USA Olympic kit – Brideshead revisited?

May 19th, 2008

There can be few designers who are more American than Ralph Lauren. Now celebrating forty years in the couture business, Lauren, who has built the foundations of his brand on traditional American style, has, unsurprisingly, been chosen as an official outfitter for the 2008 US Olympic team. He will design outfits for the opening ceremony parade in Beijing. The clothing, it is said, will ‘reflect the heritage and sensibility of the 1920s and 1930s, with a tailored and modern silhouette’ which is interesting in itself, as the temperature in China in August is likely to be at a level that would make the briefest, lightest possible formal wear an absolute must.

Norman Bellingham who heads the US Olympic Committee was to say, ‘Polo Ralph Lauren is a quintessential American brand that represents a timeless and classic look’. Which is fascinating too, as the designs, unveiled this week, largely suggest a cross between the nostalgic style of Brideshead Revisited with more than a touch of Chariots of Fire. Timeless and classic, certainly but surely much more reminiscent of the quintessential Britishness portrayed in the tennis parties of John Betjeman and the golf of P G Wodehouse? It’s lovely to see well cut polo-shirts so much to the fore though.

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Entry Filed under: Polo Shirts, Sport Related, casual wear, famous clothing, mens clothing, uniform