Fashion people love riding boots. Every season they show up somewhere on the runways, and are considered a classic must have. As far as flat practical boots go, riding boots are as chic as it gets.

I’ll be completely honest. I’d rather watch back to back coverage of New York Fashion Week on Full Frontal Fashion then spend a second of my day watching any part of the Olympics. I get the draw of having nations compete in sporting events that will determine who has the most powerful athletes, but seeing people parade in track suits all day just doesn’t do it for me.

Well, slap me in the ass and call me Susie, cause I’ve been a bad boy for not paying attention to opening ceremony last night. Every nation presented their athletes in matching outfits and I think I can definitely crown a bronze, silver and gold medal for the looks that took the cake.  Far from what I expected, opening ceremony showcased some major style trends I’d be more than willing to imitate. Check out my picks for top prizes and some honorable mentions below.

GOLD – The Netherlands: I never jumped onto piping when I saw it a few years back in a collection of Carlos Campos, but now I’m sorry I didn’t. This look is very playful yet professional and really matches the spirit of their country. Definitely a look that would make the pages of The Satorialist.

SILVER – France: The men looked dapper and the women shined with a belted ensemble that helped me remember why I loved berets so much.  What’s best is that this is a look that would be thoroughly endorsed in Paris, I’m pretty sure I saw at least one Parisian rock this at a recent visit to the city of love.

BRONZE – America: Oh, Ralph Lauren. How badly you want to emulate what an American should look like. I wish this is how we dresses cause it’s so painfully prepster hip that I instantly want to take a drive to the Hamptons and party with someone named Blake or “Insert Name Here” The Third.

The American look with the prep school innocence makes long for the 30’s again. Great job on making us look good Ralphie.

Check out the Gallery for more looks we compete for.

Images provided by Yahoo!

Unvogue.com, a Fashion Indie fave, just posted images from their August men’s issue. The nonglossy shows the rest of us future Wintour’s how a photo shoots done with some amazing shots of newbie model Wendell Lissimore.

If you’re like some folks at Fashion Indie and want to get in with your Olympic Spirit, be sure to do it in the most fashionable way possible by heading to Opening Ceremony this weekend. Their hosting a 48 hour event in celebration of, you guessed it, Opening Ceremony of the China games.

They be serving foodsies, drinks and selling an exclusive pair of Gold and Silver Nikes (what no bronze?) that will most likely be sold out at 12:01 when the event starts. 

More picts from Unvogue below…

Tonight on Project Runway, 5-time Olympic medalist Apolo Anton Ohno will be the guest judge as the designers are presented with a challenge of Olympic proportions. And according to Heidi Klum (in the second video), Ohno is one of the most stylish gold medalists out there.

Gold medalist Amanda Beard, 26, will appear nude in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) latest campaign in protest of the fur industry.

“Seeing animals slaughtered to be worn as fashion is awful to me, so I’m definitely against wearing fur … I’d much rather go naked than ever put a dead animal on my body,” reads the ad, which will feature Amanda posing in front of the Water Cube swimming venue.

Sports fans will get an eyeful of Amanda naked ad for PETA when the campaign premieres at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics this Wednesday.

Amanda’s no stranger to stripping down, the swimming champ posed nude for Playboy in 2007.

What do you guys think of these ads?

Thanks PopCrunch!

This ad for the Olympics is running through the BBC. I suddenly want to watch the Olympics… and Dragonball Z. 

WWD has reported that fashion designers might sometimes be accused of being prima donnas, but Lane Crawford has found a dozen who are good sports indeed. The Hong Kong-based retailer invited 12 designers to each create a look reflecting their favorite Olympic sport, with no restrictions. Wonder what this will look like. We’ll keep you posted.