Sylvia P Designs Part One

Yeah, I said I was reviewing Amco but there was nothing much there worth reviewing and what I did have in my Amco folder was actually a subcategory on the website titled Dreamlight Studios so that will be in place instead of Amco. Instead of doing that this week, we'll just focus on Sylvia P because I was crawling through the website and I found a few gems I may not have noticed before.

 Hello, blue velvet. I will say though it's a lovely shade of blue and it's not as offensive as other velvets. The white is a nice complement but the shape over the bust, dear god. I'm expecting a floor routine about a shark. Ok, one bad comment for one good one. I really like the detail with the straps on the back, it's nice and unique.

Here we go. I get the feeling this was meant to go in the Sport Acrobatics category. Short sleeves in artistic gymnastics, I appreciate the innovation. But it doesn't work this time around. Then there's the design on the torso. That red and blue, really doesn't work together, the colours are too strong to work together. Then there's the fact that the shape looks like a warped superman logo. It's a hot mess.

Black and white, it's always a nice combination. I like how the fabric is a little shiny but not too shiny. My problem is with the swirly black hole forming on the chest and fanning out across the sleeves. What is that meant to be? I don't know. The gym that wears these must be the Milky Ways, of the Solar Systems right? Wrong, the Zeles Club. I have no idea whether that's a town name or a gym name, either way it matches their leos. Kudos for that

The first thing I thought when I saw this was, "looks like Chuso would wear it". I suppose it's the whacky shapes and colours that makes me think that because it looks like something you'd see her team wearing in the 80s. Just, wrong for everything.

Oh dear god thank you. A lot of people would say it's ridiculous. I could agree but I've seen enough disasters to consider anything not terrible to be great. That and I appreciate the white and blue combination. They work together. It's simple and it's nice. The team that walks out in this has to stand out, for all the right reasons.

Rhinestones on the shoulder, just yuck. It's like someone tipped over the container and glued them down where they landed. It's rather nonsensical. The black and white is a nice combination as I've said time and time again but this time it's rather ruined by the pattern in white. The stripe across the upper torso is unflattering and the lower stripe is equally bad. However I do like the little curved ends on the back. It's something new.

I'm not sure that words are needed but lets have a crack at it. If anyone is familiar with the episode of the IT Crowd when Jen is on her period and turned into that monster with red hair and crazy makeup then you'll instantly see the resemblance. Red and black, although a nice combination doesn't work in this case. The way the red is placed looks like is was places over the top rather than incorporated into the fabric. Then there's the rhinestones which make everything worse and the background fabric which is meant to imitate skin and looks awful.

I'll be honest with you guys. I'm running out of resources and in light of that I think I'll cut this episode into two parts. Also because it's rather a lot to read and take in once a week.

Until next time we'll finish off Sylvia P Designs and see whats new in the gym world.

Snowflake Designs and Alpha Factor

I'm on time for once, how on earth did that come to be? Still fairly quiet on the Elite scene. Gah, I feel like a cop on a stakeout and I've been waiting around for weeks...Oh wait, I have been waiting for weeks. We all have. How I wish I had NBC or Universal on the tv, then we'd be in business.

At the very least this blog will provide some form of entertainment until it all gets going again. So this week we'll begin reviewing leotards from specific companies and eventually when I get my tush into gear we'll review some from competitions.

So this one is Alpha Factor. Its quite nice, the navy is just an elegant colour. The shiny stones on the other hand. From far away it's tolerable but up close it becomes a bit too much. A nice choice to start with.

One step forward two steps back. I'm not dismayed by the pink because its a damn popular colour, and I love it, not too much in clothing though. The cutout on the chest is just silly, what is this, the leotard was too tight across the chest and tore during a sheep jump. Also, the spots across the torso don't make too much sense.

Another step back. It's like Iron Man's daughter got into gymnastics and Stark Industries decided to move into the leotard business. Yeah I know Iron Man is gold and red but I think even Stark Industries realize that's just too much. Shiny silver, NO. The deep red is nice, almost Crimson Tide red. The shapes made by the shiny silver are so unflattering. We know gymnasts are fit, we know they have more definition than the rest of us.

There was a nice one next in the lineup but I decided to review this one instead so we can end on a good note. And we're back to velvet. It's not even good looking velvet, let alone the colour looks like puke. The kind that looks like carrots and you didn't even eat any. Then there's the bust line and it's rather pointy and overly embellished. It's something you'd expect to see in the nineties. Someone, anyone? What decade is this? It's the flippin 2010s.

Thank god, something logical. Blue and green, a good combination if done correctly. The white star, shape thing is fine, it's not silly. I'm rather brain-blocked on this one. I just like it, you can see why right? If not go ahead and comment, send an email and give your opinion.

Onto Snowflake Designs.

White, it's hard to pull off in leotard land. This shot works, no idea how it'd work in real life. The two-toned blue ribbons are quite nice, it's not too much and the rhinestones make it nice. Maybe it's because I'm Australian and it reminds me of eucalyptus leaves. I'm expecting a koala to jump down and eat them. Yummy!

And here is what would have worked with the US Women's Olympic Team. Personally I didn't like the sheer mesh and here is a nice way that it could have been handled. Personally I don't like the strange cut in the chest and the rhinestones accentuating it. That's just me, it looks weird. I don't like the band on the end of the sleeves either, it's so unnecessary.

Personally I like this leotard. I like the red, the yellow and the swirly ribbons on the chest but going down the sleeves it gets too much and starts to make less sense. I think take away the rhinestones on the chest, they aren't needed at all and it'll be nice. The only problem is that this leotard is the reason why when some people say gymnastics they assume they do beam and ribbon. No, two completely different disciplines. Rhythmic is the more artistic one, and artistic is the more strength and power one. Of course the worlds collide, it's not hard and fast but that's generally where it's heading. Darn you FIG for transforming Artistic gymnastics for women into men's.

Is it me or is this Shawn Johnson a la 2009 Covergirl Classic and Visa's? I think so, the gold and the black and the ribbons wrapping around the arms. Personally when Shawn wore her version I didn't like it, just icky. I appreciate the idea of breaking new ground and trying new things but it didn't work in her case. This leotard however, is a nice alternative. The shiny black is very sleek and lean and the ribbons are nicely structured. It's just nice, make it in any colour and it's a winner. Well perhaps not orange. Shawn's orange version was probably the worst.

It's patriotic, it may be too much for some but I love it. That's probably all I can say. I just like it, it's nice. Whatever happened to patriotic leotards at the Olympics, needs more. Embrace your symbols guys, Great Britain does. Sure we get bored of the Union Jack but they like it.

For all the time I've been trawling through the internet for leotards I've never seen anything like it. Alright, I haven't been doing it for long but still. This is unique. I think it only works because it's black and white. I think it's unique and I think Utah should jump on a whacky NCAA version of this. Perhaps the only thing is to get rid of the strange little bits down the torso.

Be ready... It's going to end badly.

It's a childrens leotard. And it's horrible. The shiny sleeves are fine, if the rest of the leo was plain and normal. But it isn't. The black on the torso is a bit much for a little girl, it's a bit too dark. The chest panel is just silly and then the bust line. Wait...Bust line, on a little girl. That's fine if you do it tastefully but it's too low and outlining a poor cut with rhinestones that are just too large is ridiculous. Whoever designed this is a Khorky fan. As I recall she wore something similar, at least in terms of a dark leo with a bad sweetheart neckline.


There we go. That's this week's batch of leos. We've seen some nice, not so nice and some in the middle. I'm being driven buts with the lack of gymnastics. Next week we'll review Sylvia P and Amco leotards. Ohoho, both Aussie manufacturers.