Switzerland is the Best Dressed Nation at This Years Olympics

The Swiss Take Home the Gold for the "Best Dressed Nation" at This Year's Olympics

Let’s face it; the Swiss know design. This can be seen not only in some of their exquisite modern architecture, but also in their fashion. Known best for their elegant and sophisticated approach to fashion, the Swiss simply care about how they dress. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Team Switzerland was one of the best-dressed at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. The opening ceremony is a time where everyone gets their chance to shine, and team fashion is taken very seriously. While not every team pulled things off the way they should’ve, Switzerland found themselves towards the top of the crop with their expertly-designed, professional ensembles. Here are the reasons why the Swiss took home the Gold for the "Best Dressed Nation" at this year's Olympic games in London.

A Professional Approach
Fashion at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony was truly all over the map; not everyone took the same approach, that’s for sure. The Swiss definitely raised the bar by taking a professional approach, and it was apparent as soon as they stepped out into the public eye. Choosing an attractive, professional “business attire” look, the Swiss wore a grey blazer with contrasting, yet complementing gray pants (women wore very professional-looking skirts), tying things off with grey boat shoes. What made the ensembles truly stand out, however, could be seen in the subtle detail. The jackets featured contrasting piping on pockets and lapels that matched the pants, the boat shoes showed red accents that tied back into the red sweater vest, and the embroidered crests on jacket and V-neck sweater were nothing short of noble. Well done team Switzerland and congratulations for taking home your 3rd gold!

A Touch of Red
Anyone with an interest in fashion, design or photography knows how effective the color red can be when incorporated as an accent rather than the main event. This is exactly what Team Switzerland did with their ensembles at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, and it worked to great effect. The team wore red vests over white dress shirts that featured stiff collars, which made for a very professional and collegiate look. Combined with the attractive blazer and pants combination, the red vest was the perfect choice and caused each member of the team to stand out amongst the crowd. The design also perfectly incorporated the colors of the Swiss flag into the look, which helped to highlight Swiss culture in an attractive. and subtle manner. For more tips, please check out our Guide to Wearing Red in Mens Fashion.

Takeaways for the Modern Man
There are so many things to take away from how the Swiss dressed for the opening ceremony. Perhaps most important is the effectiveness of using red and other bold colors as mere accents, which can take just about any ensemble to the next level. There’s also something about taking a relatively casual approach to what might otherwise be a formal look that can be very effective, which is another reason why the Swiss stood out so well. Those who work in a business-casual office can incorporate this concept into the way they dress for work, so long as it is done with restraint. After all, a day at the office doesn’t have to be mundane if you take the time to choose ensemble elements that will truly “pop.”

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