Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.SAN JOSE, Calif. — At every break in the skating competition, they swarm Del Arbour's booth.
They seem to all turn up at once, almost always in mother-daughter pairs. And they're always looking for the perfect dress — the one that will match the music, hold up through jumps and spins and make a young skater stand out on the ice.
This sport isn't all about the outfit, of course. There are the hours of work — top figure skaters can spend seven to eight hours a day training on and off the ice — the music, the coaches, the choreography. But Arbour, a former skater who runs a Connecticut-based skating apparel company, said the clothes are a crucial part of the package.
"We're the icing on the cake," she said. "Everyone else does their work. We do the finish."
Arbour spent most of last week inside San Jose's HP Pavilion, where the country's top skaters were competing at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She travels to each national championship — next year, she'll be in Omaha — with dozens of skating dresses in a rainbow of colors to sell for future competitions.
A dozen workers who, Arbour said, can sew just about anything make all the dresses in Milford, Conn. The ideas for the designs often come from trends on the runway in Paris and Milan, along with concepts skaters themselves dream up.
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Arbour, one of a small number of skatewear designers, combines those plans into her own creations.
Fabrics that have a bit of stretch are the most popular, allowing skaters to twist and turn without losing their shape. The colors are all over the map, depending on the mood the skater is trying to set in his or her program. (Arbour said she did notice that the male competitors at this year's nationals seemed to favor navy and other dark colors.)
Most dresses have intricate beadwork and are dotted with Swarovski crystals. Those extra touches help personalize the outfit, but they also add to the cost. Most dresses off the rack start at somewhere in the neighborhood of $150. Adding the crystals can push the price up by several hundred dollars.
For a competitive season, a skater will need two outfits: one for their short program, and one for the free skate, the longer program that finishes out a competition. Many of the top skaters opt for custom designs, but Arbour said a fair number buy off the rack. Some will modify the ready-made designs.
For a while, many female skaters were trending toward the risque when choosing costumes until U.S. Figure Skating intervened and tightened up its regulations for showing skin. Men's costumes, which Arbour also makes, are more tight-fitting than in years past.
Arbour said part of the reason for the changes seems to be that skaters are in better shape, so they're more comfortable in something other than blousy tops and bottoms.
Another big change: women competing in the dance category once opted for long skirts. Now, Arbour said, they want a skirt that hangs shorter in the front and drapes at the back.
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For most athletes, costuming decisions come down to personal preference.
Jennifer Feldis, a 16-year-old skater from Menlo Park, Calif., stopped by Arbour's booth and grabbed a few options, then disappeared into a dressing room.
After narrowing her selection to two dresses, Feldis said she was looking for something that would match her program music (selections from "Legends of the Fall") and something that, well, looked good.
"Your costume should make you feel beautiful," she said. "You know when you feel good in your dress."
That's Arbour's goal.
She's been in the business long enough — more than 25 years — that she's outfitted beginner skaters all the way up to senior-level competition.
Top skaters have worn a number of her creations. A favorite is a matador outfit worn by Russian ice dancer Evgeny Platov, who won two Olympic gold medals in the 1990s.
Arbour prides herself on making the kind of clothing that gets passed down from skater to skater, still ready for another turn on the ice.
"We'll go to a competition and see a dress we made 12 or 13 years ago," she said. "'And we'll say: 'My god, it's still skating!'"
Contact the writer: 402-444-1543, erin.golden@owh.com
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