Apparel
The first product I'm going to recommend is Fashion Forms Women's Ultralight Nude Adhesive Bra. This bra is essential to any figure skater and has saved me (not to mention my mother) so much trouble. I purchased this at Target at the beginning of last season and it was the best $16 dollars and 99 cents I've ever spent. I am far from being busty or heavy chested, but I still needed some type of support and coverage inside my competition dress. No one wants to worry about revealing too much to the audience, not to mention the judges, when you are on the ice competing. I've had my mother sew countless bras into my skating dresses, I tried using pasties and clear backed bras, I tried using those paper stickers and I've even gone with nothing. I purchased this bra in a size B for the synchro season because it was listed under required team apparel. Our dresses had open backs, not even any mesh and the body was made of a thin lycra....not exactly the best design for a team of teenage girls, I must add. Anyways, I purchased this bra thinking it wouldn't stick on and spent my first competition sweating bullets about whether or not it would slide down to my stomach mid-program. To my relief, It didn't. The bra has a sticky gel on the inside that adheres to the skin fabulously but when it is time to take it off it is not painful in the least. I would recommend washing this bra in between uses not only for good hygeine but to restore the stickiness. I have been using the bra for both synchro and freestyle competitions and shows for almost a year now and it is just as adhesive as it was when I bought it. It gives a smooth, supported look under any dress and leaves you with a clean, finished look. This is an absolute MUST for any figure skater.http://www.target.com/p/fashion-forms-womens-ultralight-nude/-/A-13793203#prodSlot=large_1_2
Hair
The hair product I'm reviewing today is good old bobby pins...sort of. I first learned about Bunheads Hair Pins when I started taking classical ballet. I noticed that all of the girls in my class were pinning their hair up with these enormous bobby pins and so finally I excitedly asked "where are you getting those?!", exasperated with my teeny tiny pins that kept popping out of my hair like they were spring-loaded. It turns out, lots of dance stores carry these pins but I purchased mine first from a local dance shop and now from Discount Dance Supply. They come in a little plastic container of 12 and can be purchased in 2, 2 1/2, and 3 inches for varying hair thickness. They also come in blonde, brown and black so they blend in with just about anyones hair. They hold my long thick wavy hair in a bun and rarely ever come out, even through a solid pirouette class or half hour of layback spins. They're made of a thick metal and don't stretch out or bend out of shape so unlike regular bobby pins they can be used over and over and over again essentially forever...or until you lose them with your socks and hairbands. This product is also a must have for any bun-wearing figure skater!http://www.discountdance.com/dancewear/style_BH434.htmlpid=5849&Shop=Style&SID=496408611
Accessories
Rockerz. The hottest skate guard craze and in my opinion they're just glorified skate guards. Like other brands of figure skate guards you can get these in any color of the rainbow, match them up or mismatch them, silver springs or gold springs, its your design. The only thing different about these guards is their unique wave like shape on the top and slight curve to the bottom. They claim to be ergonomic and easier to walk on which is great and all but really, compared to the amount of time you spend on the ice do you really spend enough time off the ice in your guards for it to make a difference? The other trick these guards claim, or are rumored to do is keep you on your feet if you accidentally step on the ice with them on. This is a fallacy however and you will fall flat on your face in a split just like Bambi, as you will in any other pair of guards. They do however allow you to walk on the ice in them if you are careful and very slow. This is not unique to Rockerz, and the whole idea seems irrelevant since if you step on the ice in your guards you're not likely to be moving slowly and gently. I must admit though, these guards have some pretty striking advertisements. Ultimately, I think these guards are a glorified, overpriced fad.http://www.rockerzskateguards.com
Bags
Speaking of glorified, overpriced and fads lets talk about Zuca bags! These bulky, heavy, yet small bags are definitely very trendy right now but they're not as great as they're talked up to be. The benefit and big draw to these bags is that they have a metal bench to sit on so if you skate in a rink like mine where seating is limited, you have a place to put on your skates. If you are at a competition and just wish to put on your skates rink side instead of in the drama-soaked locker room you have a portable seat to do so on. This feature is actually quite handy, but with this bag, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits, at least for me. This $150 bag has a thick metal frame making it difficult to put in and take out of the car. When you want to put your skates in your room it's clunky and awkward to lug into the house. The mesh pockets on the outside are a good idea but if you carry a lot with you they bulge out and look tacky. I also had a tendency to lose a lot of gear when I owned my Zuca bag because things, like guards for example, would fall out of the mesh pockets while I was walking across the parking lot. In addition there wasn't really enough room inside the bag for anything but my, at the time, size 5 skates so I was forced to put a lot of my belongings in the outer mesh pockets. It's tempting to get sucked into this trend, it looks so flashy and "cool". The marketing on these products is unparalleled, hence all of the buzzing about it. Maybe this bag is for you, but it certainly wasn't for me. It's trendy and fashionable but other than the portable seat feature it's not really practical.https://www.zuca.com
Books
Looking for a good read? Skating books are few and far between so when I heard about this one I immediately grabbed it off the shelf. All the Sundays Yet to Come is written by Kathryn Bertine and I would recommend it to anyone, figure skater or not. Even my dad, who usually likes Wartime stories and historical fiction enjoyed it. The book is an autobiography and memoir that catalogues the experiences of Bertine as she travels with a skating company. She discusses her battles, both inside and out, with a voice that will leave you grasping for more. Her experiences are not only worth reading about, this humorous and emotional autobiography is impossible to put down.You can purchase All the Sundays Yet to Come here
And you can read about Kathryn Bertine on here website here
Comment below with any product reviews of your own or tweet me @Flutzing with #flutz
Best of Luck!!
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