Why are Ladies figure skates White?

[skatepixie]

Clean, shiny skates are more appealing to my eye. Someone once described the style as "having hooves." ITA

I despise the way I look in OTB tights, which I had the joy of seeing this year for the first time. Not a good look for me or my skates - you could see them through the tights, like I was wearing curtains! In fairness, some brands/styles look better than others. My kids like the soft Mondor ones with clips more than the pullover-styles.

As a reformed Queen of Boot Rot, I keep our skates in good condition regularly and never let them look like they've been in a war zone. The kids' skates usually sell at skate swaps pretty quickly as a result. I get a comment about "New skates?" at every coaching conference. I usually just say "aren't they beautiful?" and let it go, lol.

However, many skaters feel that damaged skates are a badge of honor showing that they're better/skate more/do difficult things. To each his own.

Am I the only one who feels like Mondors shred in one wear? *shrug*

As for the badge of honor, I much prefer "look what I can do, and without a hair out of place or a smudge on my boots."

[FigureSpins]

Don't ask me how, but we made it through the synchro season on one pair of tights each.

There's a trick: put packing tape over the skate hooks before you pull down the tights.

[Yazmeen]

I keep my skates in great condition, actually (Klingbeil customs, had since 2002, still very solid). My coach likes OTB for performances, so do I, although I've done both OTB and in boot. To each, her own!

[Dave of the North]

In the book, "The Golden Age of Canadian Figure Skating" (by David Young) Cecil Smith said she wore white skating boots at the 1930 World Figure Skating Championships, and that Sonja Henie started wearing them 3 months later. (Sonja was first that year, and Cecil was second). Apparently at the time, only professional skaters wore white boots.

ETA: the amateur skaters wore black or tan boots before this. There is a picture in the book of Sonja at the 1928 Olympics. Her boots were probably tan in that picture.

David Young would have interviewed Cecil (Smith) Hedstrom for this book. Interesting factoid: Cecil Smith and Osborne Colson were first cousins. Caveat - the book has lots of errors...

[Civic]

While the vast majority of female skaters wear white boots, a few don't. Oksana (a.k.a. "Pasha") Grishuk wore boots the color of blueberry yogurt during the 1997-98 season. Every once in a great while, you see a female skater with flesh-colored (i.e. pale tan or beige) skating boots.

[Aussie Willy]

Prior to 1940 (at least the United States), it was pink for boys and blue for girls. No one seems to know why that changed.

Don't know, but Sonja may have wanted her skates to be the same color as the ice.

There was a question on Stephen Fry's QI show about colours for boys and girls. And indeed many years ago apparently that is what the colours were generally for boys and girls. Eventually it turned around the other way.

However looking at the colours of shirts that guys wear to my workplace on casual day, it has never changed.

[skatepixie]

Don't ask me how, but we made it through the synchro season on one pair of tights each.

There's a trick: put packing tape over the skate hooks before you pull down the tights.

Oh I was refering to footed tights. I never owned a pair of OTB tights. Neither my coach nor I were fans.

[Polymer Bob]

It's like a wedding. The groom wears black and the bride wears white.

[burntBREAD]

Am I the only one who thought, at first glance, that this thread said, "Why are ladies figure skateRs white?" I was like, "WHAAT?!" until looking closer...

[Spartacus]

Speaking of skates, I'm SO thrilled to see Mao's not pulling her tights over her boots at 4CC!!!! I don't think they realize when they do that, it makes them look like they have cankles! hehe!

[FSWer]

I wondered about why colors mattered with women/men. As anyone should be able to choose what color they wanted. So it's all in Sonja wanting herself and woman to stand out while skating? I wonder too if she actually thought black was bad luck. LOL.

[Cloudy_Gumdrops]

Am I the only one who thought, at first glance, that this thread said, "Why are ladies figure skateRs white?" I was like, "WHAAT?!" until looking closer...

You're not the only one.

It so baffled me that I just had to open the thread.

I hate it when my eyes play tricks on me like that.

[Choupette]

Same here, Cloudy_Gumdrops and burntBREAD!

[Bonita]

You're not the only one.

It so baffled me that I just had to open the thread.

I hate it when my eyes play tricks on me like that.

I've had that problem twice, thinking, is this a racist thread? Senior moments....

I actually like over-the-boot tights, strangely I find beige boots to be more fugly. I don't mind white if they match the outfit, but sometimes a black skating dress with white boots looks WTF - I mean, would you wear a black dress to a party with white boots? OTOH I regularly wear same on the ice, only because I'm too poor to keep replacing those easily run over-the-boot tights whereas my regular ones last forever.

[vesperholly]

Elite skaters probably pay up to $1,000 for a pair of skates. So having them in different colors is not cost effective.

Not to mention trying to break in multiple pairs of boots would be ridiculous!

As far as cultural reasons, aren't light colors usually considered feminine and dark colors masculine?

Not necessarily. Every culture has a different relationship with color. Funeral/mourning color in the Western world are black, but in India and Southeast Asia, white is a funereal color. The Taj Mahal, a mausoleum, is white.

Tights over boots is often a coach's preference; it is with mine. She likes the elongated look it creates for one's leg. Also, it is necessary in synchro and group skating as not all skates look alike and not all skaters can wear the same skate brand. Please remember too that some of us perform/compete in boots that are rather beaten up but still work well for us, so tights over boots hide that. You cannot cover all dings with polish!

While I strongly prefer white skates, over-the-boot tights are not that bad. The WORST look, though, is the footless tights pulled over the ankle/top portion of the skate. Stumpy!

[Yazmeen]

I wear those footless OTB tights over regular tights for practice ONLY, usually under skating pants. They are great for an extra layer of warmth; however, I'd never wear them for a performance, they just don't look good.

[Sasha'sSpins]

That. I also heard that she wanted white to go with a white dress for The Swan. I don't know if that's just legend, though.

I was just thinking that Sonia had studied ballet and perhaps wanted to translate white ballet shoes to the ice by using their basic color for her skates-especially for numbers like The Dying Swan.

I liked Pasha's purple skates.

I did too.

[vesperholly]

I wear those footless OTB tights over regular tights for practice ONLY, usually under skating pants. They are great for an extra layer of warmth; however, I'd never wear them for a performance, they just don't look good.

Yeah, in practice, anything goes. I used to wear nude tights pulled down over the heel, but not the rest of the skate.

[MacMadame]

Elite skaters probably pay up to $1,000 for a pair of skates.

It's worse than that. $1000 is more the starting price for a good pair of custom skates and blades.

[madm]

Clean, shiny skates are more appealing to my eye. Someone once described the OTB look as "having hooves." ITA

As a reformed Queen of Boot Rot, I keep our skates in good condition regularly and never let them look like they've been in a war zone. The kids' skates usually sell at skate swaps pretty quickly as a result. I get a comment about "New skates?" at every coaching conference. I usually just say "aren't they beautiful?" and let it go, lol.

However, many skaters feel that damaged skates are a badge of honor showing that they're better/skate more/do difficult things. To each his own.

My daughter skates pairs and her skates look like hell within a few weeks of getting them. They are sliced and diced, punctured, and dragged on the ice from all the moves they do. Before they're worn out there will be chunks of leather missing. Sometimes she covers them with white tape for competition, but most of the time it's better to cover them up with OTB tights.

In the past I had a shoe repair place refinish skates, and they looked pretty good after that. But with pairs skating that doesn't last long so I don't do it anymore.