Opening Ceremony

It was truly dazzling. I’m a bit too tired to comment in depth, but the French, Portugese and Swedish team uniforms impressed me the most – at least in terms of Western style clothing. There were several great traditional get-ups from African countries. The Chinese men’s outfits were ghastly (popped, oversize collars – ’70s style but in even worse colors), but after such a beautiful and brilliant show, the host had to make at least one mis-step to reassure the world that it is not infallible. The US uniform was good and classic American in style. Unfortunately part of being American in style means a huge logo, which was present in the form of the over-sized Ralph Lauren polo player on the chest of the blazers. Anyway the repp ties and white caps were quite nice.

It’s probably very predictable of me to like the French outfits the most (of the Western attire). Most countries just wore their nation’s colors in the most garish way possible, clearly showing that they have no distinct style voice. The courts are still out on the British outifts. For the country that has had the biggest impact on defining Western standards of dress, the clothese didn’t seem distinctly English enough, but they were kind of cool and Cool Britannia is what it’s all about these days.

Nels Frye is a freelance writer, photographer, consultant and stylist, based in Beijing. Focuses are on street style, other consumer trends, and broader social issues.

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