Costumes 2014

Speedy recovery HL.  
At least it might make you smile a bit reading our costume summaries. Not as good as your 'real deal' but useful to give a general flavour of the vib e on Strictly Street.

Hope you feel better soon Hatlady xx

Many thanks, all the good wishes do help.

Get well soon Hatlady.

Hope you're feeling better soon! You are missed. x

Hope you're feeling a bit better HL. I'm still coughing for England 2 weeks after the scratchy throat.

my take on Week 4 costumes based on gut feeling alone.

Frankie - Loved her blue fringed backless Cha-Cha dress.

Mark - Looked like he was wearing a cream Punjabi wedding outfit. I didn't like Karen's dress too much. It looked smooth, light and tight on the bodice, then the skirt seemed heavy and sticking out like a two tiered wedding lingerie, or the Empire State Building. Not very flattering.

Judy - All I kept looking at was her red scapulae. She reminded me of a female version of John Travolta in the film Michael where he had those huge Angel wings sticking out of his back. The front of the bodice with the cutouts made it look like a V shaped crop top above a long pleated red skirt. The dress looked as peculiar as the dance.

Simon - dressed as a Pearly King. Interesting that Kristina was covered up a lot more this week. Did she have a word with wardrobe?

Alison - Gold fringed dress. Didn't like the ugly skin tone V insert to the bodice. Alijaz looked smart in black trousers and matching gold shirt with ruffles

Scott - White jacket and shirt. Pink tie and waistcoat. Black trousers. I liked the pink floaty sleeves to Joannes white dress with a pink bodice.

Steve - open red shirt with black trousers. O la was also noticeably more covered up with her high square neckline and multicoloured tail covering her butt.

Pixie - purple swimsuit with purple nylon skirt (yawn). Trent in black trousers and bacofoil silver shirt (hanging outside his trousers) The shirt looked like a xrta large shapeless tent.

Tim - matador outfit with strange T cosy hat. Looked like a Spanish Butler. Loved Natalie's dress with the gold fringe bolero cape affair on the shoulders

Sunetra - pretty silver V neck bodice with a pink skirt. Brendan short sleeved, silver, close fitting shirt highlighting his muffin top waistline over his low waisted burgundy jeans that didn't fit. Right at the beginning, the pockets were bunching up and the flys sticking out. Looked too tight and inflexible, then they ripped big time (far worse than Kevins the previous week)

Thom dressed as a cockney barrow boy from Mary Poppins or Oliver. Double breasted tweed waistcoat, flat cap, peach shirt, brown trousers. Looked very colour co-ordinated and dapper for a market trader barrow boy. Iveta looked like she stepped out of a movie then obviously had to take a short cut aross the market to get to Elstree ( like she wouldn't jump in a taxi) Looked like the cockney version of Billy Joel's Uptown Girl scenario.

Jake - Comfortable looking white patterned polo shirt with check pattern to shoulders with black trousers. Thank goodness no Elvis wig. I was worried last week that they'd stuff cotton wool in his mouth to make him look like Brando's Godfather. I thought Janette's 1950's style dress looked good even though she wasn't flashing the flesh. Strong black and white colours. High neck bodice with lateral stripes. Diagonal stripes to full skirt with white petticoats. I liked her high ponytail.

Caroline - What was she wearing? It looked horrible. A clash of colours and a Native American breastplate of a bodice. Pasha looked like he'd been dressed in the dark. Pink tight trousers, orange tie, white shirt. He looked like an office worker from the 1940's. Why couldn't they copy the costume ideas from the film Grease? She could have worn a dress similar to Janette's 1950's fitted number. He could have had the leather jacket look of Jake or one of the T birds. Worst outfit of the night for me.

Best outfit of the night - Claude in her Elvis wig, shades, bolero matador jacket, holding her bunch of flowers. Inspired!

Wardrobe - STOP putting the males in tight jeans. IT'S NOT WORKING!
I know on ITT Vicki said it was for the young ones but I wouldn't have put the Pro dancers in the same category. Which male celeb dancers are particularly young anyway? Can't say I've seen any? You need stretchy fabric for dance, especially in the Latin. How can they get the right body lines when the fabric restricts movement? I don't want to see Brendan's Bongo's, or Kev's meat and potato pie, or the next poor blokes King Edwards.

Are you sure Kristina covered up It was very high and we had very visible bottom cheeks.

With a few notable exceptions I am not enjoying a lot of the costume choices this year.   I know that they have to look at different concepts but the theme this year seems to be variety show costumes and some of them are so 'literal' they just don't work for me with the exception last night of Simon and Kristina who looked ok in the pearly king and queen outfits because I don't think it would have worked without this look.  I think more 'charachter' outfits are ok on the theme weeks and part and parcel of those weeks, but not on the 'normal' weeks.

Last night the three worst ones for me were -1.  Iveta and Thom - what was that all about?    I thought 'Oliver' as soon as I saw it but as you say B4P could have been Mary Poppins as well.    2.  Caroline and Pasha - the concept of a 50s prom dress was  right for the song, but it was the awful bodice there was no excuse for this one - talk about highlighting all the wrong bits  3.  Jake and Janette - whilst I liked the style of the 1950s dress, I didn't like the gingham look at all on either of them - don't associate gingham with Elvis, would have looked much better in a more 'meaner' sort of costume, but perhaps they wanted to look a bit softer after the mafia look of last week.

I think for the celeb girls, Frankie and Pixie have had the best costumes so far on the series - I loved Frankie's classic cha cha dress last night and the colour (of course) of Pixies rhumba dress.    The best pro girl costume for me last night was Nathalie's paso dress.    In past weeks I really liked Sunetra's AS outfit and I think they have dressed Mrs Murray rather well so far, although last night I could have done without the bare midriff look it was just wrong!    There have also been some nice pro girl ballroom outfits so far.     As for the male costumes - celeb and pro - a real dogs dinner IMO and needs  some serious re-thinking if they don't want to make fools out of them.

B4P, wonderful post! I hope to add a little to it. My problems are side-effects to my current treatment.....bed looks more attractively dressed than anything Strictly can provide. Keep up the good work. And to everyone else, I love reading your take on the costumes and I learn from you. Thank you!

Sending virtual hugs and lots of get well wishes to you Hatlady! Im sure in the eRly series of SCD the female celebs all trained in these pink heels lnown as training shoes? To get used to dancing in heels? Maybe I imagined it but an awful lot of the femalecelebs in flat shoes training!
Plus I really disliked the black and white zebra style pitfot for Jake and Janette! I waited for The Lion King to emerge from the jingle! Oops that be Steve for next week then.
Best dress for me I loved Frankie's and Sunetra's styled dress.I hate hate hate these bloomin low hipster tight tight trousers all the men are wearing! I swear next week we might have low slung jeans with an exposed boxer short bottom on show! & it doesn't belong to a male teenager

Get well soon, HL!

saxonsiren wrote:I swear next week we might have low slung jeans with an exposed boxer short bottom on show! & it doesn't belong to a male teenager

I'm betting they'll have Simon in some MC Hammer 'Poo' pants dancing to 'Can't Touch This'

B4p wrote:I'm betting they'll have Simon in some MC Hammer 'Poo' pants dancing to 'Can't Touch This'

They had that with Mark last year, re MC Hammer's poopants.

Just a couple of quick things. The comments everyone has made already cover the specific costumes so well.

I think the panto tradition is very difficult for the costume department to shrug off when the production department come up with so many 'themed dances'. The trouble is we are not looking at one panto with one or two story lines, we are looking at 15 different ones. Each couple has their own on any given night. The overall effect for the audience is a confusing mess. The Americans and the Canadians (see DWTS and Battle of the Blades) are much slicker, theirs is the big show, the Las Vegas tradition. Their celebs, no matter how old do not end up looking quite so silly and overwhelmed with props.

Tight low-waisted trousers.......it isn't just the costume department. I have found when costuming people under 40 that many don't remember when trousers and skirts were worn on the waist. At dress rehearsals I have to go around hoiking things up. I have wondered over the years as to whether expanding waistlines explain both the low waists and the untucked shirts. For the young, a waisted something can feel 'odd' and then of course both the costume department and the celebs want to look fashionable.....when tightness is added in, it all becomes a bit of a disaster. Stovepipes in the 60s yes....slimmer people. Undoubtedly, Brendan has a rack of trousers that were his size in past seasons.....there has been a change and they no longer fit, no one was expecting that.

Finally, both Kristina and O.la access their partners early in the week. If the gentlemen look weak in a dance, they go to wardrobe and get the guy into black so he'll disappear and they get out their skin and get the wardrobe to provide eye-catching colour and movement. If their partners look good in a dance, like this week with Simon's Charleston, they put it all away. So when they all make their first appearance on the staircase, we can all tell how good Kristina and O.la think it is going to be.

hatlady28 wrote:For the young, a waisted something can feel 'odd' and then of course both the costume department and the celebs want to look fashionable.....when tightness is added in, it all becomes a bit of a disaster.  

..when they all make their first appearance on the staircase, we can all tell how good Kristina and O.la think it is going to be.

I think this is where the 'twisted fit' type of trouser becomes ironic, as they don't fit at all. If Strictly went for the real trendy teen look (which really they don't need to as none of the males are teens) the real McCoy low slung gusset look wouldn't cause so many wardrobe malfunctions. Can't wait to see An ton in Poo Pants

I shall be scanning the staircase more closely this week for hidden clues

I wonder if Calvin Klein sales are up? Or will it be eww blue traitional Y fronts?Silk boxers or a follower of Gregg's fashion Au Natural hanging free ?

saxonsiren wrote:I wonder if Calvin Klein sales are up? Or will it be eww blue traitional Y fronts?Silk boxers or a follower of Gregg's fashion Au Natural hanging free ?

The real street style isn't silk boxers, it's the "Oh look, I haven't changed these for three weeks" grungees look coupled with the "I don't care how much of an idiot I look, if it's good enough for (insert name of the latest pop sensation (I use the term very loosely, let it be said) it's good enough for me,.....innnit.

Maybe it's a good job Gregg went before they put him in tight jeans (and they split). He certainly would have caused a sensation without undergarments!

B4p wrote:Maybe it's a good job Gregg went before they put him in tight jeans (and they split). He certainly would have caused a sensation without undergarments!

Surely due to pre show fittings etc and measurements Gregg would have had to have worn pants/briefs/boxers/jockstrap etc??
Im so glad that trouser gate didn't involve Gregg!

B4p wrote:Maybe it's a good job Gregg went before they put him in tight jeans (and they split). He certainly would have caused a sensation without undergarments!

Didn't realise that Gregg went au natural!  Will never be able to watch him on Masterchef again!! eeww!

I lnow! My mind went to see him in posh suit at restaurant when he visits the little boys room after his visit would he walk the weird walk of, shake the leg as a dribble may be trickling

saxonsiren wrote:I lnow! My mind went to see him in posh suit at restaurant when he visits the little boys room after his visit would he walk the weird walk of, shake the leg as a dribble may be trickling

Oh no Sax!!! Now I will NEVER be able to watch him again!!!!!!

Neither can I! Especially trying to keep a straight face when Gregg goes on about a culinary diseaster Ill be thinling "No Pants! Warning Undercarriage alert!"

Ummmm, LOTS of people, both men and women go "Commando", no pants. It is considered by many to be very sexy. Many rock stars rather notoriously don't wear pants. Trinny and Susannah used to recommend it whenever the pantie line showed. Greg Wallace is not alone......everyone needs to stop tutting. You may find that your nearest and dearest go commando. Julianne Hough? DWTS? She's gone commando. Nice Mormon girl?

It's not people going commando that worries me HL - it's the thought of trousergate occurring to a dancer/celeb that is doing so!  Can you imagine the outcry?