Best and Worst Leotards -- 2012 Secret Classic

Top 3 Best Leotards

3. Jordyn Wieber

Photo Credit-Heather Maynez

I didn't really like this leotard all that much, but there weren't too many good ones to choose from at this meet. I actually really like the color. It looks bluer in the picture, but in person it was a nice dark purple color. I'm not a huge fan of the lines bursting out from the side, but the color combo pretty much makes up for it. I'm kind of upset that she's just wearing a team USA leotard though, it's not new at all. However, it looked nice on her and was much better than many other leotards at the meet, so it makes my list.

2. McKayla Maroney

Photo Credit-Heather Maynez

I know, I know, she wore this before. Many gymnasts have worn this leotard recently. If you haven't seen it, check out Spanny's post on the many repeats. Honestly, I can't believe she wore it again. We all loved her for it the first time and agreed that her version was the best. This one is a slightly different color combination, and I actually like it better than the first one. The dark part is purple and the colors on the pinwheel are softer and more sophisticated than in her original one. The only thing I dislike about this leotard is the mesh on the sleeves, but I can look past it since it's so great otherwise. If she hadn't worn it before, it would be first on the list.

1. Mackenzie Brannan (Capital)

Photo Credit-USA Gymnastics

I'm sorry about the picture; I couldn't find many pictures of Mackenzie or her junior teammate, Nicole Lehrmann, so this is the best I could do. It's not so easy to tell, but this leotard was absolutely fabulous in person. Although I generally don't like having mesh on top, it wasn't bad at all and the color is gorgeous. It has just the right amount of sparkle and shine. The cut is interesting on top but there is by no means too much going on. This leotard immediately stood out to me and I still love it. The only problem is that it's a little bit boring in a picture, but it really did look great in the arena. It's super classy and very well done. Great choice, Mackenzie.

Top 3 Worst Leotards

Note: The top three worst were very hard to choose, since there were many bad leotards at this meet. I'd like to acknowledge that Elizabeth Price (Parkettes), among others, was very close to making this list.

3. Aly Raisman

Photo Credit-Heather Maynez

I love Aly, but this leotard was just a little too much for me. I'll admit it--pink is my favorite color, and I've actually liked some of the #hotpink leotards this year. However, this one was just way too much. For me, I don't think it was so much of the two shades of pink that sent it over the edge, rather it was the combination of the mesh and the shiny material. Beyond that (you can't tell very well in this picture), the leotard was symmetrical. Like, the neckline on the mesh side is shiny and the neckline on the shiny side is mesh. Same with the weird stripes coming out from the seam on the front. It's just a little overwhelming. If she had just used the shiny pink part, it actually could have been a decent leotard--the shade of pink isn't actually that bad. This, though, is just WAY too much.

2. Sarah Finnegan (GAGE)

Photo Credit-USA Gymnastics

There are so many reasons to hate this leotard. The most obvious is the color combination of hot pink, lime green, and black. There really isn't a way to make those three look good together. That was the first reason I picked this. But then I realized the more subtle reasons it just isn't working. The pattern, even if it were in cute colors, is just too angular for me. The sharp cut down towards the hip and the random pink triangles just don't form a flattering shape. Even beyond this, there's some weird continuation of the triangle on the wrists that really just doesn't need to be there. For some reason, this weird leotard seems to perfectly match my feelings about Al Fong, especially when he wears those awful gloves that escalate his creepiness tremendously.

1. Nastia Liukin, Rebecca Bross, and Grace McLaughlin (WOGA)

Photo Credit-Heather Maynez

It was a tough call between the GAGE leotard and this one, but I just had to give this to the #hotpink horror. Remember when I said before that I liked some of the #hotpink leotards? This one does not fall into that category. First of all, it's an awful shade of pink--more pastel than hot pink.  The design at the neck isn't doing it any favors either, and believe it or not it looked even worse in person. This is so far from the crazy, over the top, overused leotards that WOGA usually has, which just makes it seem to me that Queen Nastia picked it out herself. My apologies go out to the other WOGA girls who had to wear this as well. I'm not thinking Rebecca Bross is so keen on this #hotpink trend.

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts! Tell me your opinions on which leos were the best and worst at the Secret Classic!