USA TODAY's Nicole Poell noted one accessory for Team USA "stood out" during the Opening Ceremony: the "enormous suede gloves, complete with Western-style fringe." While the gloves were "widely mocked on Twitter, they were popular." Even with a $995 price tag, they were "listed as out of stock on the Ralph Lauren website." A Ralph Lauren spokesperson confirmed that the gloves "are sold out, and there are no plans to increase inventory at the moment" (USATODAY.com, 2/10).
TAPE DELAY: U.S. figure skater Mirai Nagasu had some viewers wondering if she had a "giant 'USA' tattoo on her inner thigh" during a performance today. She instead was "using some Team USA-branded kinesiology tape under her tights." KT Tape "sprung into social-media action to let inquiring minds know the story" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/11).
JUST FOR KICKS: There is "always a have-to-have-it souvenir at the Olympics, and this year, it’s a pair of Stan Smith-style Pyeongchang 2018 sneakers." The shoes "may not be appropriate footwear for trudging through the slush at biathlon, but are handsome and nicely priced" at $46 (WSJ.com, 2/12).
SLIP N' SLIDE: Custom footwear maker ISlide last fall got in touch with the Nigerian women's bobsled team to produce "high-end sport sandals." ISlide "isn’t sure whether the three athletes will even wear the green slides ... on television or anywhere that lots of people would even see them." The company also "reached out to American speed skater Erin Jackson, the first African-American long-track speed skater, who also got a pair of the company’s slides, designed in purple with the company’s logo arranged like the Olympic rings" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/9).
