The criteria is a little different this season as we tweak some of our point totals to better analyze the designs. There will be up to three points for design, up to one point each for fabric and sparkle, school spirit and uniqueness and up to three points for overall appearance. This week Rebecca, Mary Emma and Katie W are joining EIC Elizabeth to help judge.
Temple: 8.400
Elizabeth: 9.200
Design 2.9/3, Fabric 0.9/1, Sparkle 0.9/1, School Spirit 0.7/1, Uniqueness 0.9/1, Overall Appearance 2.9/3
I LOVE this leo. It’s my favorite of Temple’s three this year. Grey is such an underutilized color, especially matte grey. I also love the design is accented using colored rhinestones. Plus, I love the mesh neckline and back, giving it a faux low back look. This is a win in every way.
Katie W: 8.100
Design 2.4/3, Fabric 1,0/1, Sparkle 1,0/1, School Spirit 0.6/1, Uniqueness 0.7/1, Overall Appearance 2.4/3
Sometimes simple is the best option, and Temple ran with it in this leotard. I love the offwhite grey color and the use of red rhinestones throughout. The front glows, but the back may be my favorite. My only complaint about this leotard would be the rhinestone placing on the front.
Mary Emma: 8.100
Design 2.4/3, Fabric 0.7/1, Sparkle 1.0/1, School Spirit 0.7/1, Uniqueness 0.9/1, Overall Appearance 2.4/3
I like this one, but I don’t love it as much as a lot of people seem to. The sparkles are really pretty, but it’s just a bit too simple for me.
Rebecca: 8.200
Design 2.4/3, Fabric 1/1, Sparkle 0.9/1, School Spirit 0.5/1, Uniqueness 0.9/1, Overall Appearance 2.5/3
A lot of people object to this fabric color, but I’m a big fan of it and I’m also a big fan of leotards that utilize majority matte fabric. I’m also a big fan of the sparkle colors and the near-universally flattering pattern.
Boise State: 6.775
Photos/@boisestate_gymnastics Instagram Story
Elizabeth: 7.100
Design 2.0/3, Fabric 0.7/1, Sparkle0.7/1, School Spirit 1.0/1, Uniqueness 0.9/1, Overall Appearance 1.8/3
If you get over the fact that there are tiny little horse heads all over, I actually really like this leo. The strappy design is funky and cool, and the orange belt adds a nice touch to offset the otherwise boring body.
Katie W: 5.700
Design 1.2/3, Fabric 0.8/1, Sparkle 0.7/1, School Spirit 1.0/1, Uniqueness 1.0/1, Overall Appearance 1.0/3
The front bodice of this leotard is actually really nice. I think the neckline presents itself nicely, especially with the addition of sparkle. However, I cannot with the tiny horse heads all over the leotard. I’m all for school spirit, but this takes it just a tad too far for me. I wish they just kept the sleeves and back with the solid blue color that’s on the front.
Mary Emma: 7.700
Design 2.2/3, Fabric 0.8/1, Sparkle 0.8/1, School Spirit 1.0/1, Uniqueness 0.9/1, Overall Appearance 2.0/3
Minus the sleeves, I really like this leo a lot. It reminds me of the George Washington one with the logos all over. Props to Boise State for going all out with school spirit.
Rebecca: 6.600
Design 1.5/3, Fabric 0.4/1, Sparkle 0.8/1, School Spirit 1.0/1, Uniqueness 1.0/1, Overall Appearance 1.9/3
Let’s get the obvious things out of the way first: Boise State’s colors are sort of ugly, strappy necklines and chest holes are weird and putting a bunch of tiny horse heads on your leotard is a TERRIBLE idea. I should hate everything about this, but I…sort of think it’s cute? I don’t know, there’s clearly nothing beautiful about it, but it’s charming and the silliness of the whole thing seems self-aware. Plus, I like the orange waistband.
Northern Illinois: 6.000
Elizabeth: 6.600
Design 2.0/3, Fabric 0.7/1, Sparkle 0.6/1, School Spirit 0.7/1, Uniqueness 0.5/1, Overall Appearance 2.1/3
I kind of wish the arm swirlies weren’t there and the arms were instead plain ombre. That aside, I like the leo overall. It’s not too crazy, but still has some of those modern elements I like in leos like ombre and an open back.
Katie W: 6.000
Design 1.5/3, Fabric 0.9/1, Sparkle 0.4/1, School Spirit 0.6/1, Uniqueness 0.8/1, Overall Appearance 1.8/3
This leotard is better in action than in photos, but I still can’t quite get behind the swirls on the sleeves. The sparkles on top of the busy pattern just add to the craziness for me. The front bodice is simple and easy to get behind, and the high neckline doesn’t bother me here. However, I’m not a huge fan of the keyhole back, but that may just be the arm sleeves combination with the back throwing me off.
Mary Emma: 6.600
Design 2.0/3, Fabric 0.7/1, Sparkle 0.7/1, School Spirit 0.7/1, Uniqueness 0.5/1, Overall Appearance 2.0/3
This isn’t a bad design by any means, but it’s one that I’ve played around with a lot in the GK leotard generator. I do like the sparkle “Huskies” on the back.
Rebecca: 4.800
Design 1.5/3, Fabric 0.4/1, Sparkle 0.4/1, School Spirit 0.5/1, Uniqueness 0/1, Overall Appearance 2.0/3
It’s a stock design that we’ve all made a million times in the GK leotard generator. But it’s not a bad stock design, and the final result is an improvement from some of the more dated designs a lot of MAC teams wear because they don’t have an indefinite leotard budget.
Arizona State: 5.325
Elizabeth: 4.400
Design 1.2/3, Fabric 0.2/1, Sparkle 0.4/1, School Spirit 0.7/1, Uniqueness 0.7/1, Overall Appearance 1.2/3
I didn’t fully hate this leo when I first saw the pics, but in the live stream of the meet it just looks like they have chalk all over themselves, which is not great. While at first I probably would have rate the leo just OK, that factor really takes off some serious points.
Katie W: 5.300
Design 1.0/3, Fabric 1.0/1, Sparkle 0.5/1, School Spirit 0.8/1, Uniqueness 0.8/1, Overall Appearance 1.2/3
I wouldn’t hate this leotard if it wasn’t for the thick gold belt with ASU written on it. I don’t necessarily hate all belts, but this one ruins the entire leotard for me. The color makes it even worse. To me, if they eliminated the belt and continued with the fade to black, it would be a whole other conversation.
Mary Emma: 6.200
Design 1.7/3, Fabric 0.8/1, Sparkle 0.5/1, School Spirit 1.0/1, Uniqueness 0.8/1, Overall Appearance 1.5/3
I actually don’t hate this? I dislike the belt and “Sun Devils” written on the chest, but I rather like the pattern. It’s unique and something I’ve never seen before on a leo.
Rebecca: 5.400
Design 1.0/3, Fabric 1.0/1, Sparkle 0.5/1, School Spirit 0.8/1, Uniqueness 0.8/1, Overall Appearance 1.3/3
This leotard is stupid. ASU has this weird idea that it’s fun to just…print a bunch of type on your leotard…and it’s NOT FUN. The ribcage gold band was also seriously unflattering on quite a lot of the athletes. That said, I do really like the distressed effect printed onto the body pattern.
READ THIS NEXT: Leotard Rankings: Week 3
Article by Elizabeth Grimsley, Rebecca Scally, Mary Emma Burton and Katie Walsh
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