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Herma Planck-Szabo of Hungary (left), Ethel Muckelt of England (center) and Beatrix Loughran (right) of the U.S.A. pose in sweater and skirt combinations at the first-ever Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. Longer skirts paired with cashmere sweaters was a common combination for women ice skaters in the '20s.

"Men used to wear suits in the '30s and '40s to compete," Weir says — he prefers today's costumes over the dressier versions (see slide #10 for why). Here, British ice skater Jack Edward Dunn wears a suit and a stylish hat to top it off.

British skater Cecilia Colledge (right) and German skater Viktoria Lindpaintner (left) on the rink in their Olympic outfits. Lindpaintner went with a matching knit shirt and skirt with a buttoned cardigan, while Colledge wore a pinstriped blazer, but both wore matching white hats. Hats are riskier to wear in competition today because skaters if any part of their costume falls onto the ice.

With the '70s (and its disco culture) came more bright and colorful costumes like Dorothy Hamill's sunshine yellow costume with rhinestone details along the neckline. It wasn't until the late '60s and into the '70s that rhinestones and sequins first started to pop up along necklines, sleeves, and hems.

"Chiffon and lamé are much favored materials, with sequins and other decorative trimmings used in many imaginative ways," wrote in his 1968 book Winter Sports. "Generally speaking, the simpler and brighter the color of the costume the more pleasing the effect."

"As we got into the '80s and '90s and 2000s, costumes really became a character in the performance," Weir says. This is illustrated by American skater Debi Thomas's red and black costume with a rhinestone embellished mesh neckline and silver accents. By the '80s rhinestones were a full-fledged phenomenon and were used much more frequently than in past decades.

The beauty trends of the '80s, such as big hair and bright eyeshadow, also found their way into the Olympics. After the 1988 Olympics, strict clothing rules were passed because Russian skater opted for strategically-placed feathers instead of a full skirt to compete, and it was considered against the rules to wear a unitard or pants until the rule was

Sleeveless costumes were not allowed , whereas now skaters can choose whether or not they want to compete with sleeves.

Chinese skater Chen Lu opted for elbow-length sleeves and wore this periwinkle blue costume with rhinestone details to compete in the Lillehammer Olympics in Norway. She won the bronze medal – China's .

"Every costume ... [is] created with the idea that you're going to live the biggest moment of your life in that garment," Weir says. "Every video of you that's on television is going to be forever, and you want to have a costume that really relates to that." His favorite costume of his own? This swan costume which he fittingly wore to skate to a song titled "" "It was everything that I wanted out of an Olympic costume. It was memorable, it went with the music, I felt great in it."

French skaters Vanessa James and Yannick Bonheur performing a lift at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in matching purple ombré outfits.

According to the , "clothing of the Competitors must be modest, dignified and appropriate for athletic competition – not garish or theatrical in design. Clothing may, however, reflect the character of the music chosen."

Over the decades as necklines dipped lower, mesh became more popular, but necessary in preventing wardrobe malfunctions while still blending into the Olympian's skin. In 2014, Gracie Gold stunned in a red costume with silver rhinestones along the neckline and back.

"I love an amazing, beautiful skating dress," said Project Runway contestant and ice skating fashion Nick Verreos in an interview with . "But I also love when a look goes horribly wrong. Good or bad, I just don't want to be bored."