News is on-trend in sevens fashion

ELLE HUNT

Last updated 05:00 02/02/2013

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Among the usual assortment of cowboys and comicbook characters at the Wellington Sevens were some costumes that spoke to the year that was - and even the weeks that have been.

Some leapt at the chance to show off their creativity, with mail-order brides wearing gowns made of envelopes and a larger-than-life human shuttlecock.

At least two groups came dressed as giant jars of Marmite, clearly experiencing withdrawal symptoms after production of the yeasty spread was stopped.

Other food products included bacon, pavlova, Fruit Bursts and, oddly, bottles of soy sauce.

Others figured if it wasn't broke it didn't need fixing, such as the returning big babies with "no womb left" that made a stir at last year's tournament.

With temperatures at 23 degrees Celsius, many suffered in the heat. Those sporting one-piece fleece snugglies and head-to-toe Matrix "pleather" were seen sweating or stripping down after a couple of hours in the sun.

Disgraced sportspeople proved a recurring theme, with some revellers - all male - dressing as Belarussian shot-putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk, whose gold medal was taken off her after she tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

But more striking were the throngs of Lance Armstrongs in skin-tight yellow jerseys.

The disgraced cyclist proved one of the most popular costume inspirations of the tournament, with some going the extra mile and embroidering "Cheatstrong" on their jerseys - a play on his brand, Livestrong.

As predicted, a couple of groups turned up as Korean pop star Psy of Gangnam Style-fame, but not nearly as many as the video's billion views might indicate, suggesting the invisible horse has finally bolted.

Others covered themselves with hashtags in a nod to the rise of Twitter, including the one in which the entire tournament was being recorded in "#sevens".

One man wore 50 Shades of Grey to the event: an oversized cardboard box painted to look like a copy of the erotic novel and, fittingly, little else.

Testament to the effectiveness of leaving the costume to the last minute were two men wearing home-made Gareth Morgan masks and Wellington Phoenix shirts, complete with stuffed toy cats - a nod to the businessman's recent war against the felines.

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