Leotards are a very near and dear subject to me, because
- I’ve been following gymnastics for more than a decade. I’ve seen a lot of leotards.
- I have many opinions.
- The longer I follow something, the more opinions I have on it.
- I actually have to wear those things.
I have no issue with ballet leotards. One or two are not in my taste, like the types with the zipper in front, and I don’t get turtleneck leotards, possibly because I have no neck and would look like a dumpling in one. But ballet leotards are usually simple, elegant, and most importantly – non-offensive.
My tastes in leotards in general definitely veers towards the realm of classic. Give me a Degas leotard over a Yumiko any day (breathe, breathe everyone. It’s gonna be okay). Except in white. Or something pastel. I take the adult class, dammit, and I will not cleave to the de rigeurs of black.
Ballet is something you can continue on from into adulthood – or take up in adulthood, as I did. You peak in your adult years. A professional ballet career only begins when one is an adult. So naturally, a good faction of ballet leotards are designed with adults in mind.
Gymnastics, and gymnastics leotards are an entirely different matter. Most kids quite when they’re 14 or 15, and discover boys and afternoons spent at Starbucks with their friends are far more enticing than doing 50 sit ups and endless beam drills. Most elites retire when they’re 18 – 20 years old. While I can still call myself a 20-something-year-old (though 30 inches ever closer D:), I am definitely not a teenager. I can’t abide by the bright neons and animal prints every leotard manufacturer puts out. And I am not keen on the increasingly swirly, twirly, bedazzly designs that you see on the competition floor.
Seriously, don’t people get that the more you segment a leotard with wave-y bits and overly elaborate swirl thingys, the less flattering it is to a gymnast’s lines?
Swirls and stripes work only if tastefully restrained, with a clean primary colour, preferably white.
Indeed, children, my taste in gymnastics leotards runs even older school than velvet. (Need I remind you of velvet’s offences). My leotards need to be simply, sporty, and line-enhancing. My leotards need to be ’80s style.
No, not that kind of 80s.
This kind of ’80s.
Oh, how much do I love that Adidas triple stripe leo?
A whole lot.
The symmetry, red and white colors, triple stripes and v-neck in a contrasting trim create a sporty and neat line. I much prefer this old style of the adidas stripes running down the underside of the arm and down the torso, which has the effect of lengthening the body, while lending clean elegance and variation to the leotard. The adidas leotards have the triple stripe running from the shoulder down the topside of the arms. This can have the unfortunate effect of widening a gymnast’s usually broad shoulders (thanks to loads of upper body conditioning), and making the arms look somewhat gangly. Especially when the trim is especially contrasting, i.e. the traditional darker colours with white trim.
That being said, they’re still better than most leotards one sees nowdays.
My favourite leotard of the last decade.
That being said, Russia has a penchant following the modern trends while still turning out beautiful, tasteful leotards, as the lovely Anna Pavlova demonstrates.
And the Japanese have the ability to turn out the prettiest printed leotards I’ve seen. It’s no surprise, as the Japanese have a tradition of creating large, colourful and incredibly beautiful designs for kimonos and other traditional wear. And Mizuno, the national team’s leotard makers, have wisely drawn on such traditional shapes and motifs – like storks, waves and flowers – in creating their leotards. It’s a shame Mizuno only makes leotards for the national team. If these were available for retail, I’d buy them in a heartbeat.
It’s bears mentioning that my tastes in gymnastics leotards don’t always correlate with that of the gymternet in general. I love a good white leotard, even if many fans can’t abide by them. I think they look incredibly clean and classical, and remniscent of a ballet dancer.
And while I’m not thrilled about the hot pink trend, there are times when I don’t find it as offensive as others do. I didn’t hate the pink leotards sported in London and Beijing, though goodness knows that red, white and blue looks good on most gymnasts – American, Russian or otherwise.
And for proof that even simple, neat and symmetrical leotards can look horrifying, well:
Worst leotard ever.
