maxim shabalin

The Fashion Statement: Olympic Looks

Filed under: Apparel, Sports, The Fashion Statement

Those loud curling pants. Aboriginal costumes. Ice dancing get-ups channeling Elvis. There's a lot of fashion going on at the Olympics.

The Norwegian curlers' red-white-and-blue diamond-printed pants made worldwide headlines for their court jesterness. But c'mon, they called attention to this sleepy sport. Has there ever been so much talking about curling? The pants, meanwhile, have become hot sellers. I contacted loudmouthgolf.com yesterday and they confirmed they are sold out of the now-famous Dixie-A style.

Nothing could outdo the curling pants...or so I thought. Then Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin came skating along. The Russian ice dancers broke out costumes consisting of red loincloths, some rope and white tribal markings. They took these looks out for a spin recently and offended the aboriginal culture in Australia in so doing. Before they slipped into the look again at the Olympics, the duo made nice with Canada's indigenous people. Less has been said about the nutball costumes themselves. They looked like they were stitched at the felt crafts table at junior camp. And what's with the foliage?

Canada's snowboarding uniforms were widely debated over whether or not the pants were too tight. Hey, as long as you can move in them. Skinny pants are the thing these days, after all.

Gallery: The 2010 Winter Olympic Games Ice Dancing Costumes