U.S. Winter Olympic Outfits 2014

[PennLady]

I don't see a reason to finish the hotels. The terrorists are just going to blow them up anyway.

Seems like they could just knock them down.

 

[3113]

Final Word on those Memorable U.S. Sweaters....

From here: http://www.latimes.com/fashion/la-ig-olympic-sweaters-20140216,0,7921858.story#axzz2tnrYdu5d

When the U.S. Olympic Team's opening ceremony sweaters were unveiled ...the social media reaction to the star-spangled red, white and blue patchwork knit cardigans was overwhelmingly negative....("obnoxious," "horrible")... comparisons to ugly Christmas sweaters....It seemed, in that moment, as if fashion designer Ralph Lauren had laid a giant shawl-collared egg.

But the crowd was mistaken; the public debate, off the mark....The cardigans aren't conventional clothes as much as they are task-specific uniforms....The task for these sweaters — as well as the rest of the ensemble — was to unify and showcase the American athletes walking into the opening ceremonies while at the same time distinguish them in a meaningful way from the colorful cacophony of other nations. And that's exactly what happened. The spectators in Sochi and millions of TV viewers worldwide watched a parade of fresh-faced athletes forming a sea of white stars on blue that was reminiscent of the upper-left corner of the American flag. A living, breathing, undulating patchwork quilt — e pluribus unum in its truest sense.

"Whether you loved [the sweaters] or whether you didn't, it didn't matter," says Hal Rubenstein, founding editor and fashion director of In Style magazine. "They looked like a team — and that's what matters. [Ralph Lauren] wanted them to look like the stars they were, and they looked like stars and they felt like stars."

...A random sampling found nearly unanimous support for the controversial cardigans....Jim Moore, GQ magazine's creative director, called the sweaters "phenomenal." Nick Sullivan, Esquire magazine's fashion director, used the word "gorgeous."....of the 324 limited-edition versions of the $595 cardigan created for purchase by the public, online stock was depleted within three days of the design's unveiling and that bricks-and-mortar stores were depleted within a week. What's more, an EBay search reveals that, as of press time, sweaters purporting to be the real deal have attracted winning bids as high as $3,500.

Bold mine. Now, aren't you sorry you didn't spend the $600 to buy one?

 

[3113]

Snowboarder's Quilt Themed Jackets—Excellent!

Just to add, I, myself, LOVE the "tie-in" snowboarding uniforms, put out by Burton company with input from the snowboarding athletes. It also went "American Quilt" but with a cool, faded look (they found and copied a real quilt as well as an old U.S. flag, etc.); very apt for snowboarders, as if they'd stitched it together themselves from old jeans and shirts and such. Too many Olympic sports are all sleek and flashy—and probably have to be for speed and such, but I appreciate that the snowboarders celebrate and maintain their floppy, hoodie, skateboarding roots—and that they put their own halfpipe spin on the quilt "theme."

http://cdn.snowboarding.transworld.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/442/files/2013/12/burton_unveils_sochi_unitards-600x487.jpg

Not, alas, for sale. Made exclusively for the 2014 snowboarders.