the Latin Dance, for the Short Dance number, there was a Costume Change--well, more like a Costume Improvement. For the Grand Prix Final, Maia's one-shoulder black with "fringed" sequined got a "freshening up": fuchsia hem binding. Compare the "new" costume at the Grand Prix Final above with...

This one here which she wore at the 2011-2012 NHK Trophy in Sapporo Japan in early November. Same costume but without the pink addition. I think this was a good change. I liked the one-shoulder all black number but it did need a "pop" of color. Especially since Alex was also in all-black. Sometimes, the little changes make all the difference--costume-wise.

For their Free Dance, however, they did a full-on Costume Change--both Maia and Alex. This above is what they wore to the last Grand Prix competition in Japan. I LOVED it! They skate to a Big Band Medley including "In The Mood", "Moonlight Serenade" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Their outfits were SPOT ON as I said HERE. But they decided to "stir it up":

And completely changed their costumes. Alex ditched his argyle sweater vest ensemble for peach and white collared shirt with suspender look. And Maia went for a multicolored neon orange with purple trim dress with cascading crystal details. Although I love the addition of color, I just don't think it was necessary in this program. They were fine with their original "Free Dance" costumes.

He looks like a Black Jack Dealer and she belongs in the Latin Short Dance. Something seems a bit disjointed--costume-wise. I still LOVE them, though :) Please let me know what you Figure Skating Fans think: Argyle-and-Red Sequin Cute? Or Black Jack Dealer-and-Latina Orange Sassy?

Until Next Time--Lots of Figure Skating Costume Kisses xoxo