With the world watching, what does Olympic clothing say without having to say a word? In celebration of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, we bring you a four part series that explores the historical significance of dress to the most celebrated athletic competition in the world. Part I covers over 2500 years of Olympic dress history beginning with the remarkably uncovered first Olympic athletes of ancient Greece and ending with the Games of the IX Olympiad in 1928.

Recommended Media:

• Tony Perrottet's The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games, https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games
• LA84 Foundation's United States Olympic Committee Official Reports: https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll6/id/1368/rec/1
• LA84 Foundation's Olympian Oral History Collection: https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll11
• Olympic Ceremony Database https://bryanpinkall.blogspot.com/2012/07/1896-summer-olympic-opening-ceremony.html