Critics hate RL's US Olympic Team Uniforms - Page 4

To have a lagh at them..

The World cup US team was already wearing a terrible tracksuit..

WTF?

Ok here I go:

1. So some congressman had time to read the label this year, but not the past two olympics, RLs stuff was made in China then as well. Before that Roots from Canada was one of the sponsoring brands
2. It's a lot better than this scenario painted by Harry Reid: "If they have to wear nothing but a singlet that says USA on it, painted by hand, then that's what they should wear."
3. They seem to be blaming the Committee more than anyone else, and RL won the privilege and can choose how they wish to manufacture. The same people complaining are the same people who wear made in china and etc...
4. The designs being too European is somewhat true, but think of it as Red vs Blue in the 1700s, future Americans wore blue coats, and I kind of get that vibe from them.
5. The reality is that the USOC does not have companies jumping in from all corners to sponsor. BMW jumped in because GM stepped out. They are privately funded, and they sure act like it. This is a direct result of people like Harry Reid and his colleagues in Capitol Hill who decided that USOC would be independent of Government funding, so what's worse than making US olympic outfits in China? When your own government refuses to help. But to be fair the USOC has been quoted to be dicks in general when it came to anything related to the olympics.
6. Also the whole 'beret' thing ... I am pretty sure a big number of our armed forces wear those.. and don't forget RL served.

All partially my opinion based on what i've seen or read over the years. Honestly I would change the outfits a little bit to be more classically American, lose the oversized logo.

But I never thought there was so much RL hate out there:
http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-rucks/2012/07/ralph-lauren-can-take-back-his-uniforms%E2%80%A6-and-give-the-rugby/



Also in the end, it is the PERFECT representation of our country. Blends of style from other countries and then manufactured in China like the majority of the things in this country. I don't see the problem...

/rant
/RLfanboy.. I know....

 

Looks had little to do with the post.  All I wanted to state was the fact that berets were not necessarily "sissy" or French or socialist.  As far as I know, quite a few special forces units and armies from capitalist countries have them as a part of uniforms.  I don't really have time to dig into the little details of the RL look, but I would not dismiss uniforms just because they come with berets.  

Tell that to Special forces , SAS ,Parachutistes and so on..

Exactly. While I'm not thrilled about these outfits, I don't think Congress has any business criticizing. The United States is almost unique in that our Olympians do not receive government funding. If Congress wants to have a say in what our Olympians wear, it should amend the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 and pay up.
 

As far as I can tell, the only noticeable difference between these RL uniforms and the 2008 RL uniforms is that the berets have been changed from white to blue. Why are people acting as though this uniform is something totally new? We had this same controversy 4 years ago; it's old hat (old beret?) by now.

The opening ceremony trouser is actually Made in Italy.

According to the product info on the RL website, the blazer is made in Italy also.  So is it just the beret that's made in China?  

I saw the navy blazar in the Rodeo store yesterday and it is Made in China. I guess if you want to see the blazar to be made in Italy, you would have to pay at least $1,095.00.

Ralph Lauren menswear has not been Made In the USA for almost a decade now. But changes are coming, I saw a Fall 2012 Ralph Lauren Black Label polo shirt that is actually has the Made in USA label.

If you really want "true American" style for the US Olympic Team, just go back to the 1980's Winter Olympics when Levi's was a sponsor, and athletes wore sherpa trucker jackets, cowboy hats, and jeans

1984 Sarajevo


1980 Lake Placid

^^^hate to say this, but the bar for US team uniforms was not very high to say the least, and Ralph blew it--particularly the women's version.

 

Interesting.  I looked at the product description on the RL site after the story came out (yesterday?) and in the "further details" section it said "Made in Italy."  Now it says "Imported."

 

Very interesting.

+1

Sorry, but these berets are not as cool as US Special Forces. Not even close.

Very bad judgement not doing a "made in USA" collection. It is too important of a social economic issue the last few years to ignore it.

China production is getting pricier

but yeah, when I worked retail people would walk in and say stuff like, I don't want any made in china stuff don't show me any. Show them made in Italy or USA they see the price and they say it's too expensive. -_-

Looks like RL responded, with possibly the best response ever.

They simply pledged they will make the uniforms in USA for the 2014 olympics, hope that at least shuts up most of the critics.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-olympic-fashion-20120714,0,750826.story