Leotard Rankings: Week 2

Look at Mizzou stepping up its leo game! The ombre sleeve and back are gorgeous, I love the use of sparkle to really define the front pattern, and I love the criss-cross on the back! The only thing I’m missing is a Tiger or Mizzou or something to identify the team. But I agree with Christina, the yellow is such a hard color to include in a design and not let it overwhelm the whole thing – kudos to them!

This is probably my favorite leo of the week, and my favorite Mizzou leo. It’s gorgeous! We had already seen it on the MGNN show during pre-season, and I was so excited to see it on the gymnasts. I love the yellow ombre on the sleeves and part of the bodice, and the front is gorgeous with the plunging V-neck and all the sparkles. The back is also gorgeous with the criss-crossed black stripes and the continued yellow ombre. It’s so pretty, and the yellow isn’t too overwhelming even though it’s a hard color to include on any outfit or leo. It’s a subtle yet elegant leo, and I really love it.

LOVE. This is an example of yellow and black being paired well and not in the form of a bumble bee (also see Lindenwood). Missouri normally has pretty blah leos that look more like J.O. teams than collegiate, so this change was needed and a pleasant surprise. I love the subtle ombré, the criss cross on the back, the V and the team spirit throughout. This leo is a win on all accounts for me.

So I like it better than last week’s, but I still feel like I expect better from LSU? I was watching this meet with my friend who’s a big LSU fan, but is still kind of a gym newbie, and she said to me, “I feel like this leo would be way better if the sparkles were gold instead of silver.” Completely unprompted. And I agree! I think that would totally have made it way more appropriate for the team without being over the top. I do really enjoy the design of the back though, and there’s something about that high neck that I just love.

I like this one as well as it looks very elegant. I love this shade of purple and the high neck filled with sparkles. The back is also very elegant as well with the triangular sparkle shape, also filled with sparkles. It’s a neat design and looks good on all the gymnasts.

I really like this one. The mostly purple leo plus the higher neck makes it look very elegant while the sparkles add a sort of royal element like a crown or a tiara or a crystal dog collar. The cutout in the back is nice too how it’s an oval hole but the sparkles make it look more triangular.

I really like this one! I actually like the script Colonials and how it wraps around from front to back. I do think it should’ve been one or the other, that or the GW up by the neck, and not both. I like how the gradient goes through more of a pearl color than a full-on white, because that’s more reflective of the school’s actual colors: blue and “buff” – kind of a light tan color. I also could have used more sparkle, but the sparkle that’s there is good.

Overall, I really like this one. Because ombre, you get it by now. The color gradient is lovely and really shows off the school’s colors. I do wish they had done without the bright yellow GW right under the collar. Similarly, the “Colonials” down the side onto the back is too big and weirdly placed. Great for the school spirit score, but they might have gone a little overboard for my own tastes. I would have liked a smaller GW placed somewhere else, maybe on the hip bone or on the back, as to leave the full ombre design free on the front at least. Other than the placement and size of the writings, I find this leo lovely and well done.

I like it. Despite being yet another ombré leo, it’s still unique because of the colors GW chose to use in the gradient. The writing is a bit big and a bit too yellow but overall, it’s a good leo for me.

This leo is gorgeous! I love how the ombre and sparkle complement each other – neither is too much. I would have loved to have seen something identifying the Aggies or UC Davis, but there may very well be something that I just can’t see in this picture (since I didn’t it in action.) And I actually like the sleeve with the flame!

I like this leo and the ombre bodice (of course), with the sparkly bits in the front. What bothers me is the random flame-y design on the sleeve, and I wish they had just kept the ombre theme going. But I really do love the color theme, and it has the right amount of sparkles for me. Bonus point because in all the photos I saw the sparkles reflect the light in rainbow colors, and that makes the leo even prettier.

I saw this first on the live stream in action and loved it! It looked really good on all the girls and from afar, was classy. When looking more up close, I didn’t like it as much, but it was still nice. There were just enough sparkles/sequins and the color was lovely as well.

I love this! Holy cow! The crystal cascade on the front is just gorgeous, and I actually like the marriage of the red mesh and the black bodice. If the red were any brighter, I don’t think I’d like it as much. I took just a few tenths off for sparkle because I would’ve liked to see the cascade somewhere on the back too, but I’m okay with the fact that they used that space for the team name instead. Definitely one of my favorite leos I’ve ever seen.

I want to like this but I can’t. The colors don’t fit together for me. I like the glittery cascade on the front and the design is lovely, but I really don’t think that shade of red goes with the rest of the bodice. I get that they were going for the school colors, but it doesn’t work. The back was too simple, with only the school’s name written in glitter and nothing more. I almost wish they had gone all out and continued the glittery rain on the back as well, or at least put some sparkles on the border between the red and the darker fabric. A decent leo, but it could have been better.

So I like this leo, but I feel like it’s something Skinner would’ve worn in elite, not a Utah leo. Maybe it’s just because I didn’t see it in broadcast, but in post-competition photos, it looks orange! Combine that with the fact that the front doesn’t have any identifying school logo or text and I would be hard-pressed to tell you it was a Utah leo unless the gymnast was facing away from me.

Another ombre leo for Utah but I don’t like it as much as last week’s mostly because it is a lot darker. I don’t love the red stripes across the shoulders and find that it really doesn’t go well with the overall design of the leo. Plus that shade of red is brighter than the red of the ombre bodice which makes these shoulder stripes stand out even more. The Utah school spirit is very tame on this one compared to some other leos we’ve seen, but it’s an alright one. Not my favorite, but still pleasant to watch.

I think, unlike Christina, I like this one a bit more than Utah’s last week. The colors are a little bit more subtle and the sparkles slightly more muted. The school spirit is still there but not over the top. It’s a win for me.

I liked this design a lot better before I saw the back… the square angles just don’t match the nice triangular V-cut of the front design. Though my tendencies are often minor, my OCD will always say that squares do not go with triangles (and neither really goes with circles either), so that disconnect really throws off my feelings about this pattern. I love how they outline the patterns in sparkle, it really enhances them (even if I’m not the biggest fan of the back design). I also love the little Arkansas A on the hip!

This is a nice leo. The design on the front is nice, with the V-neck and the red sparkles and fabric on the higher body. I do wish there was something else because the black is very much present. Maybe some more red or white fabric, or sparkles somehow? The back is very different, with a lot more white mesh and the bright red band going down the middle. I do like the back with the round cutout and all the sparkles, but I wish it connected or meshed with the front a little better. All in all, I do like the design, especially after last week’s leo that I didn’t really like.

So it doesn’t look good with the gymnast’s arms up. But it is a nice leo overall. I like the slightly boxy design and the almost tuxedo-like font isn’t too plain either.

So I have no idea what, if anything, that pattern is supposed to represent, but I like it! It’s got a very different vibe to it than a lot of other swirly patterns out there, it’s a little more delicate and elegant. While I like the teal complementing the orange, it’s not as spirited as your usual navy/orange Illinois leos. So I gave it bonus for using teal but had to take some from the spirit category. And I would have loved a big block I or Illinois or something.

Overall, I like it and I like the colors that represent so well the school. That said, the more I stare at the swirly swirls on the front, the more I start to picture other stuff. Like right now, all I see is a dragon head where the higher and smaller blue hole is the eye and the other one is its mouth. Then the white swirls contour the head. No? No. Anyways, I see a dragon on the boobie swirls and I can’t unsee it. It’s badass to have a dragon on your leo although I am 99% sure this wasn’t the intended design. With that said, this leo did look nice in motion and had the right amount of sparkles for me. Maybe a little too heavy on the orange, but other than that, I liked it!

Hmm… I first saw this one, and it just looked like another typical Illinois Leo to me. But then I stared at it more, and it grew on me. I’m never really a fan of the orange and navy combo but I think how it’s not integrated throughout works. The design on the front is nice and not too overwhelming. However, overall this leo is just average to me.

This leo is just kinda meh for me. I feel like it’s very basic, it doesn’t have that pop of color that I usually enjoy so much about Georgia leos, and the pattern is ubiquitous nowadays, particularly among SEC teams. I would have preferred they save this for like a blackout meet. Also, I understand wanting to save your pink-themed leo for your own home pink meet, but wearing an all-black leo to a pink meet is kind of counterproductive, in my opinion.

This is an alright leo for Georgia, but it is a bit too dark for me. I do like the G on the side with the sparkles going out of it, but I wish this leo had some sort of red in it somewhere, even if small. It’s a simple and elegant leo, but I don’t really have a strong opinion on it.

If you want to go for an all-black look, I like it. I would have preferred some red somewhere, but I know Georgia wore it because Auburn had a pink meet and Georgia didn’t want to wear its pink leo yet. But that’s besides the point. I like the super G on the side and how the sparkles kind of originate from that. The mesh arms prevent the leo from being one note without introducing another color.

Now don’t me wrong, I like this leo. It’s very regal, which is appropriate for a three-time national championship team. However, I’m always dismayed by the lack of orange on Florida leotards – there are so many cool things you could do with this color combo! But I love the design in the bling and I like that they use multiple shades of blue here, making the design much less one-note.

I was hoping for a new Gators leo for their home opener AND in the new O’Dome, or even something a little less boring. This leo is alright of course, but there is nothing special to it that makes me go “oooh I really like this!” I do appreciate the shades of blue, but I am not too keen on the swirly chest flames coming up to the collar. I like the back a bit better than the front, and I also enjoy the extra-sparkly collar line. But yes, I was hoping for something more colorful for the first “home” leo of the Gators.

This design is so out of the box, I actually really like it! It’s very abstract art, and I especially enjoyed how they used multiple shades of red in addition to the black and white, to add more depth of color. I think we all agree that it needed more sparkle, but it doesn’t help that what’s there is hard to see in any of these pictures. Unlike Christina, I actually like the big Cardinals sleeve, though I agree it could’ve been done a little differently to better match the design of the rest of the leo.

I weirdly like this one? I think it severely lacks in sparkles and is a little bit too busy, but I also do kinda like the design. It’s different, it looked good in motion, and the sparkles on the diagonal bands do shine a little better on video. But you get it, I like my sparkles. The one thing that bothers me most on this leo is actually the huge “Cardinals” on the sleeve, as it was just way too big for my taste. Good for the school spirit score, but it probably could have been done in a smaller or different way than plastering “Cardinals” on the entire sleeve.

I like it in theory but wish the design used different pieces of fabric rather than being printed on the one piece. It also needs sparkles. In my opinion, it’s hard to have too many sparkles.

So as nice as it probably is for the gymnasts at Pitt to have better confidence in their wardrobe than maybe UCLA did in their similar leo, I actually like the UCLA version better? I feel somehow that the sparkles don’t quite go with the lace, though I can’t really explain to you why. I do like the mix of sparkles and lace on the back though! The cutouts covered with lace is actually a pretty cool concept, I feel like most lace designs we see don’t take it that far.

This is almost a copy-cat version of the UCLA lace leo, minus the potential for wardrobe malfunction, but I like this one as well. I like the front design with the sparkles that go down and around the ribcage, and the lace sleeves look good with very little sparkles on them. The back is where I got all disappointed, as I am really not a fan of the double diamond cutout filled with the lace. But I like the front so much that I can forgive the back. It’s still a lovely leo for me.

Eh… I’m not really a fan of lace in general and the only lace Leo’s I like involve a color different than the rest of the body. If you’re going to do lace, wouldn’t you want it to stand out and not blend in with the rest of the leo? The sparkles are ok but the design doesn’t seem to go well with the lace.

I like how they incorporated the N in the design, but there is just way too much nude mesh for me. I agree that it does overall lack something, and by that I probably mean more sparkles. We are used to more extravagant leos from Nebraska so this almost feels too simple and bland for me. Too simple and unexciting for a season opener meet in my opinion.

I like parts of the leo, but altogether, it’s meh. The creative incorporation if the N is awesome but the rest is a bit dull. Plain nude sleeves and back and plain black body. I don’t mind nude mesh (even this much), unlike my fellow judges, but this needs more to it. More sparkle? More color? More something.

I actually really like this leo! I do think the blue/black contrast got a little diluted in the broadcast, but I love the ribbon design and the open back is a bigger risk than Kentucky usually takes with their leos! I think more sparkle would have helped the blue stand out from the black (or vice versa) and I would have liked to have seen a UK or a Cats logo or something for their school pride.

I can’t decide how to feel about this one. It has definitely grown on me since the first I saw it, but I am still not convinced by it. I first saw the back and loved it, but then saw the front and was like… not so much. I find the back very elegant with the big round cutout and the blue ribbons. In the front, I can’t get around to liking this blue ribbon belt-like design on the stomach. It’s quite dull as well, and definitely lacks in sparkles there. I wish the blue had been brighter, but I do like that they brought the velvet back though. Anyways, a lot of mixed-feelings on this one for me.

This leo is, to put it lightly, a hot mess. I understand where the design is coming from and I can’t really fault it. I’ve always wondered what a true jersey-like leotard would come out like. However, I think it can be done differently in order to come out a little less hodge-podge-ity. I actually kind of like the fishnet/chain mail looking sleeves, but I don’t think they belonged on this particular design. The worst part about this is definitely the color, I think if it had been more of a navy I wouldn’t have minded so much? Hard to say. I like risk taking in leo designs, but I think this took it too far.

What are you wearing…No. There are ways to go for the sports jersey-look and it can turn out wonderful ( a la OU/Beyonce) or not so wonderful like here. I really dislike the fishnet look on the upper body and sleeves, and what is that 10 supposed to be like? The gymnastics 10.0 or is there a hidden meaning we are not aware of ? The Y on the sleeve made me originally think that this leo had elbow patches, which would have sent me into a cackling fit. This shade of blue is a bit too strong for my taste, although it does show off school spirit, but I didn’t find this leo flattering at all on anybody.

No no no no no no no no no. No. I don’t think I can find one thing I like about this one. Maybe the color isn’t so bad? But the basketball shorts/fishnet look is weird for a leo, the faux, single-armed elbow patch with the BYU logo is weird and lop-sided and the number is weird because gymnastics isn’t a sport where individual jersey numbers are important. I guess A+ for school spirit?