I am on record, in general, as feeling like Ralph Lauren Polo’s polo pony logo (say that ten times fast) has a tendency to overtake every official article of clothing they design, including the gear that Team USA is wearing at the closing ceremony for the upcoming Rio Olympics. So I was actually quite pleased to see that the team’s ensembles for the opening ceremony — Friday night! Irritatingly tape-delayed for the West Coast! — are, honestly, fairly restrained:

(Click here to see that photo larger.)

I mean, remember what Team USA wore in Sochi? This is practically minimalist in comparison. Almost classic, even. (For reference, here is Team USA in London in 2012. Remember the berets?!)

The flag-bearer for the Americans has not been announced yet, but he or she will wear a jacket that is wired so that both the USA on the back and the crest on the front light up — an effect which, in all honesty, I think is really neat. Look, I’m not going to argue with a classic blue blazer; I’m also not going to argue with the striped shirt (although I might have ordered the red, white, and blue stripes in a different order). Sure, white jeans and boat shoes without socks are preppy as hell, but…it’s Polo Ralph Lauren, you guys. I’m honestly surprised they’re not selling tank tops that read “Preppy AF” right now. If I were in charge, would I give the athletes a choice to wear white jeans or what I’ll call Regular Jeans? Yes. But I am not currently in charge of the opening and closing ceremony outfits for my country. NOT YET.

PS: Don’t tell anyone but I might secretly want those hella patriotic deck shoes. They’re too expensive for me to justify buying — $350 on what are whimsical flats at best is not in my current life budget, even if they are all made in America (as they should be; the intel here on the Ralph Lauren site about all the small American manufacturing businesses that they use is interesting) AND part of the proceeds goes to help fund the athletes so really it’s SHOPPING FOR AMERICA — but I enjoy them. I would wear them when walking to my polling place in November! USA! USA!

[Photo: Polo Ralph Lauren]

Tags: Olympics
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