White cotton tube socks, on the other hand are pretty American / world-slob style.

The ripples of the Streisand Effect last a loooooong time!

I’m really not getting a military vibe

The first thing that came to my mind was this.

Plus, I think the captain’s hat would be a better idea than the beret.

The dark trousers and shoes with white socks, it hurts me inside when I see it. If I had to wear dark shoes and trousers and only had white socks, I would go sockless.

They also look like the corporate security thugs who aggressively march out of office buildings demanding you delete your camera’s memory card even though you happen to be on a public sidewalk.(Also, they kinda have some sort of Hugo Boss NAZI thing going on.)

Back in the 70s and 80s many American car models being produced were poorly designed and/or lemons and even dangerous. Americans bought Japanese cars because they were better. This caused reactionaries to become upset and react in irrationally and with xenophobia.

The present situation is not xenophobia (mostly) and whatever xenophobia there is, it is not the cause. Many industries such as textiles, steel, shoes, electronics and many others were shipped to China resulting in economic hardship that has negatively affected at least 97 percent of Americans. The factories that were shut down were profitable, stable and doing great. This did not prevent production from being sent to China where labour  costs are much less. The lower labour costs are not, except for the dollar store stuff, reflected in the U.S. retail price. 

So, I don’t think xenophobia has anything to do with Ralph Lauren manufacturing these $2000.00 U.S. Olympic Team uniforms in China. 

Actually, I doubt it is a simple P.R. oversight or blunder on RL’s part. RL very likely factored in the likely public backlash when deciding to make the uniforms in China. They likely found the favour and goodwill generated with the Chinese government to far exceed the backlash here in the States. 

People will express their outrage, vow never to buy RL again, then go back to buying RL a week or two later after they forget about it. RL on the other hand, when seeking Chinese governmental approval or help with a factory or some other project, will be able to point to their decision to manufacture the U.S. Olympic Team uniforms in China.  

Forgot to add….Do we really think that the Chinese would appreciate, allow or even think of having their Olympic Team uniforms manufactured anywhere but China?

That look comes from naval uniforms, of course, but is completely transformed by the context. And even most naval uniforms don’t look that militaristic and aggressive compared to the other military branches. 

I clearly have an unusual perspective compared to everyone else, for some reason… Ralph Lauren and whoever approved these designs must have a similar perspective and we’re clearly all out of touch with how everyone else perceives these kinds of things ;)

Ralph Lauren was a good choice style-wise, but you’re right that they should have found a way to make their stuff in the US. There are still places in the US that make suits and things and for this relatively small run of uniforms they could have given a small manufacturer the contract with RL doing the tailoring. It probably would have cost far less than $2000 per outfit too.