Fandemonium! What die-hard Olympic fans are wearing...

The mad hair, the crazy costumes — no, Karen Dacre is not watching the athletes. Our fearless fashion editor rounds up the finest fans watching the Olympics
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8 August 2012

Yesterday morning I complimented the happiest Spaniard I’ve ever met. He was 6ft 3in and wearing a flamenco skirt. His wife had one to match. Later, I met a set of siblings from the US who had chosen to slip into matching star-spangled catsuits ahead of a day of family fun. Then, there was the group of 17 Dutch fans dressed head to toe-to-toe in nothing but orange. They were preceded by two Hungarians sporting scarlet-red bobs and Lycra leggings.

A whole multitude of walking fashion disasters followed. And not just of the Lycra variety. There was glitter, sprayed wildly onto on arms and legs, loud yellow prints — blame the Brazilians for this — and enough high-shine polyester to give Karl Lagerfeld an anxiety attack.

My location? The Olympic Park in Stratford. Where else in our glorious capital would it be possible to spot such an array of style atrocities? Well, aside from Dalston on a Friday night — a different story entirely. Given that I get paid a wage for looking, pondering and criticising fashion on a daily basis, you might think that the sight of such style abominations would have set some sort of fire of fear in my belly. The result was entirely to the contrary. You see, the outfits chosen by those fighting their way through the gates of Olympic venues in London — and, indeed, other cities hosting Olympic events — are quite wonderful.

Especially when you contrast them with the attire most commonly associated with our other great sporting events — Crombie coat and a football scarf, anyone? What we’re experiencing in the capital right now is a carnival — a two-weeks-in-a lifetime event in which anything goes and (almost) everything if possible.

Yes, those cheering on Rebecca Adlington from the poolside might have been more likely to grace the pages of Vogue if we’d all forgotten about our country’s colours, stereotypes and flags and instead opted to wear a simple jeans and

T-shirt for the occasion. But where’s the fun in that? This is an unforgettable party. Surely we should all dress for the occasion.

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