Dancing With the Stars-Season 8: Costume Critique

Satin Stitches | Mar 16, 2009 | 3

This is a scary costume from opening night on DWTS!

Season 8 of Dancing With the Stars is underway. Many dancers, and many of us wannabe dancers are loving it! We love the drama, the costumes, the dancing, and did I say, the COSTUMES? Well, most of them, anyway.

Dancing With the Stars showcases many wannabe stars and would be celebrities, along with some very talented ballroom dancers that we have gotten to know. Sure, some of the star choices are eyebrow raisers. Who are they, really? But all in all, the show does a nice job of combining interesting so-called stars from all areas of our society. This year, singing stars, reality stars, Olympic stars, rodeo stars, technical-computer stars and ex-football stars are among the contestants.

But of course the reason I watch, is to be inspired by, and to critique the costumes. I already have a Satin Stitches client asking about a takeoff of one of the costumes from the opening show! The show is definitely a must-see for dance costume aficionados.

As the saying goes, art influences life and life influences art. As with all costuming, the dancers and designers showcase trends, and trends can start on such shows.

If you want to see the naked trend in dance costumes, Edyta Sliwinska and Karina Smirnoff certainly did NOT disappoint! How low can you go-and still cover the lower regions? Well, Karina definitely raised my eyebrows, with her black sheer mesh costume that only covered the bikini area and rear center area, to put it politely, with beading and fringe. Did I think it was tasteful, or less?

Hated it! I prefer a little more be left to the imagination! I do not enjoy worrying if a costume will shift or dip, to cause, as they say in reality TV shows-the reveal!  I prefer to feel that a costume will NOT cause a malfunction, especially on live television! But really, it was not an attractive costume, in my opinion.

Edytas costumes are usually interesting, in a good way, but I am still not a fan of all the skin-toned elastic bands that are placed strategically to keep her costumes on. Who are they fooling with clear elastic or so-called, skin-toned elastic? Why not make strategic elastic banding pretty??? Make it part of the costume, not the part that we are supposed to pretend not to see.

And my other pet peeve-if I had a beautiful, slim, trim body, I would definitely NOT attach all those drapes that cover up the body shape. They are a distraction and interfere with the beautiful female form. Some say it helps to show movement. I disagree. I will be so glad when this annoying trend is OVER. Both Edyta and Kym Johnsons costumes had those visually messy drapes covering up the loveliness of their gorgeous bodies and beautiful costumes.

So there you have it. You know what I HATE. What do I love?

In contrast to those annoying drapes and those visually distracting elastic bands, Julianne Hough was wearing a simple, elegant white gown that was stunning. I love costumes that FIT and are flattering. I admire sophisticated and elegant looks, rather than trashy and hokey.

I love the movement in short, well-placed beaded fringe. I love rhinestones and the texture that is created by combining different colors and sizes of rhinestones. I love asymmetrical necklines and design lines that connect tops and bottoms, especially when they create diagonal lines that are more flattering than horizontal lines.

I love manly costumes on guys. And that does not mean that I do not love ruffles and pastels. Because I do. Nothing is more sexy to me, than feminine details on manly costumes. Think pirates and Renaissance attire, when men were wearing flouncy and detailed outfits. Oh, so sexy! I love finely tailored tuxedos on guys, but I love fun, colorful, and interesting designs on men, as well.

I love that Lacey Schwimmer dances in costumes that have an edge to them. If not her, who would? The peacock feathers were a nice touch. Cheryl Burke and her partner were wearing very attractive costumes. Of course Gilles Marini was the epitome of Latin sex appeal. His costume was very simple, yet it came off-did I SAY that? as very sexy, yet tasteful.

Something that is very important-you need to not have your costume overpower you. You still need your audience to watch YOU, not watch the costume. This is where the old saying of less is more, can be important. In dance, sometimes amateur designers want everything in a costume. They do not think about visual flow or focal points. They just want details everywhere. Be careful of this. Too many glitzy details can create a totally overdone look.

One of the replacements for the injured stars, is Holly Madison, a Playboy Playmate and of Girls Next Door fame. She has an obvious focal point, her bustline. With this area of her body vying for the only focal point, I commend the costume designers of the show for minimizing the emphasis, with her costume. And the fringe was short enough, that when she danced, you still could see the shape of her body.

Both Lil Kim and Denise Richards had fringed dresses. I liked Lil Kims better than Denises, as it showed off her shape better. You know I dislike the figure hiding-long fringe of Denises pink costume, but it was OK. I liked the length and the shape of the skirt portion of her costume. It had a nice look to it.

Chelsie Hightowers yellow dress, except for the really low back, was modest, yet very attractive, with its flippy skirt with the cascading large gems decorating the front bodice. The rodeo star kept in his element with a western shirt. Nothing exciting, but to put him in something out of his comfort zone would probably have been a mistake.

Shawn Johnson, the Olympic gymnast, the youngest celebrity was outfitted in a very tasteful yellow gown, yes with a drape, but it was a tasteful drape. It was sexy, but modest enough for her age. The controlled Grecian effect with the horizontal string tie look was very pretty and elegant.

Belinda Carlisles gown was pretty and flattering, but Melissa Rycrofts gown was a little too much. The skirt was pretty, as was the connection from the top to the skirt, but since she only had a few days to practice, as the last replacement star, how did the costumers have that much time to create that intricate giant fishnet over the top? Yes, we realize that the former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader has lots of dance experience, but I though something a little simpler would have been more appropriate. It was attractive, but a tad busy for my taste. Was it already in the works, being made for a contestant that became injured at the last minute? Hmmm.

Oh, the drama. Was this a recycled costume, or brand new for Melissa? Will we ever know? Would it not be fun to see all the drama with designing and fitting all those costumes? Now there is a reality show I would also LOVE to see!

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Ballroom, Teacher, Enthusiast, Parent, Studio, Costume Design, Costumes, Dancing With the Stars, Reality Television Shows (all tags)