The 1996 Olympic team almost exclusively wore their hair in scrunchies, save for a (heavily hairsprayed) wispy tuft of bangs. "Gymnastics style used to be very basic," explains Hopkins, "and then in the ‘90s, it started getting a bit more frilly, with the big hair and the scrunchies."

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"When I was growing up, it was a lot more patriotic," she adds, referring to her childhood in the '90s. "American Girl dolls and Barbies all had flag leos!”

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But according to McKeown, Martha Karolyi's penchant for white leotards was not only patriotic, but functional: "I remember Martha wanting to show off their stomach muscles and their six packs," she explains, "so every body that I did for the leos were white. It was standard spandex fabric, in very patriotic looks that are pretty iconic today."

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"A shift did happen after that," adds McKeown. "Basically, the fabric got more and more technical." Kristin's leotard, pictured above, is made of Mystique, a shimmery metallic fabric made of nylon and spandex that's still popular today.

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The 2004 Games were one of the last times that white leotards in simple, patriotic patterns were chosen for the U.S. team. "When you look at the 2000 team and beyond, there was very little, if any, white," remarks McKeown. Instead, bold colors like red in shimmering Mystique fabric began to take precedent, as they stood out against the (often blue) floor mats.

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In 2004, crystals were just starting to be popular on U.S. Olympic leotards — but only sparingly. "In the beginning, it was just a sprinkle of them, or accenting a little bit of neckline, but then it basically blew up from there," says McKeown, Courtney Kupets's minimally bedazzled red leo being a prime example.

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The 2008 Games saw the marriage of both Mystique fabric and a heavier emphasis on crystals. “In 2008 [the blingyness and showiness] started becoming bigger," says Hopkins. "It was an era where everyone was in neon and rhinestones. It was like ‘Oh my gosh, what’s going on?’"

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But it was Nastia Liukin's hot pink leotard while winning the 2008 Games All-Around event that really became the symbol of the U.S. team. "[We] went outside the boundaries in terms of the traditional red, white and blue," Liukin tells Racked. "We took chances. Sure, we got criticized for it sometimes." Hopkins agrees: "For some reason the U.S. gets a lot of flack for wearing pink," she says. "I don’t know why, but in qualifications they often wear a bubblegum pink, and then for event finals they can pick and choose, and you’ll see a lot of reds and pinks.”

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Four years later, the U.S. team was still synonymous with pink leos. But in 2012, the stakes were raised with more Mystique and of course, more crystals. By then, both Gabby Douglas and teammate Aly Raisman scored deals with GK Elite for their very own line of Olympic-inspired leos.

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The sparklification continued into the U.S. team's more patriotic red leotards in 2012, although McKeown forewarns that this year's crystals are "taking it to a whole new level."

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At last fall's World Championships, Team USA debuted purple leotards using the sublimation technique. "When the girls walked out, everybody was gasping because it was a new beautiful color encrusted in crystals, and they just stood out from the rest. They looked like amazing superstars.”

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With a regained focus on patriotic colors this year, Aly Raisman wore a crystal-encrusted red, white and blue leo with mesh sleeves to the Olympic Trials.

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The favorite to take home this year's Olympic gold medal, Simone Biles, wore a royal purple leotard with an intricate crystal design to the Olympic Trials. She too secured her very own GK Elite collection earlier this year.

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