It does look militaristic and corporate, looks like that is the symbol intended.
A great summer uniform?
If this is the best a USA designer can come up with, Yuk!

Seen the price list?

Men:
Beret - $55
Tie - $125
Belt - $85
Shirt - $425
Blazer - $795
Trousers - $295
Shoes - $165

Women:
Beret - $55
Scarf - $58
Belt - $85
Shirt - $179
Skirt - $498
Blazer - $598

What the heck is that on their head? About the only thing I can say is at least its not a backward ball cap or beret.

It just goes to show you how those evil corporations and their running dog Republicans are determined to dump all our jobs to foreign places.

Oh, wait. Lauren gave $35,000 to who? Oopsie.

http://freebeacon.com/u-s-olympic-uniforms-made-in-china-by-democratic-donors-company/

So Ralph Lipschitz profits while those wearing the uniform get nothing other than sponsorships and are prohibited from being paid for their work. Shenanigans like this make me think it's time to end the whole charade that the Olympics has become and just pay them all.

Besides the outfits looking hideous and being obscenely expensive, the photograph itself is terrible. Its composition instantly reminded me of a communist or national socialist propaganda art piece.

Concordbridge,

Aren't they all mixed up in the same soup?
We need to throw out that horrible stale soup and begin a new batch!

I get the name change though. Can you imagine someone on the red carpet saying "I'm wearing Lipschitz" ?

What are the odds that there'd be a hideous athletic wardrobe design on which Nike wasn't involved?

Actually, given the copious use of performance enhancing drugs at the Olympics, those old Urine Test Yellow uniforms the Ducks had four or five seasons ago would not be inappropriate.

The optics of these uniforms (and the photo) are just so completely inappropriate all the way around. Also, why three men and only one woman, stuck at the end as though they brought her along as the secretary. And, of course, God forbid that Asian Americans should be represented.

Hey! What's the problem? Doesn't everyone in America go to a legacy prep school and belong to a yacht club, or aspire to such? It's kind of insulting, really.

You can bet that Ralph Lauren paid nowhere near $2000 apiece for outfits made in China. Those are his company's valuation for tax purposes. I can get that suit and accessories custom made (not that I would ever be caught dead in one)in the U.S. as a one-off for much less than $2000.

Not to worry about the price - soon you can get the whole outfit at Ross for less than $200, and have money left to buy the kiddo an adorable outfit, too!

Bojack , don't you recognize RomneyWear when you see it. You can be sure that Ralphie has Magfic Underwear in that rig too.

King Romney will rule over the the great land of KochMerica for decades , with the uni in question on every right-thinking bot. The rest of us peasants can crawl off to cana-mexico.

"Power to the people" it looks like an advertisement for Fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez, and the worker's utopia they are providing for their people. Look at the political correctness portrayed here - the equal portrayal of race, and sex, and the forced patriotism.

Did anyone drug test Ralph and the US Olympic Committee before approving these stupid getups? Nice head gear....if you're a total doofus. And the extra large, made-for-TV Polo logo is disgusting.

Looks like it was shot in Bejing by the Party PR bureau. When did social realism get fashionable again.

The absurd price tag comes from the fact that several fingers are in the pie taking their piece. Polo, USOC, IOC, retailer. IOC usually gets 50% of everything related to the Oly's. That's a huge cut right there. I doubt it's quite that high on the clothing but they're getting a chunk.

The other thing to keep in mind here amid the mock outrage over this is Ralph Lauren/Polo provides these uniforms for free. It doesn't cost you (the taxpayer) any money. I'd be a little more upset if tax dollars paid for these things. Until the federal government actually forks over money to athletes for the Olympics the pompous blowhards on both sides of the aisle in Washington can shut up.

canucken,
The money aspect of this is one thing.
The image that USA is projecting to the rest of the world is another.

Canucken, are you actually calling someone else a blowhard as part of that rant? Comedy gold.

I think the Olympics©®™ would like us to feel that the U.S. athletes represent our nation. These get-ups have the exact opposite effect. What a shallow, materialistic, WASPy country we are to send people out looking like this.

The photo has a sort of low-budget Riefenstahl feel to it.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/photos/made-in-china-us-olympic-uniforms-debacle-slideshow/handout-photo-us-paralympic-swimmer-long-wearing-2012-photo-130235633.html

More photos.

We are so screwed as a nation.

Let's hope some of the athletes refuse to wear it, or tape over that stupid f***ing logo.

I am with Old Zeb this picture looks like one I have seen before. Nazi poster most likely.

Is Shaq going this year? I would pay to see Shaq in one of those.

Shaq never went, did he?

"Look at the political correctness portrayed here - the equal portrayal of race, and sex, and the forced patriotism."

Poor, poor Mark. It's tough sharing some of that white man's affirmative action, ain't it?

As for "forced patriotism," I suspect you had no problem with the "forced patriotism" of the Bush Administration, and no doubt voted for the war criminal both in 2000 and again in 2004. So, really, your only beef now is the "equal portrayal of race, and sex," right?

I see three white people and one of color. I see three men and one woman. How is a 3 to 1 ratio an "equal portrayal" of either race or sex? We used to call that being a token.

I think most black people wouldn't want to be caught dead in those costumes.

Jack - the 'blowhards' are the politicians in Washington who look for every opportunity to exploit their faux patriotism (and the Olympics are a perfect opportunity for that). As far as the Olympics go I really don't care, its a corrupt boys club that lost any respectability it may have had decades ago.

Shame on your counter productive thoughts. Join! Forward!!

http://tinyurl.com/7uw8lkb

First glance; new French kiddie wear?

http://www.katu.com/news/national/162254115.html
WASHINGTON (AP) - Uniforms for U.S. Olympic athletes are American red, white and blue - but made in China. That has members of Congress fuming.

Where has Congress been while our manufacturing was shipped elsewhere? In my view, a little late to be fuming, but this has caused embarrassment. This Congress could go on a sabbatical and we would be better off until we find replacements who would work for the people instead of belonging to their special club belonging to whom?

Surely, this cannot be a new subject to them, or do they not go into stores like common people to find it is near to impossible to buy something not made elsewhere?

Made in USA label is a real find!!

These outfits are actually a perfect reflection on what America has become:

> Effeminate
> Pompous
> Self-absorbed
> Tasteless
> Tacky

Welcome to the signature look of a corrupt and dying empire.

At least if Abercrombie and Fitch had been uniform sponsors, there would have been an entertaining element of weirdness in the photo sessions. Ralph's barren, dated, stick up the boot styles - made in China, yet - show how clueless or mercenary the US Olympic committee has become.

Welcome to the signature look of a corrupt and dying empire.

That photo makes them look like puppet dolls and lifeless, devoid of energy and enthusiasm, the opposite of an athlete, but fitting of the downward spiral of our country. They look severe and worried or just uncomfortable with those outfits and the image? Hopefully as we view the Olympics, the ones we see will have more life and energy than these.

Jack, 4:17 am? Good lord. And I thought I was a night owl!

Oh, and I agree that most blacks probably wouldn't be caught dead wearing those threads, but I'd hazard a guess that 99% of Americans in general, and many of the 1%, wouldn't either.

Aside from the "Made in China" flap, Ralph Lauren has sadly miscalculated and misjudged his target audience (which should have been all of the American people, not just those who aspire to the preppy and uber wealthy, WASPy lifestyle). So did the Olympic Committee officials who approved his designs (and that photo).

"Jack, 4:17 am? Good lord. And I thought I was a night owl!"

FYI, 4:17 isn't only a time people stay up 'til. You know, many folks actually get up early, too.

Just love the photochopped flag with 30 MPH wind and unruffled skirt...

Someone obviously must have told them to stand at attention and not to smile at that photo session. On so many levels, that photo just gives me the creeps.

FantasyBasedLiberal:

Are you serious about caring that there are no Asians in the picture? Because you are kind of saying that Asians are all the same - we just need to include a single Asian of any ancestry to make the picture better. Right?

No, I think we need to take your stupid political correctness to its full and complete end. We need one person from each and every ethnicity to make the picture "fair." It will have to be an aerial photo, but that's a price I'm willing to pay to make you feel all good inside. Cool, bro?

Anyone who enjoys a fantastically good summer read and likes the idea of seeing the US Olympic committee as a bad guy in fiction should check out Tom McNab's great book, FLANAGAN'S RUN. McNab was connected to the British olympic team and was an technical advisor when Chariots of Fire was made.

Concordbridge, where did you find that weird poster? It says: Resist atoms, resist chemistry, resist germs hanging posters.

makes one long for those baggy pants hanging off the arse, sideways brims and wife beaters, subtly stained and speckled with dropped ash burn marks.
Can someone photoshop a new design on these athletes? We all would enjoy that!!

Since the majority of American Olympians this year are women, one would think a photo might represent that. The logo is too much, the photo disturbing, the outfits rather ugly. Go, America!