Assessing Australia's Olympic uniformApril 04, 2016

Sledging the Australian Olympic uniform is old news. As a matter of fact, it had been four years since the Aussies argued over it. You recalled the green and white colours, which the Australian athletes donned during the opening ceremony in London. They never looked so dashing, but you have second thoughts about the hues. Why not blue? After all, this was the dominant colour of the Aussie flag. And it turned out to be dull after an hour or two. (You favoured the bright colours worn by the athletes from the island nations.) The athletes competing in Rio de Janeiro have a different story to tell.

The first image of the latest Olympic uniform was shown, which was designed by Sportscraft. Three words would come to mind. Private school preppy. You weren't ashamed of your background, not even mindful of the comments you heard. (You knew a thing or two about privilege, but you were embarrassed to confess about the brawl you've been a part of.) The lime green colour would remind you of the Brazilian flag, while the short pants won't make the male athletes out of place. (Formal attire won't fit into the image of Rio. Sun, sand, sea. Long pants should be off limits in the Copacabana.) You've seen worse uniforms, and it would be no other than the past uniforms. To those who least like the latest Olympic uniform, then they need to walk down the memory lane. Here's a look at it:

Los Angeles (1984). Your mother was flabbergasted when she saw Australia's Olympic uniform for the first time. It was tacky. She didn't like the choice of colours, not to mention the illustrations of Australia's endemic animals. Your curiosity was piqued, and an online research made you react the same way. You didn't want to know the designer. Furthermore, the athletes would be better without the wide-brimmed hat. And gray was your least-favourite colour. Crocodile Dundee would look good in it.

Athens (2004). A classic look would appeal to athletes competing in Athens, but you were rather confused about it. Dark green would look better with a necktie, preferably lime green. But it won't look good without the tie. It was a good thing that you don't see one during the opening ceremony. (Then again, the cameraman may have opted not to film it). The attire would look good in front of the Sydney Harbour, but not the Acropolis.

Beijing (2008). You mistaken the athletes for airline personnel. In fact, it reminded you of the attentive stewardess during your flight (to Singapore) many months ago. It was far from the informal look of the current attire, which won't displease the Chinese spectators. You couldn't help but find fault, but you didn't see one. You were quite disappointed, as the design was not much different from the 2012 uniform.

As for the current uniform, it will make the polo and yachting athletes stand out from the rest. But they won't do it during the day of the competition.

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