Karen Chen, Short Program
I quite like our big winner, Karen Chen. When Heather asked me how she was, I said, "she loves a red lip. I like her a lot." (Then I mentioned that she's also QUITE GOOD. Her spins are soooooo pretty, I can barely stand it.) When I saw this look, I assumed she was skating to "Swan Lake," but it was actually "On Golden Pond." Keeping me on my toes, Karen! I knew birds were involved.
Karen Chen, Free Skate
And here, Karen was skating to "Jealousy Tango," and between the delight of seeing those words together AND her red lip, I am already in the bag for this kid. (Especially because, when I saw her outfit, I was bracing myself for another Carmen. No more Carmen, please, ladies.) The beading on her costume is really REALLY gorgeous. Now if I could just get her to stop pulling her tights over her skates...
Ashley Wagner, Short Program
ASHLEY. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING. (Great bracelet, though.) (Also, she's skating to "Sweet Dreams," by the Eurythmics, so this totally makes sense.) (I actually really like this program. I have a tendency to like her short programs better than her long ones.) (Parenthesis!)
Ashley Wagner, Free Skate
This was basically the only shot Getty Images had of Ashley's long program -- they really dropped the ball this year -- and therefore you must believe me when I tell you that this costume is LOVELY. The skirt's ombre is really pretty, and the back is interesting. This is also as good a place as any to note that Ashley looks good with this darker hair, and also that I can't believe she's still skating, although she's certainly still super competitive. She'll be 26 at the Olympics next year, so I suppose at this point, she's like, "might as well hang on." ANYWAY. I find this long program to be a little too meditative, personally, but Tara loves it, so what do I know? Also: I need to go to the gym now because I have major muscle envy. See you later.
Mirai Nagasu, Short Program
Mirai looks GREAT in this. I love any costume that includes a built-in giant necklace.
Mirai Nagasu Free Skate
NO ONE at Getty managed to get a snap of Mirai's long program. As hard as it is to tell from my shot off the TV, her costume was REALLY beautiful. I am very sorry that she kind of collapsed in this skate; I love Mirai, and the fact that she skated to ABBA (a cover, but still) fills me with joy. But I cannot deny that she was lackluster here. Maybe "Winner Takes It All" is too on nose? Do "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)" next time, perhaps?
Caroline Zhang, Long Program
Apologies for the cruddy quality here -- Getty did not have a photo of Caroline's long program, and again, I had to snap this off my TV, old-school style. (I also don't have a shot of her short program and she wasn't even on the broadcast!) Her long program was GREAT, and this costume was really pretty. Good for you, Caroline!
Mariah Bell, Short Program
She was skating to selections from "Chicago," and this is EXACTLY what you wear for that program. The totally fringed skirt was awesome in movement.
Mariah Bell, Free Skate
She came from sixth place to finish third -- way to go, Mariah! -- and this dress was MUCH prettier on TV than it is in this shot. It felt very Shades of Nancy Kerrigan to me. I thought her long program was a little boring, although she was very elegant on the ice, especially compared to that firecracker of a short program, but she seems like a contender.
Gracie Gold, Free Skate
Gracie is having a rough year, apparently -- and I'd feel bad for her, except she has said so many racially insensitive things in the past that I can't be bothered to work up any sympathy for her -- and I also hate this costume. Her entire self looks like the color of barely toasted white bread.
Gracie Gold, Short Program
This feels very 50 Shades-adjacent. Johnny and Tara had some very interesting things to say about Gracie never having recovered from losing last year's World's -- Johnny literally said, "it's time to grow up and skate;" he seems to have no patience for her AT ALL -- and I'm very VERY interested in hearing what you skating folks think about what's going on with her.
Grant Hochstein's Short Program
Although men's figure skating costumes are often dull -- not you, Johnny Weir; never you -- I enjoy bringing them to you nevertheless. Grant loves an ombre.
Jason Brown, Short Program
This routine is skated to the Sam Smith song from the last Bond movie, which involves the words "break my fall" -- which feels like a bold taunt to karma from any skater. Jason has a stress fracture, in fact, and DID fall, although I think the routine itself is pretty good and he is, in general, great and I adore him.
Jason Brown, Free Skate
"I borrowed this entire outfit from Evan Lysacek!" (This was a beautiful program.)
Vincent Zhou, Short Program
Noteworthily, he's ALSO skating to Sam Smith's Bond theme. This is not a very Bond-y outfit, Vincent. My feeling is that dude skaters generally fall into one of two categories, sartorially speaking: Skaters Who Wear Wacky Bodysuits, and Skaters Who Are Just Wearing Dude Clothes They Picked Up at Banana Republic. Vincent is clearly the latter this year...
Vincent Zhou, Free Skate
...although he jazzed it up for his long program. Additionally: He's quite good. Are the US Men good this year?!? What does that even feel like?
Nathan Chen, Short Program
Speaking of good: Nathen Chen is our new US Men's Champion, and he is really VERY good, although I think he needs a tiny bit of polishing artistically -- it's only his first senior season, and that stuff so often comes later. I have my doubts about how the women are going to compete at Worlds -- what do you guys think? -- but I think he should do well, potentially, and that's really exciting. Also, yes, his shirt is lace.
Nathan Chen, Free Skate
I couldn't resist picking a shot where he looked like he was REALLY rocking out. This ensemble falls into the category of I Might Be in a Ballet YOU DON'T KNOW, although he's actually skating to something from Prince Igor, which is instead a Russian opera. He only landed five quads. NO BIGGIE! This kid can really really jump. It is thrilling. He's one of those skaters where I find myself yelling when he hits a quad, like it's a three pointer. He's also REALLY cute (I say that in a maternal way rather than a pervy one). I might just love Nathan Chen.
Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc, Short Program
Both this dude's facial hair and his head hair make him look like such a hipster. I really want them to lean into that, and skate to, like, The Lumineers. (This was, however, skated to "I Put a Spell on You," and I think it's a pretty good routine.)
Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc, Free Skate
And this looks sort of like Hipster Wedding Ahoy. (They're skating to "The Prayer," by Her Majesty Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, which I find fairly drippy.) In other news: they both seem to have had a lot of partners, and she also used to skate as a single. I hope it goes without saying that I welcome your gossip about them, and any other skater alive.
Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier, Short Program
Denney and Frazier are your big winners this year. That said, basically EVERY year I despair for the fate of US Pairs skating. Please let me know if that's warranted or if I'm just being dramatic. Here, they're skating to "Don Juan," and also look like they might be using this photo for their holiday cards. I have to confess that I don't like this short program at all, and don't really have a reason why.
Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier, Pairs Free Skate
Fun fact! They started off as roller skaters, and have been skating together since they were tiny children. Speaking of drippy, their long program was to "Somewhere in Time," which basically makes me want to stab myself in the arm. It's possible these two are just not my jam.
Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran, Short Program
This look is what I call Don't Even Bother To Look at the Dude. Mervin used to skate for Japan, then for Canada (where he was born, and grew up), and now he's on Team USA. Skating international allegiences are so fluid. (They're not going to be eligible for the 2018 Olympics because he won't be a citizen by then.)
Marissa Castelli and Melvin Tran, Free Skate
Their free skate was to a Journey medley, and everything about that felt right. It was really, really fun. I will not stop believing in you guys. Even though you fell down a couple of times.
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Nathan Bartholomay, Short Program
This lift, in this shot, makes me laugh. He looks like he's transporting a mannequin from one part of the store to another.
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Nathan Bartholomay, Free Skate
If I am reading my Wiki correctly, she retired from skating in 2001 and this is her first year back. FIFTEEN YEARS LATER. They placed fourth, which is either a sign that they're great, or US Pairs is for reals a hot mess. (Either way, honestly, GOOD FOR HER.) Also: from the waist down, they both look like they're still at practice. Also also: Of course they're skating to "Firebird." It's truly not a major skating event if no one skates to "Firebird."
Maia and Alex Shibutani, Short Dance
I love the Shibs -- and this is a great routine, danced to a Sinatra and Jay-Z mash-up (the required short dance this season is "blues and hip-hop" for all the skaters) -- but I have concerns about Maia's top. It does look MUCH better in action than it does here. (Alex looks good in his suit.) Regardless: This routine is really enjoyable, and I've said it before and I will for sure say it again: NO ONE wears a peppy ponytail like Maia does.
Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, Free Dance
This feels very classic. For what it's worth, the blue in her dress and his shirt were both brighter on TV. They're just lovely skaters; I think this program is so emotional and moving.
Zachary Donahue and Madison Hubbell, Short Dance
Nearly every single ice dancing dude wore this exact outfit at some point, although the back of Zachary's top IS sheer. You guys, the Russians are going to be bringing us wacky catsuits, I'm pretty sure. We cannot just fall back onto tee shirts at Worlds!
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue's Free Dance
In full disclosure: This pic is from the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in December, but they wore the same ensembles at Nationals. I love LOVE Madison's costume. You could wear that to a movie premiere and no one would bat an eye. Additionally: They apparently made a big deal about how they were sick of coming in third and would be stunned if they came in third again here, etc etc etc. I think you can guess how they placed. In part because Madison fully fell, which is not something you see in ice dancing that often.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Short Dance
What did I tell you about this outfit on Evan? He wears LITERALLY THE EXACT SAME THING for the Free Dance. At least switch to a navy blue shirt or something, Evan! Here, they're skating to "Bad to the Bone" and "Uptown Funk" and I suppose Madison looks....funky? (I jest: I actually think these ensembles worked for their very entertaining routine, and what you can't tell here is that Evan has leather on his shirt, and pleather pants too.) May I just note that Madison is so much more interesting as a skater than Evan is? Thank you.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Free Dance
This routine is to David Bowie and Queen's "Under Pressure," and how very timely that feels, no? (They are both actually wearing a dark purple, although their clothes read black in this photo.) I think their outfits here, actually, are perfect for that, albeit subtle. "Perfect subtlety" is not a phrase I neccessarily expected to use in this post. In other news, Chock and Bates and the Shibs are going to be BRINGING IT to World's this year. See you then!