Kayla Whitelock and team mates wear the hockey team's new formal wear for the Commonwealth Games. Photo / Greg Bowker
Kayla Whitelock and team mates wear the hockey team's new formal wear for the Commonwealth Games. Photo / Greg Bowker
They may not be seen draped on fashion queens Cara Delevingne or Kate Moss, but it was clear which items of the New Zealand Commonwealth Games uniform were hits with the women's hockey team.
"The puffer jacket's definitely number one. I think Rhia [Dennison]'s got some great casual pants on, and I love Kayla [Whitelock]'s grey hoodie," said Rosie Keddell.
"So probably hoodie, puffer and track pants [are my favourites] -- can you tell what I like to do in my spare time?"
The 20-year-old was speaking at the official unveiling of the Commonwealth gear this afternoon, donning her black shorts with a blue stripe, black singlet and black puffer jacket.
"I'm sure we'll be using it a lot, it's probably not going to be that warm [in Glasgow]," she said.
Her thoughts were echoed by team captain Kayla Whitelock, who also named the hoodie, puffer jacket and track pants as her items of choice.
"But to be honest it all looks pretty good," she said.
"I think it's really sharp. It's very comfortable and lots of different styles that you can either lounge around in or train hard in, so it's awesome."
It was a sea of black sports gear, with touches of silver and blue -- the silver used to highlight the New Zealand name and logo and the Kiwi inspired designs, glinted in the sunshine. While the blue brought a touch of the Scottish flag, a nod to the host country.
The formal wear was also black, with the girls looking smart in black New Zealand merino wool skirt suits, with a white New Zealand Commonwealth Games logo stitched into the breast pocket of the blazer, and a white shirt.
"I really liked it," said Kayla, 28, about the suit. "It's really comfortable as well, the fit of the skirt and the shirt is good, and even the blazer's really comfortable as well, so it's very good."
Comfortable was a common word among the girls, who extolled the comfort and feel of the clothes.
"When you live in it 24/7 it's always good to be comfortable," said Kayla.
Rosie said: "They're really comfy, and I think it helps so much when we're playing to have gear that you don't actually notice when you're running around."
Both the casual and training gear, designed and produced by Peak Sport, and the formal wear, designed and produced by the Uniform Group, were made in China. But neither of the girls were concerned.
"I'm not bothered at all, I think most of my clothes are made in China," said Rosie, who praised the companies for being economical with their money.
While Kayla said: "It's all labelled with New Zealand and all the logos are pretty special on each piece of clothing so that makes it ours."
A spokeswoman for the New Zealand Olympics Committee said it was confident all the items were produced in factories where everything was "appropriate".
