First of all, the U.S. uniform during the Opening Ceremony did not disappoint. Designed as usual by Ralph Lauren, this uniform was classic and patrician. The silhouette was modern yet retro at the same time. The pants , which taper into a high top boot, reminded me of today's "skinny-leg" trend, yet also reminded me of football uniforms from the early 20th-century.
However, when it comes to pure dapper style, I think this Winter Olympics uniform definitely fell short of the Beijing Olympics outfit from 2 years ago. Usually, the navy blue double- breasted jacket is sooooo over-done. But for some reason, Ralph Lauren played with the razor edge between cliche and supreme elegance, and the effect took my breath away.
I also managed to catch a glimpse at Burton's U.S. snowboarding outfit for the Vancouver Olympics (above). The uniform is a tongue-in-cheek nod at the flannel and jeans culture of snowboarding. This is all good in theory - it's subversive, just like snowboarding culture. However the jeans look dull and colorless on TV, and I can't imagine that the team would look that unified together. How can you look unified when you are all wearing jeans?
I think I preferred the Burton-designed U.S. snowboarding team outfit from the Torino Winter Olympics 4 years ago. All-white, with the faintest of blue pinstripe, the uniform was witty, cheeky, subversive, yet restrained at the same time. This uniform was a nod at the White Sox baseball uniform, which is as American as it comes. But to me, it looked like a prison uniform, which was delightful in a rebellious kind of way.If I can have one last word on U.S. Olympic fashion, it is that it's completely un-unified. Ralph Lauren designed the opening ceremony outfit, Burton - the snowboarding outfit. And then you have Under Armour, which reportedly has designed the downhill ski and bobsled outfits (they look like something Captain America would wear). Each outfit is super clever individually, but altogether, there was no master statement to be made. I would suggest that Ralph Lauren's design team take the helm in the future, overseeing all other design teams in their fashion designs.
