I have to be honest with you…aside from the skiing and the speed & figure skating, I was hardly the biggest Winter Olympic 2010 follower. I don’t get the appeal of hockey and the luge frightens me, so I generally wait for the summer Olympics to get my pom poms out. So, I focused primarily on the disgraceful Olympic fashions. Disclaimer – If you are a male or any sort of female sports fan, stop reading this article, it will only anger you.
First…Let me start out with the fashion disaster that was the United States at the closing ceremonies. Ralph Lauren…Step it up! Why were we wearing berets in the closing ceremonies? As you will see in the photo below, the United States athletes looked like part of a French invasion during the closing ceremonies.
Observe the close up of the outfits (below)….Way too much going on. Ralph Lauren is known and respected for simple, classic fashions. So, how did this busy mess come about? A blazer cardigan with a HUGE logo and red trim, along with a PLAID shirt AND tie underneath for men, and a blue turtleneck for women? Not to forget, again, the beret. Way to much going on! And when was the last time you wore a turtleneck? The huge Polo horse marketed Ralph Lauren, but not in a positive way.
And, although Canada had the most gold medals, they were wearing sweaters with Moose on them. Need I say more?
The athletes were not the only offenders. The closing ceremony performers were a disaster as well. Take the half Brittney Spears, half cowboy get up pictured below.
Or this “updated” (aka stripper) version of a Canadian Mountie :
I really could go on and on, picking apart each country, outfit by outfit.
HOWEVER, I must give credit to the figure skaters. They are always expected to be somewhat of a fashion spectacle with their glitzy spandex, and I actually look forward to this. At least there is some novelty involved with their fashion choices, and it is somewhat expected and intentional. Whereas the other athletes are actually trying to look like they have some sort of style, and totally missed the boat.
Figure Skating Exhibit A: Johnny Weir
I’m sorry, but this just brings a smile to my face whenever I look at it. I LOVE this. I LOVE that he gets out an skates in the olympics, the highest esteemed of all sports competitions, in a spandex outfit cut down to his bellybutton with a pink tie lacing it up. Hilarious, yet awesome.
Bottom line: I would rather see thousands of Olympic althetes in Johnny Weir’s outfit (ribbons corresponding with their respective countries of course) than in a sweater with a huge moose on it or a beret. Take note
