Dancing with the Stars – Who Wore It Better, Part III

As promised, here is your third weekly installment of our continuing analysis of reused costumes on the show. 🙂 While the first 2 editions dealt solely with costumes reused in season 10, this one is a mixed bag of dresses going as far back as season 5 – proof that if the folks at Randall are reeeeally having a hard time selling a costume to the public, some lucky/unlucky pro or celeb may get the privilege/punishment of having to wear it a second (or sometimes third!) time. Read and discuss!

Oh, and P.S. – we’re trying hard to do a guys’ edition of Who Wore it Better, but it’s proving to be really, really hard…so if you know of any dittos, please let us know, and please at least look up pictures or find them on youtube to ensure they are, in fact, the same costume – some of the ones that have been brought up to me are really just similar (but not identical) pieces.  😉

Battle of the black, silver-spangled Latin dress: Melissa’s cha-cha with Tony in season 8 vs. Kym in the ladies’ pro dance opener in season 9
Courtney: As an aside, I really didn’t care for that opening dance that the season 9 pro ladies did – it felt a little low-energy and kinda like it was just thrown together at the last minute to fill space (lord knows why). That probably explains why Kym just doesn’t look quite as “finished” in it as Melissa does – love the fedora and jewelry that really ties it together on her. Both gorgeous ladies with fabulous bodies – but I’m giving it to Melissa for having a little bit of extra “oomph”.
Heidi: Boy, this is a tough one! I do agree about the ladies pro dance – very messy, disjointed. As for the dress…not sure how I feel about the fedora on Melissa – it almost feels like overkill, what with the choker and the bracelets and the earings AND the hat. Who was the famous actress that said she always took one thing off before she left the house? This could have been done here to better effect. She needs to lose something from the head/neck area. That said, Kym is the opposite extreme – too minimalist. And really, those pro dances are the opening numbers so there’s really no excuse for it except maybe laziness.
The winner: Melissa, by a choker.

Battle of the short, red, fringed, Latin dress w/matching belt: Karina in the Michael Jackson tribute in season 9 vs. Julianne’s cha-cha with Helio in season 5
Heidi: Again, two beautiful girls who can wear just about anything. If I have to pick I have to go with Karina because of how well she can wear red. Jules wears it well too, but it looks better on Karina. Have to agree with Courtney, below, also – Jules’ hair is too severe.
Courtney: Now as adorable as Jules tends to look in pretty much anything she wears, I think I actually like this one better on Karina – it could be the lighting, but I think the red looks better against her skin than it does Julianne’s, who looks a bit more washed-out. Also prefer Karina’s loose curls to Julianne’s bump-it updo. I hate those damn things!!!
The winner: Karina, by the skin of her…skin.

Battle of multi-colored, neon-fringed Latin dress: Jewel’s would-be preseason photo shoot with Dmitry in season 8 vs. Misty’s mambo with Maks in season 7
Courtney: Ok, I’m putting it out there – this dress is cursed and should probably be burned due to bad karma. Misty donned it for a mambo; two weeks later she withdrew with a devastating Achilles’ tendon injury. Jewel wore it for her promo photo shoot; not long after she was sidelined with 2 fractured tibias and had to be replaced with Holly Madison. And really, this dress is just tacky with a capital T. I loathe neon – especially multiple shades of it on the same dress – and I particularly loathe it when it’s fringe. Blech. Nobody wins in this one!
Heidi: Have you noticed that Maks has a fondness for multicolored, bright, tacky dresses? It’s weird, because then he puts Joanna in a classy beautiful dress – which I’m going to credit to Derek since the design is done early in the week and Maks has a bad track record. 🙂 But yes, this is one nasty dress and they seem to pair it with bad hair and OTT jewelery.
The winner: Do you see any winners here? I sure don’t.

Battle of the two-piece, tri-color ruffled & feathered Latin dress: Joanna’s preseason photo shoot with Derek in season 9 vs. one of the dancers in the Tiempo Libre performance in season 9 vs. Kym’s samba with Warren in season 7
Heidi: Okay, I’ve decided that I don’t like multicolored dresses. Too, too much. But like every other possible article of clothing, Joanna can pull it off. Partly confidence, partly issues with her competitors, like Courtney says below.
Courtney: Poor Kym & unidentified Tiempo Libre performer – it’s really hard to hold a candle to Joanna in, well, pretty much any costume. And I daresay she rocks what would be an otherwise rather awkward dress pretty damn well – having a fab figure and a great spray tan doesn’t hurt, either. Kym looks a little pasty in the sunset color scheme; the costume just looks kinda loose on the brunette from Tiempo Libre.
The winner: Joanna, by default.

Battle of the silver-fringed, super-sparkly, cut-out Latin dress: Mya’s preseason photo shoot with Dmitry in season 9 vs. Lil Kim’s cha-cha with Derek in season 8
Courtney: Ok, observation: the lighting in the pre-season shoots never seems to do justice to some of these dresses the way the lights of the dance floor do. This is no exception – the dress just glows on Kim, while it barely reflects any light on Mya. Plus Mya’s pose just looks awkward to me – really kinda surprised they picked that one as her best shot. The dress seems to be wearing Mya, rather than the other way around. Kim DOMINATES this dress!
Heidi: Kim dominates everything. It’s all about confidence and attitude and Kim has plenty of both!! Both dresses were used early on too, so that’s not a reason. It’s weird too, because Mya was a trained dancer – I would expect a more confident stance from her even that early.
The winner: Kim by a ‘tude. 🙂

Battle of the blue-fringed & stoned Latin dress: Shawn’s samba with Mark in season 8 vs. Natalie’s preseason photo shoot in season 9
Heidi: Not a fan of this dress, really. I think it looks better on Shawn but only because she’s moving. Hate her hair and think they went overboard on the make up though. Natalie is fine in it and she has a beautiful smile. But I have to give it up to Shawn.
Courtney: Another instance where photo shoot lighting doesn’t do a girl any favors, and neither does standing still – this dress doesn’t look nearly as impressive on Natalie as it does on Shawn. I wouldn’t say it necessarily looks BAD on her, but it’s just kinda…blah.
The winner: Shawn, for not being a statue.


Battle of the long, dark blue, corseted paso dress: Brooke, Kym, & Cheryl in the team paso doble in season 7 vs. Kelly’s preseason photo shoot with Louis in season 9
Courtney: 4 very different ladies, one dress. Poor Cheryl – everything costume they made her wear in season 7 just seemed to look mediocre, and unfortunately this is no exception. I think what bothers me about Brooke wearing it is her expression – it’s supposed to be aggressive, but to me it looks more confused…so she’s out, too. Kym looks decent in it, but I really love Kelly in this one – the dramatic feel of the dress seems to suit her personality well, and looks good with her coloring.
Heidi: Love, love, LOVE this dress. It’s probably one of my favorites ever on the show. Love the color, love the corset, love the flowy skirt. Love. As for who wears it best? Well, not Cheryl, for reasons stated. She doesn’t look horrible in it, she just doesn’t hold up as well as her competitors. The thing I remember about this dress is Kym’s fierce face during the dance with Warren, and how beautifully they all pulled this dance off. I think the dress brought out the right attitude in all the women. Kelly? Yeah, I love it on her too. If I have to pick a winner, I’ll go with a tie between Brooke and Kym, mainly because of my fond memories of that dress.
The winner: Kelly, because Heidi can’t pick just one.