Every four years, Canadian pride reaches its peak for 2 weeks in February when the world gets together for the Winter Olympics. We are usually a reserved, yet proud bunch when it comes to our patriotism, but come those 2 weeks in February, we are willing to sacrifice sleep and work (shhh) for a chance to watch us take home the gold.
This year, the olympics are being held in Sochi, Russia and they have been every bit as exciting as hoped so far in terms of athletics, but a lot of people seem to forget about one thing (and personally one of my favourite things). Every 4 years, we get to see what crazy and cool uniforms each country will be sporting.
Opening Ceremonies Uniforms
The opening ceremonies uniforms remain some of the best kept secrets until often weeks before the athletes march through the stadium. For many clothing brands, these often limited edition items are a hot commodity and can fetch some ridiculous prices online.
We've all seen the HBC Canada Gear, or the ugly christmas sweaters that the USA are sporting, and of course Germany's rainbow uniforms. However, many of the smaller countries uniforms often go unlooked, so with that I am going to give you my 5 favourite "overlooked" uniforms of the Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremonies.
The Cayman Islands
Despite Sochi being known as a beach resort, this is the only team that decided to show up in shorts and flip-flops. A nice little homage to their home island in the Pacific. (Tribal shin tattoos optional.)
Jamaica
The Jamaican bobsled team made it to Sochi almost entirely on Crowdfunding donations, and their equipment almost didn't make it. But that didn't stop them from marching. Nothing special, but a classic winter athletic outfit with the great colours of the Jamaican flag.
Mexico
Although I am not crazy about the throwback to the tearaways pants look, the jackets more than make up for it. They are classy, and classic all at the same time, while they keep something distinctly Mexican about them. A sharp look from this tiny squad (who also wear matador-themed ski suits during their races).
TOGO
Again, a small team just thrilled to be competing at the winter olympics. I love the checkered pattern on the jackets, and the santa hats are a great touch.
Monaco
Did you really expect Monaco to look anything except proper? You could wear this out to a black tie affair after the opening ceremonies - it's THAT classy. Sharp!
So that is my round-up of the good looks that we saw on display at the opening ceremonies. I considered writing a blog post about the team uniforms but I figured it would turn into a total tear-down of the American patch-work jackets... what were they thinking?
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