HEY, CPL. KLINGER WORE THAT ON “MASH”

The figure skating costumes at the Olympic pairs competition ranged from the lime to the ridiculous, from Kyoko Ina’s citrus green dress to Andrei Bushkov’s lovely blue blouse with the plunging neckline and poofy sleeves--a delightful little number he apparently borrowed from his partner, Marina Eltsova.

Then was the simple black and yellow outfit worn by Russian gold medalist Artur Dmitriev: very Pittsburgh Steelers, except for the yellow chiffon hankie stitched to the side of his right pants pocket.

Have costume designers lost their minds, or is this merely business as usual inside the odd little sphere of international figure skating?

“It’s difficult sometimes to costume a skater so that it’s not a distraction, so that it’s really an asset, so you’re getting the look that you’re after,” says Frank Carroll, who coaches Michelle Kwan.

“We discovered that with Michelle, simpler really is better. She doesn’t have a big body, and so things that show off her line and are simple and elegant are better. Costumes that are overdone or too much are not.

“But, you know, you learn by trial and error. Costuming a body is very difficult, even for the top costume designers in the world.”