Team USA Figure Skating Outfit (2021-2022)

[chernayakoshka]

Dress: A+

A dark blue sleeveless dress with a spandex torso and mesh skirt with side slit. The torso features foil stars in varying sizes that catch the light in varying degrees of silver (they are all the same colour, they just catch at different intensities as the dress moves). Silver, sparkly elastic straps crisscross across the front to create an asymmetrical look that spans from both shoulders down the front (but not onto the back). The left “sleeve” is made of the same blue and star material as the torso while the right one is just the silver straps. While I personally wish there was a little more fabric here (I like sleeves…), this does look accurate to what figure skaters are wearing, so I can’t complain too much. The asymmetry is fun and I love the way the skirt swishes and moves!

It has one of those stupid, plastic tag that AG insists on putting on the front of all their outfits. I won’t ding the dress for it, but I’ll always mention it (slash complain about it…) until they figure out a different way to tag their clothing.

The dress opens partially in the dress with non-snagging Velcro (thank God…snagging Velcro would have done a heck of a number on this material). I was initially concerned as I worked the dress over Blaire’s hips that the dress would be too tight, but it ended up having plenty of stretch while still set well for a close fit (but not too tight). That being said, I could see the chubbier PC girls struggling with this one. On Blaire, it had no issues closing and looks, I think, pretty good! The skirt drops to a very flattering length.


Front.


Back (I'm glad the stars carry over to the back).


This tag lives rent-free in my head.


On Blaire.

Skates: A+

White, vinyl skates with white, elastic ties. They have black soles and silver metal (or really heavy plastic – I have to admit that I can’t really tell). In overall look, they’re very similar to other ice skates that American Girl has included with their sets, save for “Team USA” printed in silver on the right skate. I think this is a nice touch and helps this pair stand out from others.

I have to admit that I was skeptical of the elastic laces (I have a certain nostalgic love of the old laces, even if they were sometimes difficult to tie), but the skates slid (or, rather wiggled) on almost effortlessly. They fit Blaire well, thought I’m not sure the wider PC feet would fit quite as nicely (if at all). Like with almost all ice skates, it can take a moment to balance the doll and you have to be careful about knocking her since her overall balance is a bit shaky, but if your doll has tight limbs, standing shouldn’t be that difficult. I have noticed that Blaire’s weight seems to settle more to the back of these than I’ve noticed with other ice skates that I’ve had in the past.




On Blair. She stands pretty well in them.


But I did note that her weight rests on the back of the skates. No amount of repositioning changed that.

Skate Guards: A+

Dark blue, rubber skate guards infused with silver glitter. They slide easily over the ice skate blades so Blaire can keep them protected when she puts them up. They also help the doll balance on the ice skates, so it might be worth leaving them on if you’re worried about your poor doll taking a tumble.


I'm quite a fan of the glitter.


Balance is greatly improved with them on (though I don't advise Blair to try skating this way).

Hair Clip: A+

Ok, so it’s just a couple of plastic, sparkly silver stars attached to a simple black clip, but as someone who really sucks at doing hair, I personally love these simple hair accessories. It works exactly like you’d think: just clip it into a small section of hair!

(Your enjoyment of this accessory will vary depending on how much you like more complicated hair accessories).


Simple, but I love it!


I think the idea is to put the doll's hair up first and use this as an accessory to that, but I tend to leave Blaire's hair down (because I'm terrible at doll hair and don't want to mess with the curls), so I'm happy with it being used like this.

Good Value?

Honestly, if not for the Team USA tie-in, I likely wouldn’t have purchased this…at least not for full price. It’s $35 direct from American Girl, which is standard for an outfit at present, though this one falls into the category of just not coming with quite enough for me to normally justify that price. All bets are off when it comes to the Olympics, though, which I think AG was probably counting on :-P. The pieces are nicely made, so if I was going to pay too much for an outfit, it’s at least a good quality one to do so for. And I’m sure this will skyrocket in price on the secondary market, so I’m not going to complain for getting it for retail price.

Overall: A+

This is an elegant, well-made figure dancing dress that feels and looks authentic (at least to this untrained eye!). The deep blue and silver are a nice departure from AG’s traditionally lighter colour palette, and, yes, I really like the Team USA tie-in. The detailing on the dress is great without being too much and it looks absolutely lovely on Blaire. The price may be a bit high for what you get, but if you’re into the Olympics connection, it’s definitely worth getting while it’s available (and if you’re thinking about it, go get it now – the AGP Columbus had none when I went to get it in mid-January and had to order it for me, and they still had none when I went back a week later). I’ll be happy to use it for winters to come!


Please don't skate on my counter, Blaire.