Some people may tune in to the Olympics to watch their favorite athlete vie for the gold, but let's not kid ourselves about the real takeaways so far this week: Athletes are wearing some ridiculous outfits these days. And with social media watching (and criticizing), there has been no shortage of angry, confused and ultimately hilarious tweets about what the Olympic athletes are wearing.
This, and more, in this week’s Retail Therapy below.
Ralph Lauren, whose team are you on?
This year's Olympic athletes were not alone in the spotlight as they walked across the stage during the opening ceremony of the Olympics — so was the retailer who clothed them, Ralph Lauren.
The classic American apparel retailer was chosen to design Team USA's uniforms to bring back the nostalgia for classic America, but social media wasn't a huge fan of the final selection. It wasn’t the classic blue blazers that sparked confusion and criticism, but the shirt underneath—a red, white and blue striped shirt that oddly resembles the Russian flag. Cue the conspiracy theories...
— Better than u think (@Choibolsan) July 30, 2016
The USA 2016 Olympic Team ceremony uniforms are embarrassing. The Polo logo.. gaudy light up "USA".. the Russian flag looking undershirt..
— Rachael Madori (@RachaelMadori) August 1, 2016
Apparently Russia also hacked Ralph Lauren's uniform designs #OpeningCeremony #RioOlympics
— Kevin Collins (@kwcollins) August 6, 2016
Ralph Lauren knows what our flag looks like, right? Vastly different from Russia's. #OpeningCeremony
— Dane Rauschenberg (@SeeDaneRun) August 6, 2016
To be fair, Team USA's outfit wasn’t the only one to fall flat. The Australian team was called out for a uniform that resembled the common Australian medical card.
Shield your eyes from the bling
Were leotards always so shimmery? Not so much, apparently.
In a few good reads this week, the New York Times, the Washington Post and Racked all dove into the bedazzle-ification of women's gymnastics leotards at the Olympics. For brevity, here's the evolution of the amount of crystals on their uniforms — Nastia Liukin in 2008: 184; Gabby Douglas in 2012: 1,188; Simone Biles in 2016: close to 5,000.
U.S. gymnastics team coordinator Martha Karolyi told Racked that leotards are the "prom dresses" of the Olympics. And like the big gowns that can earn you the crown at the high school dance, these outfits don't come cheap—each one costs a total of $1,200.
Sarah Silverman’s favorite designer is ... Amazon?
E-commerce giant Amazon has been in the news a lot this week. First, analysts speculated whether Wal-Mart’s move to acquire Jet could hurt Amazon’s dominance in the space. Then, the most important news regarding Amazon came out: comedian and actress Sarah Silverman loves the company's apparel.
Not everyone is a fan. Silverman was criticized by media outlets over the weekend for wearing a dress she bought on Amazon — not once, but three times. Silverman defended the dress to her 8.7 million followers on Twitter, giving Amazon some free advertising at a time when it's ramping up its apparel offerings.
SCANDAL! I bought it on amazon, I like it, it's easy, and I've worn it WAY more than 3 times https://t.co/FDzENXx3d1
— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) August 8, 2016
Celebrities really are just like us
Singer Adele had an bit of an awkward shopping experience recently.
While purchasing some new duds from fast-fashion retailer H&M in San Jose, California, the singer's card was declined, according to the Mercury News. Don't worry, we've all been there Adele ... it's just that most of us aren't worth $80.5 million. The singer later admitted to fans at a show in the Bay area that she was "mortified" by the experience, but thought she walked away unrecognized by employees.
The icon certainly isn't shy about sharing her feelings for certain retailers. She gushes frequently about her "obsession" with Bed, Bath and Beyond and her inexplicable love for Target — “I spent $100 on stuff I do not need," she said. "I never need anything I buy at Target but it’s amazing.” Isn't that how we all feel?
