What America's Winter Olympic Team Outfits Looked Like the Year You Were Born
What America's Winter Olympic Team Outfits Looked Like the Year You Were Born
There's no doubt that we all tune into the Winter Olympics to watch our favorite athletes. With that being said, it's hard not to notice all the incredible outfits they wear for everything from the opening ceremony to the medal ceremonies. And let us tell, no one knows how to do Olympic fashion quite like the good ol' U.S. of A.
2018: PyeongChang
U.S. Olympic athletes paraded through the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics wearing Ralph
Lauren ensembles
consisting of red, white and navy blue parkas with built-in heating systems. They also wore skinny jeans, wool sweaters, knit beanies, navy bandanas, brown boots with red laces, and brown suede gloves with fringe at the wrists. Flag bearer
Erin Hamlin
was the only one to wear a white version of the Ralph Lauren parka.
2014: Sochi
The patchwork sweaters that Ralph Lauren designed for the U.S. team for the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia were widely panned as something you'd wear to an ugly sweater party when they were revealed, but at least Team USA stood out amongst a parade of otherwise bland uniforms that year.
2014: Sochi
In wild contrast to the preppy Ralph Lauren sweaters worn at the opening ceremony, U.S. athletes wore futuristic silver puffer coats designed by Nike to the medal ceremonies in 2014 at the Sochi games. Here, a team of American speed skaters show off the look after winning silver in the Men's 5000m Relay.
2014: Sochi
Ralph Lauren outfitted Team USA in another of his designs for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics closing ceremony. While they wore the same white pants, black boots, and knitted beanies from the first look, they swapped out their loud and proud cardigans for navy blue pea coats with a wide red strip at the waist.
2010: Vancouver
That wasn't the first time Ralph Lauren dressed the U.S. Olympic Team in white pants. For the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, Ralph Lauren designed outfits that included white cotton fleece pants paired with navy blue puffer jackets with red trim. The athletes also wore white cable turtlenecks, knit beanies, and black mountaineering boots with red laces to finish the preppy look.
2010: Vancouver
Shaun White is seen celebrating his gold medal victory in the Men's Halfpipe snowboarding competition wearing the official U.S. medal ceremony outfit for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Nike designed the navy blue puffer coats with light-blue ombre sleeves and paired them with black ski pants and black sneakers.
2010: Vancouver
For the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympic games in Vancouver, Ralph Lauren kept Team USA in the same white pants and black boots from the opening ceremony, but swapped out the puffer coats for a navy and red cardigan, and traded the beanies for navy blue caps that look like something straight out of Newsies.
2006: Turin
For the second time in a row, Canadian Clothing Company Roots dressed the U.S. Olympic Team in berets at the opening ceremony. At least at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, the athletes got to pick which color — red, white, or blue — they got to wear with their much subtler white and navy zip-up jackets.
2006: Turin
While the '90s were all about bold, patriotic looks, Nike designed subtle navy blue ski suit for all U.S. athletes to wear during their medal ceremonies at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin. Here, Chad Hedrick is seen wearing his with the gold medal he won in the Men's 5000m Speed Skating competition.
2006: Turin
For the closing ceremony of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games, U.S. athletes wore another look designed by the Canadian brand Roots. The jackets had a retro 70s-vibe complete with stripes in varying shades of blue and a bright red zipper set against a white backdrop. The outfits were accessorized with matching baseball hats and bold red and white USA scarves.
2002: Salt Lake City
Roots, a Canadian clothing company, designed the U.S. OIympic Team's opening ceremony outfit for the first time at the 2002 Salt Lake City games. While you may not see many poofy fleece berets these days, they were so popular back then that Roots sold more than a million hats.
2002: Salt Lake City
The medal ceremony outfits Roots designed for the 2002 Winter Games were basically the same as the ones U.S. athletes wore to the opening ceremony, just with one key difference. While the berets were still there, the zip-up was made from leather. Here, the USA bobsled team shows off their bronze medals in the outfits.
1998: Nagano
American speed skater Eric Flaim carries the flag at the opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan wearing a black fedora and long navy blue parka decorated with gold buttons. Sumo wrestler Musashimaru, in the foreground, led the U.S. team that year during the opening ceremony wearing traditional Japanese clothing.
1998: Nagano
Members of Team USA wore coordinating navy blue ski suits decorated with bold stars and stripes on the sleeve to the metal ceremonies in Nagano, Japan. Here, Chris Thorpe and Gordy Sheer are seen wearing the loud and proud outfits while they receive their silver medals in the Men's Double Luge.
1994: Lillehammer
The year that Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan faced off in Lillehammer, Norway, the U.S. Olympic team paraded through the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympics wearing long navy blue coats with white and red stripes on the right shoulder. While the coats aren't too bad, the beige cowboy hats have not held up through the years.
1994: Lillehammer
Tommy Moe of the USA shows off his gold medal in Men's Downhill Skiing at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway wearing a red, white and blue ski jacket decorated with stars under the right arm and stripes under the left. Moe wore his cowboy hat from the opening ceremony that he decorated with a bald eagle pin.
1992: Albertville
Even though it was 1992, the U.S. Olympic Team showed up to the opening ceremony in Albertville, France in a retro '40s look complete with fedoras and trench coats along with scarves with the Olympic rings and stars embroidered into them. The men wore navy coats with maroon hats, while women wore the same outfit with the colors switched around.
1992: Albertville
For the medal ceremonies at the Albertville Olympics in 1992, U.S. athletes wore an extremely American look consisting of blue track pants and a red, white and blue ski jacket embroidered with "USA" on the left side and three white stars on the right. Here, speed skater Bonnie Blair is seen wearing the patriotic uniform while receiving her gold medal in the 500 meter race.
1988: Calgary
Figure skater Brian Boitano wears a look that could be described more as "1920s mobster-chic" instead of "Olympic athlete" during the opening ceremony of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada. In addition to a white fedora and scarf, the men of Team USA wore long navy blue jackets while the women wore white coats with red scarves.
1984: Sarajevo
Athletes from the United States went full cowboy for the opening ceremony of the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The entire delegation showed up wearing cowboy boots, blue jeans with red cuffs, fur-lined coats, leather gloves, Stetson hats, and red, white and blue sweaters.
1984: Sarajevo
For the medal ceremonies at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics, members of Team USA wore red snowsuits by Levi's with blue and white stripes, and "USA" embroidered on the back. Here, you can see the front of the outfit as Bill Johnson celebrates his gold medal win in Men's Downhill Skiing. The back details are seen on Christin Cooper as she celebrates her silver medal win for Women's Giant Slalom.
1980: Lake Placid
The Winter Olympics returned to Lake Placid, New York for the second time in 1980. At the opening ceremony, the U.S. Olympic athletes went more than a little bit country when they showed up wearing matching cowboy-inspired outfits designed by Levi Strauss complete with fur-lined jackets, striped sweaters, Stetson hats, blue jeans, and boots.
1964: Innsbruck
For the opening ceremony of the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, the women of Team USA wore white ear warmer headbands along with white turtlenecks, and tracksuits with strips running down the seams. It was so warm in Austria that year they all carried their jackets over their left arms instead of wearing them. In fact, the entire games were threatened by the lack of snow. The Austrian army was forced to carry 40,000 cubic metres of snow to the ski slopes in order for the competition to take place.
1960: Squaw Valley
American downhill skier Penny Pitou, who won two silver medals at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, is seen wearing a zip-up Team U.S.A. jacket with her name embroidered on it. When the owner of Squaw Valley, Alexander Cushing, put forth the bid to the International Olympic Committee in 1955, the resort only consisted of a few ski runs and had to be completely transformed into a venue worthy of the games, which included the first Olympic Village as well opening and closing ceremonies produced by Walt Disney himself.
1956: Cortina d'Ampezzo
U.S. figure skaters Tenley Albright and Hayes Alan Jenkins are seen wearing the official U.S. team jackets at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The classic white design included wooden toggles and the Olympics shield sewn to the left side of the coat. Both Jenkins and Albright won gold medals in figure skating this year.
1952: Oslo
In advance of the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, American speed skater Johnny Werket trained in Lillehammer. That year, U.S. skaters wore matching uniforms that included white skullcaps, sweaters with stripped cuffs, and mittens with Nordic-inspired snowflakes knitted into them. Werket went on to coach two gold medal-winning skaters in the 1972 winter games in Sapporo, Japan.
1948: St. Moritz
St. Moritz, Switzerland held the first Winter Olympics after the end of World War II. Here, the U.S. Olympic speed skating team is seen in front of the Alps shortly after arriving for the 1948 winter games wearing matching U.S.A. sweaters with stripes at the waist, cuffs, and collars with white hats bearing the U.S. Olympic logo.
1936: Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Ivan Brown and Alan Washbond of the USA won the gold at the two-man bobsleigh event during the 1936 winter games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The duo wore matching jackets bearing the Olympic shield. It would be another 12 years before the next winter games would be held in St Moritz, Switzerland in 1948 after the 1940 and 1944 Winter Olympics had to be cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.
1932: Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York hosted the first Winter Olympics outside of Europe in 1932. That year, the official U.S. Olympic team outfit included white pea coats belted at the waist with darker wool pants tucked into mountaineering boots. The Olympians also wore matching sweaters underneath the coats along with white baseball hats bearing the same Olympic shield as the coats.
1924: Chamonix
Figure skating became part of the Summer Olympics in 1908, but winter sports didn't get their own separate games until 1924. Originally called "International Winter Sports Week," the 1924 games held in Chamonix, France retroactively become the first official Winter Olympics. Here, a group of American skaters wearing white pants, shirts, and hats bearing an American flag shield, practice for their race high in the French Alps.
A look at how Winter Olympic fashion has changed over the decades for Team USA.