穿Polo衫和卡其裤的英雄们

Heroes in Polos and Khakis
穿Polo衫和卡其裤的英雄们

The polo shirt has been linked with all kinds of iconography and stereotypes over the years, from Izod to Ralph Lauren, Nantucket prep to casual Friday, tennis to royals on horses. But as of Monday, it had another association that may trump them all: hero.

多年来，Polo衫被与各种形象和固有观念联系在一起，从Izod到拉夫・劳伦(Ralph Lauren)，从学院风到休闲星期五，从网球到爱骑马的王室。但是，从周一（8月24日）起，它与另一个可能高过其他一切的概念联系在了一起：英雄。

The image of the three 20-something Americans who helped foil an armed gunman on a high-speed train to Paris from Amsterdam ― Airman First Class Spencer Stone; Alek Skarlatos, a specialist in the Oregon National Guard; and their friend Anthony Sadler ― all wearing polos and khakis at the gilded Élysée Palace in Paris as President François Hollande, in a suit and tie, pinned France’s highest honor on their shirts was on the home pages of news websites everywhere (this one included). The contrast between the formal palace and dress of the government officials with the more relaxed, though unquestionably neat and respectful, clothes of the young recipients made for an indelible visual.

三名20多岁的美国人在从阿姆斯特丹开往巴黎的高速列车上帮助制服了一名持枪歹徒。他们分别是空军一等兵斯潘塞・斯通(Spencer Stone)、俄勒冈国民警卫队(Oregon National Guard)的阿列克・斯卡拉托斯(Alek Skarlatos)，以及他们的朋友安东尼・萨德勒(Anthony Sadler)。当法国总统弗朗索瓦・奥朗德(François Hollande)穿着西装打着领带在金碧辉煌的爱丽舍宫(Élysée Palace)授予他们法国的最高勋章时，他们穿的是Polo衫和卡其裤。这一幕出现在世界各地新闻网站的主页上（包括本站）。庄重的宫殿、政府官员的正式着装与这三位年轻领奖人更休闲但肯定整洁而恭敬的服装形成鲜明对比，令人印象深刻。

Chris Norman, Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos with President François Hollande of France at the Élysée Palace.
克里斯・诺曼、安东尼・萨德勒、斯潘塞・斯通和阿列克・斯卡拉托斯与法国总统弗朗索瓦・奥朗德在爱丽舍宫。

It told a story of vacation interrupted, unexpected bravery and bilateral cooperation. It drove home the fact that the men acted when they were off duty, effectively backpacking through Europe ― you know the narrative ― away from home (and their closets). As Mr. Hollande said, they “were simply passengers.”

这个故事是关于被打断的假期、意想不到的勇敢和双边合作。很清楚的一个事实是，他们是在度假期间见义勇为的。你可能也多少知道，他们是在欧洲进行背包游，离家（和自己的衣橱）很远。就像奥朗德说的，他们“只是乘客”。

Shrug if you want, and think, “Who cares about pants given what was at stake?” But apparently many did.

你可以耸耸肩，心想：“考虑到当时的情况，谁会关心裤子？”但是显然很多人关心。

The clothes were the telling detail in many reports about the event. “Wearing polo shirts and khaki trousers, the Americans arrived at the Élysée Palace,” NBC News wrote. They were “dressed modestly in polo shirts and khakis,” according to The Washington Post. And so on.

在关于这一事件的很多报道中，服装是一个明显的细节。NBC新闻写道，“这几位美国士兵穿着Polo衫和卡其裤抵达爱丽舍宫。”《华盛顿邮报》(The Washington Post)说，他们“穿着朴素的Polo衫和卡其裤”。诸如此类。

And the clothes were (largely) an occasion for cheering for the Twitterati.

那些服装（主要）是Twitter名人们欢呼的对象。

@jeromegodefroy said it was the “First time the Legion of Honor is being awarded at the @Elysee to guys in polo shirts. And it’s a very good thing.”

@jeromegodefroy说，这是“荣誉军团勋章(Legion of Honor)首次在爱丽舍宫被授予穿Polo衫的男人们。这是件很好的事。”

I can’t remember another time when what was worn by a recipient of the Legion of Honor had as much impact. By contrast, the more conventional suit and tie of Chris Norman, 62, a British businessman who also challenged the gunman on the train, and who also received the French award, was not mentioned.

我不记得荣誉军团勋章领取人所穿的服装什么时候曾引起过如此强烈的反响。相比之下，也在列车上参与制服枪手、也被授予勋章的62岁英国商人克里斯・诺曼(Chris Norman)所穿的更保守的西服和领带，未被提及。

The usual backlash ― the criticism of “inappropriate” dress that tends to surround the wearing of informal clothes to a state occasion (see: the flip-flop scandal of 2005, when some members of the Northwestern University women’s lacrosse team wore flip-flops to meet President George W. Bush) ― has been muted, for obvious reasons. It’s hard to criticize the fashion choices of those who just risked their lives to save hundreds of other people.

在国事活动场合穿着非正式服装，往往会引发“着装不当”的指责（比如，2005年的人字拖丑闻――美国西北大学[Northwestern University]女子长曲棍球队的一些队员穿人字拖觐见乔治・W・布什总统[George W. Bush]），但是这次没有出现任何反对的声音，原因很明显。你很难去批评那些冒着生命危险挽救数百人生命的英雄的服装选择）。

Especially because I’m sure the point was not to make a statement with clothes. Two of the men are in the active or reserve military, after all, and few institutions respect sartorial rules like the military.

特别是因为，我确信，他们不是想通过衣服来表明什么主张。毕竟，其中两位是现役或储备军队的士兵，从尊重服装规定的角度讲，几乎没有什么机构能比得上军队。

I doubt, for example, that the three men stood around and thought: “Oh, hey, let’s all wear polos and khakis and upend tradition! What an opportunity!” They probably did the best with what they had at hand. By the time they were given the news of the award, it was the weekend, and, as anyone who has ever tried to shop on a Sunday in August in Paris knows, pretty much any suit-selling shop would be closed. The options were limited. The clothes were clean and pressed, and the shirts tucked in.

比如，我觉得那三个人不会聚在一起说：“哦，嘿，我们都穿上Polo衫和卡其裤，去颠覆传统！真是个好机会！”他们很可能已经是尽量挑选手边最好的衣服。他们得到要去领奖的消息是在周末。任何曾想在8月的周日在巴黎购物的人都知道，几乎所有卖西服的店都会关门。选择很有限。他们的衣服干净平整，上衣被塞到了裤子里。

According to First Lt. Keenan D. Kunst, the acting chief of public affairs with the 86th Airlift Wing, based in Ramstein, Germany, who was with the Americans at the embassy in Paris, the clothes were provided in a last-minute scramble by friends and associates in France once the men learned they were receiving the honor. All they had were “T-shirts and shorts, which they definitely would not have worn,” he said.

驻扎在德国拉姆施泰因的北约第86空运分队(86th Airlift Wing)的公共事务副总管基南・D・孔斯特(Keenan D. Kunst)中尉在巴黎的美国大使馆陪伴这三个人。他说，他们一得知要去领取勋章，就联系法国的朋友和同事们，在最后时刻凑齐了服装。他说，他们只有“T恤和短裤，他们肯定不会穿着那些衣服去领奖的”。

Whatever the back story, however, the result has created something of a halo effect around a garment. And in elevating the basic uniform of suburban backyard barbecues to the highest echelons in Europe, Monday’s moment may represent the ultimate triumph of the whole smart-casual concept.

不过，不管幕后故事是怎样的，最后的结果给这些衣服营造了一层光环。郊区后院烧烤活动的基本服装被提升到欧洲最高级的场合，可能代表着街头休闲概念的终极胜利。

It’s not that I expect all future generations of Legion of Honor recipients to start showing up in polos and khakis. But more broadly, when it comes to formal occasions and what is acceptable, a precedent of a sort has been set.

我不是说，希望未来所有的荣誉军团勋章接受者都身穿Polo衫和卡其裤亮相。但是从更广阔的角度讲，关于正式场合和可接受程度，出现了某种先例。