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The best and worst dressed at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony

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10 years ago

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The best and worst dressed at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony

  • Scotland’s uniform was panned when it was unveiled earlier this month
  • Critics said Jilli Blackwood designed bright blue outfits with tartan were ’embarrassing’
  • Petition was set up calling for it to be ditched
  • Australian outfits also condemned for lack of style
  • But athletes wore them with pride at this evening’s opening ceremony
  • Other nation’s failed to win any medals for their fashion choices on display in Celtic Park
  • Welsh were best dressed in flattering red dresses

When it was unveiled earlier this month, Scotland’s uniform for the Commonwealth Games was widely ridiculed. There was even a petition set up which gained hundreds of signatures calling for it to be replaced.

But this evening, Scottish athletes wore the lurid bright blue tartan with pride as they walked round Celtic Park stadium in Glasgow during the championship’s opening ceremony.

The athletes paraded in front of the stadium crowd, which included the Queen, in their Jilli Blackwood designed outfits which have been described as ’embarrassing’, ‘shocking’ and ‘humiliating’ by people on social media.

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Who’s laughing now: The Scots were happy to show off their much ridiculed uniforms at the opening ceremony
Host nation: Scotland’s Euan Burton carries the flag as they arrive
Unpopular: The Scotland kit was ridiculed when it was unveiled earlier this month

The designer said she wanted to give traditional tartan a contemporary twist by teaming it with bright blue shirts and dresses. But those who signed a petition, started by Glaswegian Brian Scott on Change.org calling for it to be ditched, said it made a mockery of the host nation.

But Scotland weren’t the only country whose kit has been lambasted in the run up to the games.

The Australian outfits designed by Adele Walters, from Australian Defence Apparel, also left a lot to be desired.

Without sparing their peer’s feelings, another fashion designer, Charlie Brown, said the Aussie jackets have a ‘Captain Kirk from Star Trek’ look to them and that the jumpers look ‘homemade.’ 

Proud: Despite being mocked in the build up to the games, the Australians wore their Star Trek style jackets with pride at the opening ceremony
Beam me up, Scotty: Designer Charlie Brown has taken a pot shot at the Aussie jackets saying they look like something Captain Kirk from Star Trek might wear
Wrapped up for a British summer (don’t tell them we’ve had a heat wave): Australia’s Commonwealth Games athletes model the team’s outfit in the run up to the games

The Australia team were also equipped
with woolly scarves to help them keep warm during the British summer.

Walters told the MailOnline earlier this month that she wasn’t bothered about the criticism.

‘I don’t want to dwell on the
negatives,’ she said. ‘I’ve heard it, and you expect it from some
people, I’d rather talk about the positives.’

Walters was the lead
designer on the project in a team of five, who constructed the uniforms
based on its functionality, comfort and style. She said the uniform’s ‘brief’ had been stuck too and that the athletes
approved. 

They certainly looked proud as they modelled the yellow and green kit this evening.

Perhaps
they felt they didn’t look so silly after all after seeing the uniforms
of some of their fellow competitors from other countries.

Tropical: The team from the Cook Islands wore flowers in their hair with their floral print frocks
Feminine: The British Virgin Island team wore colourful frilled dresses
Drab trousers: The England team were full of enthusiasm if not style

The Scots weren’t the only ones in
tartan as the team from St Lucia also wore the pattern and the Canadians
wore tartan trousers.

While some countries like St Helena
stuck to track suits in their nation’s colours, others were more
adventurous with their outfits.

The Malaysian uniform was certainly
eye-catching. Their bright orange garb was accessorised with tiger print
– but poignantly, they also wore black arm bands in remembrance of the
victims of the recent Malaysian airline disasters.

The Maldives were also prepared to shine as night fell on the stadium as they wore high-vis style neon jackets.

The Cook Islands, Norfolk Island and
Papua New Guinea all paid homage to their tropical climates with bright
Hawaiian style shirts. The Cook Island female athletes topped off their looks
with colourful flower garlands on their heads.

Sticking with tradition: The team from Tonga wore their formal attire of woven mats – but this athlete also embraced the host nation by donning a Celtic shirt
Surf’s up: Norfolk Island’s squad wore bright shirts
More tartan: This time in the St Lucia team outfits
Neon: The athletes from The Maldives were brightly dressed
Ready to board: Singapore’s team looked a little like air hostesses with their red blazers and silk scarves
All Blacks: The New Zealand kit also kept with tradition
On trend: The Welsh women look good in flattering red dresses
Team Wales: The cardigans gave the outfits a more relaxed look

Like the Scots in their kilts, the
team from Tonga chose to reflect their country’s signature style by
wearing their traditional formal attire which consists of woven mats.

Meanwhile, the team from Barbados looked like a an American High School team in their baseball style jackets while the team from Singapore were reminiscent of air hostesses in their red jackets and silk scarves.

One team who didn’t stand out from
the crowd was England, who played it safe in black blazers, red
shirts and drab beige trousers.

The New Zealand athletes also stuck to what they know – wearing black rugby-style shirts.

The red dress has quickly started to overtake the LBD and so the Welsh team took the prize for the most on trend style with their flattering red dresses.

But of course the athletes won’t be
concerned about who tops the table in the style stakes – it’s all about
the medals and they will now be battling to do their countries proud in their sporting fields as the
championship begins.

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