Olympics Fashionista Police

Okay, the excitement and blitz of the Olympics has begun as it does every two years with opposite seasons; this year the summer in Lovely London. I am a sucker for both pageantry and sport, so I will be glued to my laptop streamlining highlights from the 200+ events. Wondering how many of you caught the spectacle of the Opening Ceremonies?

I loved the posh Brit humor present throughout. The Queen & James Bond parachuting into the stadium via helicopter. A clowning Rowan Atkinson upstaging the entire London Philharmonic during their Chariots of Fire homage. And dashing David Beckham motoring up the Thames in his speedboat delivering the torch. Kenneth Branagh anchored the first tableau with a reading from The Tempest that led a cast of 100s from the rolling farm hills of Scotland and the shore - into the Industrial Revolution with giant smokestacks, churning factory gears and the forging of the Olympic rings. A vast panorama. From there it got a bit muddy in a segment dedicated to children's' literature with trampoline hospital beds, jitterbugging nurses and nightmarish characters from Peter Pan & Harry Potter. This started to drift into carnival antics. Then went downhill even more so with a tribute to modern technology, unknown television "stars" and a messy dance salute through the last 4 decades of song. It basically became a Million Dollar dance recital.

All that aside, it was about the athletes and the lighting of the torch. Much controversy spilled out over the construction of our "designer" outfits manufactured in China. When it came down to it - they merely looked like flight attendants who forget their nice work shoes at home and had to switch over to white tennies. And berets..... only the French can pull that off. Who needs hats at the summer Olympics unless they are a Panama or maybe a straw boater??? So being the fashion maven I am; here is my list of the Top10 Runway trophies based on fashion and not athletic skills.

10) Sweden - Although it looked like something off an IKEA rack, they looked comfortable, all about summer and ready to play.










9) Slovenia - You can't tell by this photo, but the team wore tasteful grey linen fitted sports jackets that looked equally dapper on both the men and women. Simple white cotton jeans. Then they bumped it a notch with lime and teal sports polos underneath.





8) Cameroon - Wore bright woven traditional dress that seemed fitting for a celebration. Loved the color and patterns.

7) Fiji - Got bonus points for their flag bearer, Josateki Naulu. Not everyone in the contingent wore the same garb. But then no one else could pull off the look as well either. Olympic eye candy!













6) Jamaica - almost seemed to glow with their bright bumblebee yellow and lime green blazers. Against the dark print on the women's skirts and the glow or their dark skin, they looked radiant.
 

5) Poland - Made great use of both their heritage and national colors. The women wore beautiful skirts that brought out native poppies along the bottom hem. And the men wore lavender pinstripe shirts under their pressed white suits. Everyone's red shoes gave them all a finished ensemble top to bottom.





4) Czech Republic - I am guessing they got the most mixed comments of the entire evening. Eclectic to say the least. But I gave them mucho credit for pushing the envelope. Notice the playful concept of neon blue plastic rain boots and splattered blue umbrellas. The women had on leggings with the same pattern. Summer white shorts, navy blue jackets and smiles meant they were here to play and ready for London fog.

3) Portugal - Also looked ready for fun with a stylish granola feel. They were the ones to pull off a flat cap in slate green and make it look natural. Khakis, a loose sports jacket and red tie made them look entirely collegiate. But the dandy factor was a vibrant neck scarf that could either be worn or flashed as a patriotic banner. Tons of personality. Stellar!





 
2) Slovenia - Who would have thought? Credit here goes to the men's uniform that could have been seen on an Armani runway. Perfectly fitted banana yellow blazers, grey linen pants and suede shoes. And it seemed most of the males looked like model material in their casually unbuttoned white shirts. Dashing.



1) and the grand prize - Germany. They dispensed with all formality and defied national colors. Instead they lit up the arena in bright pink and blue athletic jackets with accents of white piping. And if that wasn't enough, check out the matching print neck scarves that looked great on either sex as well as the beach hats (That were tastefully carried and not worn.) A +; Gold Medal.

and thank God for Spain making the USA look at least passable. Their attempt at using their national colors and parlaying them into sports wear made them look like fast food employees. The baseball cap and logo patch did not help the effort in the least. I'll have a shake with those fries :(