Costumes 2013

Littlebear wrote:
Susannah - really really beyond hideous.  What were they thinking of?

Toilet roll cover that grandma used to knit 30 or so years ago.

Lots of Tails and ruffles

Tonight’s theme seemed to be tails of chiffon circular ruffles: Natalie; a large pink one contrasting oddly with the subtle colour of the dress. Anya, a red one that matched her dress. Karen’s tail was multicolored organza. For all over ruffles, we had Susannah who someone described as a loo roll cover........ Amongst the men Artem had darker pink rows of little ruffles on his pale pink shirt. Patrick had red ruffle rows on his red shirt.

Natalie and Artem: Whoever said the nude colour of the dress wasn’t a great choice for Natalie was right. She would have been better served by brighter colours. The dress itself was beautiful and well done, if not for her.

Abbey and Aliash: We saw the dress on the costume spot, beautiful black lace net over dark nude, fitted to the knee and then black chiffon godets. Thought the modern black printed shirt on Aliash was a mistake, didn’t really go with such a classic dress.

Dave and Karen: Don’t remember the last time I saw such a classic male Latin shirt: rows and rows of sleeve ruffles with pastel coloured edging to bring them out, turquoise cumberband. Karen’s dress echoing the blue of Dave was actually very simple except for the previously mentioned tail and the Carmen Miranda headdress. Oh and she had her rows of little ruffles capping her shoulders.

Deborah and Robin: The training slimming effect was on show here. She looked wonderful and the dress was very becoming; black sequin bodice with a collar detail and a purple skirt that moved a treat. Liked the black hat on Robin.

Patrick and Anya: Anya’s little red dress was in the O’la/Kristina style....nothing else need be said.

Fiona and A.nton: Aqua, v-neck with bits of fringe enhancing the movement, more chiffon godets and a ruffled hem. A.nton was in a black lounge suit with a navy tie.

Rachel and Pasha:.....Ah well.....someone got a deal on flame red chiffon; last week on Abbey and this week together with black chiffon on Rachel. The costume department seemed to be trying for a modern tango look using the classic colours. Unfortunately, it was a little everything but the kitchen sink between the fringe across the front and the panels,see through beaded black front, backless AND red sleeve stripes which also appeared on Pasha. The topper was the aggressive make-up.........Everyone was trying far too hard.

Mark and Iveta: Wonderful dress, multiple panels (the dress that the machinists dreaded) alternating shiny and matt panels. One shoulder beaded bodice and pale greige feathers on the hem. (greige is Armani’s word for the cross between beige and grey) Interesting that Mark was wearing a black lounge suit in spite of being given a white tie.

Ashley and O.la: Another everything but the kitchen sink number on O.la. We have a short white fringe skirt, a pink bra (right strap fell down in the number) with a black cropped top over it and FLOWERS. In response to the BBC’s concern about bare male chests, Ashley was supplied with a wife beater and black braces.

Susanna and Kevin: Egg yolk ruffles with a pink petticoat. Not wonderful, as we’ve all decided. What is interesting is the use of purple: as a waist ribbon on the dress and giving Kevin a purple jacket. Yellow and Purple are complimentary colours; to use one with the other is to make the colours more intense. The yellow looks yellower and the purple more purple.

Ben and Kristina: The black on Ben made him look like a large black shadow. Yes, his dancing was goodish, but I get suspicious when Kristina is all bright colour: pink bodice with two shades of pink sequins and long slit pink satin skirt. We all end up seeing her not her partner.

Sophie and Brendan: The biggest costume disaster of the night, far worse than Susanna’s yellow peril because it affected how Sophie delivered her dance. What was the story supposed to be? Brendan seemed to be dressed for a rehearsal, the trousers with their green stripes looked like trackies. Sophie’s dress might have worked for a subtle Rumba, but a Cha Cha? A cheeky sexy Cha Cha? A Cha Cha dress for someone who is always underplayed and cool? The Charleston outfit was a masterstroke. This was very dark and dull. Sophie needs the lift that punchy colour can give her. The green dress gave her nothing.

Great review HL. The standout dress for me was Iveta's. But that's probably because I've seen the dance four times now.  

Thank you Mr. Tee. I too thought Iveta's dress was outstanding.

hatlady28 wrote:
Sophie and Brendan: The biggest costume disaster of the night, far worse than Susanna’s yellow peril because it affected how Sophie delivered her dance. What was the story supposed to be? Brendan seemed to be dressed for a rehearsal, the trousers with their green stripes looked like trackies. Sophie’s dress might have worked for a subtle Rumba, but a Cha Cha? A cheeky sexy Cha Cha? A Cha Cha dress for someone who is always underplayed and cool? The Charleston outfit was a masterstroke. This was very dark and dull. Sophie needs the lift that punchy colour can give her. The green dress gave her nothing.

You're so right about that hatlady. Sophie's Cha Cha dress didn't look so icy green to me in the pre-show photo. But as soon as she walked down the stairs I thought the colour wasn't quite right and when she danced it only emphasised the cool, aloof vibe Sophie was giving off.

Great review again Hatlady I really look forward each Sat/Sunday to reading it.

Thank you Sid and sax. Feedback keeps me going.

Very interesting review, as ever Hatlady - love reading your thread. Re-watching the footage during the results show, I was looking again at Sophies outfit - totally agree with you about the unsuitable colour. I also think her refusal to wear fake tan isn't helping in the latin dances, her paleness seems to make her limbs look gangly.

And eek! what were T.ess and Claud wearing in the results show?

Another thought - Compared to the outfits for some of the other males, Patrick seems to be getting a bit of a raw deal. They tend to dress him in single colour shirts - the last latin was purple, this week red, with a touch of ruffle. Not very exciting.

Anyway, can't wait till next week and all the halloween outfits

C.laudia looked as if she was wearing a child's dress & Tess I thought she has ripped her dress until I saw the other shreds of material.Amazing how the pretence still kept up re "Last night" or "Saturday Night". Its Sunday showing last half os Saturday's show.BBC we are not stupid ty

Great review Hatlady - Did anyone notice that Abby's dress was almost an exact replica of one that Lisa Snowden wore - Lovely as it was I thought I had seen it somewhere. I can't remember the series number now but I will see if I can find a clip on youtube.

I thought it was a shame about the back of Nathalie's dress - didn't quite go with the front and I thought it made her look sugar plum fairy like. The other costume that didn't work for me was O la's jive dress - I agree Hatlady, it was a real hotch potch and I thought that it particularly didn't go with the 50s flavour of the dance.

I actually didn't dislike the yellow and purple of Susanna and Kevin it was mainly the style of that dress, as everyone else has said. I thought the bodice was quite nice but the skirt didn't match at all - a different design of skirt would have looked so much better.

I absolutely loved Deborahs dress - quite unusual and yet very flattering, and I particularly liked the neckline of Fiona's dress.

In the pro dance corner, another lovely dress for Kristina and for Iveta. Although I hated the routine, I did think that the Carmen Miranda look suited Karen.

Just to clear up my comments about Abby's dress being a replica of one worn by Lisa Snowdon - I did some delving and whilst the style of the dress was almost identical to one worn by Lisa - the colour was totally different (oops!) Lisa wore a black and white gown for her Viennese Waltz which was a white lace overlay with appliqued flowers - the same as Abby's, The dress was the same shape with a bodice and skirt (with godets I think!) that were also exactly the same as Abby's but Lisa had black running through the godets and underskirt. A really stunning dress that must have been somewhere in my sub-conscious when I saw Abby! I confused the colour somewhat but also in going through Youtube videos I noticed that Lisa wore a couple of chocolate brown dresses over the series - not a colour we see a lot on SCD - so there you are somewhere I must have married up the two together - A memory but not particularly well remembered!!!

Just watching the Youtube vidoes reminded my of what a Queen of the ballroom that Lisa was! Great to watch. Anyone who says that the standard has improved in recent years is wrong.

Mauve, enjoyed reading about your research.

Thanks Hatlady - I am a real amateur about costumes but I enjoyed going back through old Youtube clips!!!

Hatlady I wondered if you would comment on Darcey's dress this week.The sheer V look seemed to clash with the higher straight across bust solid line.To me it looked like she had been stapped to hide her bust similar to how the flappers used to under their dresses.Was it intentional?Or it just looked weird to me?
Plus all the work.on those extra panels for the dress would this make it a good reconfigure the material into another style dress/top?

mauveangel09 wrote:Just to clear up my comments about Abby's dress being a replica of one worn by Lisa Snowdon - I did some delving and whilst the style of the dress was almost identical to one worn by Lisa - the colour was totally different   (oops!)    Lisa wore a black and white gown for her Viennese Waltz which was a white lace overlay with appliqued flowers - the same as Abby's, The dress was  the same shape with a bodice and skirt (with godets I think!) that were also exactly the same as Abby's but Lisa had black running through the godets and underskirt.   A really stunning dress that must have been somewhere in my sub-conscious when I saw Abby!   I confused the colour somewhat but also in going through Youtube videos I noticed that Lisa wore a couple of chocolate brown dresses over the series - not a colour we see a lot on SCD - so there you are somewhere I must have married up the two together -   A memory but not particularly well remembered!!!

Just watching the Youtube vidoes reminded my of what a Queen of the ballroom that Lisa was!   Great to watch.    Anyone who says that the standard has improved in recent years is wrong.

You're not the only one mauve, as soon as I saw Abbey's Foxtrot frock on ITT I had flashbacks of Lisa's VW one! Very similar design. I love how she ended her routine sat elegantly on the floor amidst the froth of her dress.

Sax.....no I don't get it either.....but she has so many lovely physical attributes, she can afford to throw some away.

On the whole less hysterical Halloween design this year.....a bit of subtlety, some humour, not bad......but of course there were some glitches....

Starting with Sophie and Brendan: Has someone got it in for her. The Charleston she danced in gold t-bar shoes that couldn’t have had a heel larger than 1 inch. The Jive like the Charleston is best danced in low heeled shoes. They don’t have to be plimsoles, but the lower heel is easier to control; much better for the bounce action and kicks where you need to feel secure on your feet. I could see several times in that routine that she was wobbling on the 3 -4 inch heels. Okay, her whole look was 80’s and the shoes suited that, but she could have worn red ankle boots with with a 1-1.5 inch heel. Still would have fit with what she was wearing but she would have been more stable, better able to throw herself into the routine.

The tearaways......only one really worked. Patrick and Anya. Patrick was so smooth pulling the shoulder tabs that you hardly saw it happen. In many ways, this was the most successful thematic execution of the night. The transformation was good. Her dress with its bones echoed Patrick’s ‘shirt’. The costume department did try a New Orleans Voodoo feel in Series 8 with Michelle Williams, but her music didn’t give enough of a cue to the audience so people didn’t get it. I did wonder about the little intros we had all night......so we would know what we were looking at? Kristina should have been smoother getting the skirt/cape off ........more chest, even after the BBC instructed the guys to cover up? Recycled music anyone? Back to series 8: The pro men did a Halloween Paso to this with capes and eye make-up. Aliash fumbled getting Abbey out. Once she was out, the pairing was lovely; liked the white on white embroidery on the back of his shirt and once again they gave her more curves with the sequin cross belt and a very substantial top with plenty of fabric to give her more bust. The costume people always do their best to make these tearaway tricks as simple as possible for the performers, but no matter how simple they need to be practiced.

Rachel and Pasha.......nice concept but given that Rachel’s dress looked like it was meant as a summer picnic affair, why was Pasha in black trousers. I would have put him in a full cream linen suit, not just the jacket. The blend between the two of them would have been so much better.

Fiona and Housewives choice......I started thinking about Fern last year. Both Housewives choice and Artem gave their ladies gentle Charlestons. Yes, young girls in the 20s would have been going hell for leather with this dance, but would their mothers have done so? Like Fern this was a calm concept, more autumn than Halloween even though they were scarecrows. I thought the comment about Fiona looking a bit Doris Day was apt. There was the blouse detail buttoned right up that was very Doris Day.

Susannah and Kevin: Oh dear, they should have used longer fringe and spaced it differently. She looked chunky. Given that the weight loss trim has really settled in for all the contestants, she shouldn’t look fatter than she did in the first week. The tone on Kevin was right, a light-hearted wolf man, not scary, good for the Charleston.

Natalie and Artem: I liked the opening pose best, really set the mood. The costumes themselves were okay but not inspired. The big thing was the colour: blue like the lake, long trailing bits on her arms......water plants? Artem with a very high waisted pair of trousers with his tailcoat gave a period feel.

Mark and Iveta: Gosh, Mark is a good sport! He has lost weight, but a shiny silver spacesuit? I really felt like Russell Grant was back in town. Iveta was worthy of the first series of Star Trek, hair, skin, make-up....Captain Kirk would have been entranced.

Dave and Karen: Liked what they gave him. He looked comfortable. Not so sure about a 50s Karen with yellow skirt and blue tulle petticoats. The top was greyed flesh....Half Dead? Note: saw a story in the tabloids that Karen has been bullying O.la. Not good could turn the GPB against this pairing.

Ashley and O.la: Nice combo and they used it well. Ashley was into his character and the costume of black suit with grey fishing net over his shoulders with purple shirt did not overwhelm him. O.la’s dress of blue sequins was stunning with the flashes of orange.

My favorite detail of the evening? All the guys with skeleton hands on the shoulders.

Your costume review's becoming my regular Monday lunchtime treat hatlady!

Interesting analysis as ever.

I thought Patrick & Anya were styled the best, Sophie the worst (I thought the look was cheap, unflattering, exposing of flaws and the high heels made her tottery).

Fiona was told at the last minute that her look was 'too glam' and wardrobe altered it. I'd rather they'd gone with 'glam' myself, might have added a bit of pizzazz to what was a very ordinary looking dance.

My main gripe was that everything was too OTT. I know that was the whole point, but I'd prefer just a hint of Halloween in the costumes and make-up otherwise it can all end up looking a bit ugly (the beautiful Abbey comes to mind here).

Great review as always Hatlady.

Have to agree with you re Sophie's shoes. I couldn't understand why she was tottering around on heels like that for a jive! However, things were at the other extreme with the shoes Deborah wore for her jive!! I am sure you are right in saying that a 1 to 1.5inch heel would be the best, especially some sort of block as opposed to kitten heel.

I look forward to HL's review every week! Love to read the reasons why the dress/colour works or why it falls short! Our HL should be discovered by ITT

Thanks to Sid, Sax and Lualen!

I enjoyed Patrick & Anya's outfits the best.
An ton made me smile. Even dressed as a scarecrow he still managed to wear a tie!
I don't usually like the arm flags but I thought Natalie's 'watery' dress was lovely.
Very disappointed with Ben's costume. The Ice King? I was expecting ice blue and silver and what did we get? More black trousers and naked torso. Kristina's costumes all meld into one for me. She's starting to look the same each week.
I liked Ashley & O la's costumes (The way she bosses James around I can't see her allowing anyone to bully her)
Mark (like an oven ready Mr Blobby on a wire). Iveta's make up and outfit was a clever change.

Great comments and perspective Hatlady.

I liked Patrick and Anya's 'whole look' - I also liked O las's dress, Nathalie's and Rachel's - seemed to be a lot of 'cobweb' grey this year. Even though I didn't like the routine I thought that Iveta's costume was clever and different - put me a bit in mind of 'V' in a strange way.

I didn't really care for any of the other costumes this week but I liked the touch of having the 'hand' on the men's shoulders!

I completely agree re Sophie's shoes. I think that the shoes she's wearing are consistently too high. For some reason wardrobe seem to feel that she needs 3 1/2 - 4", when the reality is usually only pro dancers or serious amateurs (by this I mean people who spend hours a week practicing and have time to get used to the heels) wear that height. Even a 2 1/2" heel would make a big different to her, I feel and it's not as if she needs the added height. She's probably one of the few women who don't need heels to look right alongside Brendan! I liked Ashley's and O la's outfits and I thought that Natalie's dress was very pretty. The rest were all a bit "meh" for me. I don't tend to be very impressed by "theme" outfits. I feel that wardrobe tend to go too far with the "whacky" bit a lot of the time.

PINK, PINK EVERYWEAR.......PINK PINK PINK

Didja all notice how much PINK there was?


Starting with Ben and Kristina......Kristina was wearing a pink tutu....Not good on her. She is a relatively, for a dancer, short legged, a pocket Venus. There would have been less midriff on show, but if the tutu had been sitting on her waist rather than her hips, she would have been in a better proportion. Oh, and by the way, Kristina, the queen of the high heel was wearing little pink booties with socks and 1 inch heels. They did well for Ben; very dark top with white trousers cut his height in half, making him more approachable. Didn’t understand the sailor theme. I suppose we could have been talking WW2 Yanks bringing over the jive, but not really clear. Ben certainly wasn’t dressed as a Yank sailor.

Next up, Abbey and Aliash: She had a pink dress with a dropped waist fringe skirt with black accent trim. Although we all think of pink and black as being very 1950s, it also enjoyed popularity in the height of Deco. I am assuming that the dress was fitted (not period to the 20s) so it wouldn’t turn upside down in the lifts. Aliash toned with a PINK shirt with black collar, cuffs and braces.

Susanna and Kevin; Classic dress from Come Dancing that everyone loves with the heavy feathered hem. Colour was a very light salmon pink with golden highlights. I thought the colour was a bit wishy washy for her. The colours in her Indiana Jones beaded dress were the best palette for her. Can’t say anything about Kevin’s white tie and tails.

Ashley and O.la: Bright Barbie PINK lives.....another one shoulder classic dress with feathered hem. Ashley had a white shirt black collar and black skinny tie....an effort to give him a bit of edge.

The second colour story was gold and black;

Fiona and Housewives choice: She appeared to be wearing a 20s style black and gold dress under the blue lined cape, seemed a bit of a messy look when it flashed into view. Thought this was her best hair. Housewives choice was a black jeweled matador.

Mark and Iveta: Gold anyone? Goodness she is slim and curiously, except when dancing, a bit sexless. She walks in a very straight almost prudish way. Think of O.la or Kristina in catsuits. Gentlemen, I may have this totally wrong and you will correct me. Mark was not a sexy figure in his bland grey shirt. Perhaps some small shoulder pads to balance his stomach a bit?

Patrick and Anya: a very slippery golden yellow dress with splits. Always a difficult think to do: The costume department often uses slippy fabric that won’t catch on the lifts. Then again sometimes something a bit rougher can have provide a bit of traction. Don’t know why Patrick’s yellow tie was so short.

Final colour story red and black

Sophie and Brendan: red sheath dress, split and black touches......nothing more classic. Not sure that Brendan’s red tie wasn’t a bit twee.

Dave and Karen: For me the best dress of the night, loved the black side panels on the skirt that opened up together with all the red godets and the multi layered petticoats meant it moved amazingly well. Dave’s grey and black waistcoat was interesting in that it suggested a bit of seriousness.