Apparently not everyone shares our sanguine take on Ralph Lauren’s Olympic uniforms. In fact, so far the web response to the outfits has been positively bloodthirsty.

Gawker—a reliable snark purveyor—calls out the polo logo for upstaging the Olympic rings. It’s true that the logo makes the branding play a little more shameless than it might have been, but that’s the American way. We’re building a brand here! This is for the good of the nation!

Scrambling for more angry voices, Gawker quotes a commenter on a fairly benign Project Rungay post, saying “They made the team look like a 1948 yacht club.” But, of course, that’s the whole point.

And, in case you were curious about the other, more hallucinatory parts of the pageantry, you can catch a colorful overview here.

Photos of the Ralph Lauren-designed U. S. Olympic Uniforms have finally surfaced, and we have to say, we’re pretty impressed. We had held out hope for a preppy Olympic team, and it looks like we won’t be disappointed. From the stark white slacks to the striped cloth belts, these athletes look like they’re heading across the Pacific in yachts. We’re reasonably sure Beijing has never seen anything like it.

Well played, Mr. Lauren. Well played.

For another picture of Mr. Lauren’s work»

With ties trending British, it’s a good time to have an overseas source.

A Suitable Wardrobe turned us on to Drakes London, a bespoke tiemaker that specializes in Albion-inspired patterns and skinny-but-not-too-skinny cuts. In other words, the genuine English article.

More on our English Connection»

With social conscience becoming an increasingly valued part of a brand, it was only a matter of time before charities decided to get in on the action. That way, they can finally make some real scratch.

UK Vogue is reporting Oxfam’s first designer boutique in London’s Westbourne Grove. An all-star team of British designers contributed to the store, which combines donated designer clothes with unique and reworked pieces from the London College of Fashion. Of course, it’s all sustainable and fair traded to within an inch of its life. After all, they’re still about fighting poverty»

This week’s Monocle features a story on a London store called Albam that has made its name by promoting local production—meaning within the UK, or failing that, within western Europe—in favor of the higher profit margins but questionable labor conditions of East Asian factories. It’s a common enough tale, but we couldn’t resist a little peek at how things work across the pond.

More on Monocle’s local crusade»

Savile Row is rightly known as the world center of tailoring, but too often the attention falls on the expert cuts—which you can get a good-enough approximation of in Hong Kong or New York—rather than the heirloom fabrics that usually don’t travel farther than one shop.

Luckily, the internet comes to us all. And apparently so does tweed»

Monica Feudi via IHT

It’s fairly common for a writer to stretch a thin idea farther than they should. Generally, the worst that happens is a puffier-than-usual puff piece. But when a designer does it…things can get ugly.

See just how ugly»

Ralph Lauren has landed a contract with the U.S. Olympic team, outfitting 1500 athletes for the opening and closing ceremonies in Beijing. The past three games were outfitted by Canadian apparel company Roots Ltd., but the committee decided their designs were too informal, and chose the preppy stylings of Mr. Lauren.

As Fashion Week Daily points out, Ralph is getting fairly small fee for the outfitting—“less than $10 million” was as much as the reps were willing to say—but the move will let them make inroads into Chinese markets.

Ah, the rewards of patriotism.

via Fashion Week Daily

Much as we like the Old Vegas ambience of some movie theaters, we’ve ready for something more forward-looking for a while now. And as it turns out, Hong Kong has been looking too. Welcome to the AMC Pacific Place Cinema.

More pics after the jump»

With London slowly leaking history and Anna Wintour preparing to invade Milan, it may be time to find a new fashion capital. (Other than, you know, New York.) Allow us to suggest a dark horse candidate: Shanghai.

More about Shanghai’s growing fashion district»