穿Polo衫和卡其褲的英雄們 Heroes in Polos and Khakis
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.
多年來，Polo衫被與各種形象和固有觀念聯繫在一起，從Izod到拉夫·勞倫(Ralph Lauren)，從學院風到休閒星期五，從網球到愛騎馬的王室。但是，從週一（8月24日）起，它與另一個可能高過其他一切的概念聯繫在了一起：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 Francois 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多歲的美國人在從阿姆斯特丹開往巴黎的高速列車上幫助制服了一名持槍歹徒。他們分別是空軍一等兵斯潘塞·斯通(Spencer Stone)、俄勒岡國民警衛隊(Oregon National Guard)的阿列克·斯卡拉託斯(Alek Skarlatos)，以及他們的朋友安東尼·薩德勒(Anthony Sadler)。當法國總統弗朗索瓦·奧朗德(Francois Hollande)穿着西裝打着領帶在金碧輝煌的愛麗捨宮(élysée Palace)授予他們法國的最高勳章時，他們穿的是Polo衫和卡其褲。這一幕出現在世界各地新聞網站的主頁上（包括本站）。莊重的宮殿、政府官員的正式着裝與這三位年輕領獎人更休閒但肯定整潔而恭敬的服裝形成鮮明對比，令人印象深刻。
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.”
這個故事是關於被打斷的假期、意想不到的勇敢和雙邊合作。很清楚的一個事實是，他們是在度假期間見義勇爲的。你可能也多少知道，他們是在歐洲進行揹包遊，離家（和自己的衣櫥）很遠。就像奧朗德說的，他們“只是乘客”。
Shrug if you want, and think, “Who cares about pants given what was at stake?” But apparently many did.
你可以聳聳肩，心想：“考慮到當時的情況，誰會關心褲子？”但是顯然很多人關心。
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.
在關於這一事件的很多報道中，服裝是一個明顯的細節。NBC新聞寫道，“這幾位美國士兵穿着Polo衫和卡其褲抵達愛麗捨宮。”《華盛頓郵報》(The Washington Post)說，他們“穿着樸素的Polo衫和卡其褲”。諸如此類。
And the clothes were (largely) an occasion for cheering for the Twitterati.
那些服裝（主要）是Twitter名人們歡呼的對象。
@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說，這是“榮譽軍團勳章(Legion of Honor)首次在愛麗捨宮被授予穿Polo衫的男人們。這是件很好的事。”
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.
我不記得榮譽軍團勳章領取人所穿的服裝什麼時候曾引起過如此強烈的反響。相比之下，也在列車上參與制服槍手、也被授予勳章的62歲英國商人克里斯·諾曼(Chris Norman)所穿的更保守的西服和領帶，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.
在國事活動場合穿着非正式服裝，往往會引發“着裝不當”的指責（比如，2005年的人字拖醜聞——美國西北大學[Northwestern University]女子長曲棍球隊的一些隊員穿人字拖覲見喬治·W·布什總統[George W. Bush]），但是這次沒有出現任何反對的聲音，原因很明顯。你很難去批評那些冒着生命危險挽救數百人生命的英雄的服裝選擇）。
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.
特別是因爲，我確信，他們不是想通過衣服來表明什麼主張。畢竟，其中兩位是現役或儲備軍隊的士兵，從尊重服裝規定的角度講，幾乎沒有什麼機構能比得上軍隊。
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，我覺得那三個人不會聚在一起說：“哦，嘿，我們都穿上Polo衫和卡其褲，去顛覆傳統！真是個好機會！”他們很可能已經是儘量挑選手邊最好的衣服。他們得到要去領獎的消息是在週末。任何曾想在8月的週日在巴黎購物的人都知道，幾乎所有賣西服的店都會關門。選擇很有限。他們的衣服乾淨平整，上衣被塞到了褲子裏。
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.
駐紮在德國拉姆施泰因的北約第86空運分隊(86th Airlift Wing)的公共事務副總管基南·D·孔斯特(Keenan D. Kunst)中尉在巴黎的美國大使館陪伴這三個人。他說，他們一得知要去領取勳章，就聯繫法國的朋友和同事們，在最後時刻湊齊了服裝。他說，他們只有“T恤和短褲，他們肯定不會穿着那些衣服去領獎的”。
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.
不過，不管幕後故事是怎樣的，最後的結果給這些衣服營造了一層光環。郊區後院燒烤活動的基本服裝被提升到歐洲最高級的場合，可能代表着街頭休閒概念的終極勝利。
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.
我不是說，希望未來所有的榮譽軍團勳章接受者都身穿Polo衫和卡其褲亮相。但是從更廣闊的角度講，關於正式場合和可接受程度，出現了某種先例。
