Yea or Nay to the Polo-rific Team USA uniforms?
By Arts & Culture Correspondent Ben Madeska, who from time to time dips down into the realm of clothes, when he’s not writing about books, art, or how his Saddleback is holding up.
Ralph Lauren has unveiled the Team USA opening ceremony uniforms. Taking inspiration from the US uniforms the last time the Olympics were held in England, they have come up with a country club vibe for this year’s opening ceremony uniforms that they call an “updated take on old-world elegance.” How well did they pull it off?
.
Team USA Double-Breasted Blazer – $795.00
A red, white, and blue color scheme can quickly go wrong, so it’s a smart choice using a navy blazer as the cornerstone. Using wider, peaked lapels is a bold, powerful look. Peak lapels in general help give your body that athletic V shape, and since these are Olympians who already have that shape, they might come out looking invincible. Or, looking like Voltron. The risk is that this is too much of a throwback. The Polo pony is about the same size as the Team USA logo, which doesn’t exactly say “old-world elegance.”
Team USA Ceremony Beret – $55.00
Worn by the military and the greatest athletes in the world, they can look pretty sharp. For the rest of us, probably best to avoid.
Team USA Nubuck Uniform Shoe – $165.00
Nailed the white suede bucks. This could be a fine summer shoe. Some will take issue with the extra, barely noticeable piece of nubuck behind the cap toe, but it’s good to remember that this is an athletic event. Obviously, no one will be competing in these, but the thicker laces are also athletic inspired, and that extra subtle nubuck piece makes them unique and fast looking.
Team USA Silk Tie – $125.00
Maybe the easiest to wear piece despite the incredibly preppy feel. Expensive though. Made in Italy. Regal stripe with a lion motif which is has to be a nod to the host country. The women on the US Olympic team will wear this cotton scarf during the opening ceremonies.
Team USA Grosgrain Belt – $85.00
They are really committing to this striped preppy thing.
Team USA Sunglasses – $160.00
Then there’s these. Not part of the Opening Ceremonies uniform. Still. Let’s hope it’s cloudy for the entire Olympics.
The whole uniform will set you back about $1600. The blazer and the white slacks worn with it were made in Italy, and it looks like the rest was made in China. So what’s the verdict? Leave your thoughts in the comments, and vote in the poll as well. One thing we should all agree on, is they’re at the very least better than 1984.
Loading ...
When the brand’s logo is the most striking aspect of the blazer… no bueno.
Good ol’ Ralph’s marketing team should have left the logo much smaller (or off altogether), as this apparel is for team U.S.A., not team Lauren..
I’m not a fan of the preppy look to begin with, so most of the pieces aren’t favorites of mine. But even then, the biggest issue I could see is with the beret. We’re talking professional athletes, some of whom are slender, but others who are big dudes. I’m not sure a beret is the best choice of headwear proportionally to the big guys.
Oh and red, white, blue, and a beret? Confusion with the French team commence.
Really not a fan of the sunglasses and the Polo logo on the Blazer. But I like everything else. The preppy look is perfect because the Olympics are similar to a preppy college tournament.
It would have been awesome if the put the Polo logo subtly on the golden buttons.
I don’t mind the preppy look in general. I find that it could easily lend itself to a red/white/blue American uniform rather easily. That being said, the final product is horrendous. The brand logo is in poor taste, I understand RL sees it as a marketing opportunity, but come on. If there was solid design here, he could have just marketed the individual pieces to the public separately. The ascot is comical, the shoes are fine. I don’t mind those. Double breasted though? Really? Sunglasses look like you stole them from David Beckham. The beret – just no. Most people probably aren’t hat people to begin with, and no one is a beret person. With the exception of the Special Forces and John Wayne. They can pull off whatever they damn well please.
The athletes should be ashamed to have to wear that Chinese made junk. For what they are charging you would have thought that they would have made the items here in the US.
The berets, trim-cut blazers, and colors….is Ralph Lauren trying to dress the French team?!
I think they are going to look phenomenal in these outfits, I looked back in history over some of the past looks and the hats were so terrible (bowlers, fedoras). I think this beret will give them a decidedly military look, which on jacked athletes will look imposing. Also, have you ever seen a girl in a beret? Sexiest thing ever.
As a former paratrooper (maroon beret) I’d say any of the “elite” forces are beret people, oh and artists.
Biggest issue here is that they’re made overseas. Come on Ralph, really?
The Polo logo on the blazer is shameful and embarrassing.
The beret is out of place.
The sunglasses are abominable.
The ladies’ scarf is questionable.
The lions and crowns on the tie are at best unpatriotic, at worst treasonous.
Everything else could have been very sharp and cool. What a missed opportunity.
Noted and Agreed.
The best way to describe this is, “good from far, but far from good.” The jacket and shoes are good at first glance, but each contain details that ruin them. Is it really too much to ask that they make a simple, nice pair of plain toe bluchers?
Anyway, the tie and belt are nice. The beret…is good in this application. But if you’re not an Olympic athlete or some sort of special forces (or French) berets are not acceptable.
And, as has already been mentioned, how did nobody in RL’s board room pick up on the idea that it might reflect poorly for the US Olympic Team to be wearing made-in-China goods? You don’t need an MBA from Harvard to know this.
Actually don’t mind the lions on the tie as a symbol of the games being in London. Would prefer it to be offset by a US team logo that wasn’t marginalized by the RL pony
The beret looks terrible and they really don’t know how to wear it very well. That said, while I will congratulate you on your para training, I’ve never met anyone in the US military who wears a beret that well. John Wayne above is a reasonable effort, but the Brits pull it the look a lot better.
I’ve also noted that berets are becoming more common in the US Army and a Ranger told me they were particularly upset as other people are now wearing black berets which used to be exclusive to them.
I have some cousins on multiple branches of the military. Needless to say most of my army cousins weren’t pleased with the inclusion of the beret into the normal line up. And even less so now that they had to endure the taunts of their jarhead cousins.
Do you have the same issue with Nike? Speedo?
Except most of what we all wear is made in China (or another Asian country). Also, It’s not like they paid for it. Ralph Lauren is sponsoring, thus donating the clothes.
I understand people want American athletes in American made clothing, but no one says anything about all of the Nike clothing they will wear when actually competing. It seems Ralph Lauren is taking all the heat.
Treasonous? Easy, cheetah. Let’s save it for the real deal.
But I agree with you on the logo.
I don’t love it, but my only big objection is the logo on the jacket: merely gauche under any other circumstance but here just crassly commercial and completely out of place.
Oakley is also making Team USA sunglasses for the olympics. Much better than those.
I had thought about the logo as an objection, and I agree it could be smaller, but I felt that since Nike, Speedo, etc get their logos across their uniforms, why should RL be held to a different standard? Obviously it’s a more formal piece, but at the end of the day, they’re both looking to capitalize on their exposure.
I don’t see a problem objecting to the American team wearing things made in America during the Olympics.
Agreed. That choice was in very poor taste.
Furthermore, nobody complains that the tie is made in Italy. Surely that’s a double standard? (This should come after horsetangle’s post)
Horrible. The Polo logo is tacky. Luckily no one will notice the logo when all eyes will be on the goofy beret.
well done Ralph… the uniform brilliant!
I can’t be the only one that thinks the double-logo thing just looks like nipples, can I?
I’d have preferred the placement of the pony elsewhere: on the lapel (like a lapel pin?). Having Ralph’s logo over the heart of the competitors and the American flag/Olympic patch seems to put brand before county. As a whole the collection seems fine. I don’t see many of the athletes actually wearing the berets – just think back to what Chis Bosh looked like in the newsboy hat.
“how did nobody in RL’s board room pick up on the idea that it might
reflect poorly for the US Olympic Team to be wearing made-in-China
goods?”
I think it’s because so much (most?) ofl the clothes worn in the U.S.A. are made in China or elsewhere in Asia. I honestly believed it never occurred to them it would be an issue for that reason. Would I prefer the uniforms be made in the U.S.A.? Of course! But the congressmen or whoever made this an issue should have brought this up a year ago, or out of their sense of patriotism they should pony up to hire a legion of tailors to fit the team with new uniforms with only a couple of weeks to go before the games.
Exactly! Berets? Really? There’s not one thing American or Athletic about that hat.
That creative director needs to be demoted to assistant designer.
I like it. I’d change some details if it were up to me but I like the overall look. The preppy styling gives it an American “feel” to the uniforms which is good for a team representing the U.S. These clothes weren’t designed for street-wear or the runway or but for a pageant (the opening ceremonies). I think a version of this look with some changes would look great on a lot of people. Some of the clothes like the tie or the belt cold be worn as they are.
I’m tempted to say there’s no such thing as “too much of a throwback” but I know that “your mileage may vary” as the saying goes. Personally I would’ve preferred a flat cap, a fedora, or a Panama hat for headgear but I even think the beret looks fine if a bit unusual. I’m sure it’s an allusion to the ones the military. I understand wanting the uniforms to be made in the U.S. but like others have most of our clothes are made in China or somewhere in Asia. There’s a reason the suits from Indochino aren’t as expensive as they could be.
They’re not berets. They’re freedom hats.
Ha! Well played.
Unless it is embroidered with nuclear launch codes, calling a tie “treasonous” is absurdly jingoistic. There is nothing unpatriotic about a design nod to the host country of the Olympics, especially when that country has been our closest ally for generations.
A 100% “no” on the size of that pony. Or any brand logo for that matter. Completely tasteless on Ralph Lauren’s part. The sunglasses are also terrible, but at least not tasteless. They make absolutely no sense in the context of the rest of the outfit.
I’d skip the beret myself and the belt is somewhat over-the-top. The shoes are a bit off too, but this is nitpicking. Otherwise, the uniform is quite good.
B-/C+
For anyone interested, here is a rundown of what some other nations will be wearing. Maybe we should stand next to Russia. No one will even notice RL’s giant logo.
We actually are phasing the beret out in the Army. It’s no longer worn with the duty uniform (ACUs) at all and only low ranking (E1/Private – E4/Specialist) wear them with the new dress blue uniforms. All the guys I know hated having to deal with two different pieces of headgear as well as all the care that went into shaving and forming the beret properly, as well as how they never ended up looking quite right (probably because of the blue flash and cardboard piece instead of other countries where they just put a pin in it).
I think those that are “outraged” are a little out of touch. manufacturing jobs don’t exist much here anymore because they are on the low end of pay in the industry. The money is made by the R&D people that do work in the states because these are US companies. Yes it would have been nice if they were manufactured in the US but I don’t know of any sports apparel companies that do that. Would have been easier for RL to do this. To say that it is costing Americans jobs though is not all that accurate; do you think they’ll still be manufacturing these a month after the olympics? One run and they are done making these.
The jacket, trousers, and tie are made in Italy. From the news I read made it seem the whole outfit was made in China. Thank you dappered for filling in the details, it changes my feeling about the issue.
I do hope those uniforms were provided for free, do to the large advertisement seen on the left breast.
Looking through the past uniforms, I’d say 2012 is an above average year. And looking through some of the other country’s uniforms, I’d say Hong Kong is kicking asses. Kinda interesting that. Yes Hong Kong is not China.
The number of hats is quite large, I have a service dress peak, beret, side hat and 2 different MTP field hats. This is before you get into any cold weather gear. For us everyone wears berets with ‘battle dress’ and the peaks are worn with barrack or service dress apart for a few units which traditionally don’t have peak caps.
It does take a bit of effort at the beginning to correctly shape a beret, but once this is properly done it is a very low maintenance piece of headwear.
I’m not a fan of boating blazers in general, but that’s a personal thing. However, making the manufacturer’s logo larger than the national crest and then putting the logo over the heart instead of the crest is massively disrespectful. The only thing I’d consider is the shoes.
Wow. I’d like to take this moment to thank the rest of the world for making us look AWESOME.
I’ve heard a lot about the berets, and how French this makes Americans look. I usually think that kind of talk is silly, but these outfits do look like French men impersonating Americans for a 1960’s film.
The Made in China brouhaha is an exercise in cognitive dissidence. It’s not okay for 1000 uniforms to be made in China, but there is no mention of the millions of other garments that Americans wear every day made in China and SE Asia. That’s just fine – but those 1000 uniforms! How dare they be made in China!
Why are the colors on the beret in the French pattern?
Ralph Lauren and the United States Olympic committee should be ashamed of themselves having these uniforms made in China and they still are extremely expansive, so is it pure profit for Lauren. I think the United States garment workers would have taken more pride in making the clothing. During this terrible economic time in US history, how any company can not use US workers for the US team.. It is absurd. I will never purchase a Ralph Lauren product. In all of his ads he is always trying to portray his brand as all american with his Polo brand. Shame, shame. He might have apologized, but it is a littel too late. Hopefully by the next Olympics we will be recovering from this ecomomic crisis, but no thanks to Ralph Lauren. BTW, what was he thinking for the women. They were extremely matronly.
Compared to past uniforms, this one was a bit silly. However, after watching the US in the Parade of Nations, they were some of the best dressed out there, while others disappointed (I’m looking at you, Britain).