The favorite query on Hollywood's red carpets _ who are you wearing? _ is a frequently asked question at this week's U.S. swimming championships.
Swimmers are experimenting with _ and sometimes tearing _ various suits at $500 each. An inspector makes sure everyone is wearing only one suit and it's on a list approved by swimming's world governing body.
Manufacturers' representatives are fielding compliments, complaints and questions about the sleek suits that have brought faster times and controversy to the sport.
"This is a very suit-oriented meet," Olympic sprinter Cullen Jones said on Thursday.
Competitors have to show up a few minutes early before their race in a small room so an inspector can double-check that what they're wearing matches the kind of suit they previously said they would race in.
At a glance, an inspector can see a postage-size FINA stamp on the back of suits that have been deemed legal.
Jones is sponsored by Nike, but the company got out of the competitive swimsuit business last year. So he has their permission to try other suits.
"I'm just trying to get the feel right because the last thing I want to think about is the suit," Jones said. "I've busted three suits so far."
Getting into the skintight suits is a challenge in itself, with swimmers needing extra time to dress. They're using plastic bags to slide the material over their feet and donning gloves to ease their hands and arms inside some models. Another pair of hands is needed to zip and unzip them.
"I don't like the rubber suits," said Olympic bronze medal-winning sprinter Cesar Cielo of Brazil, who tried Arena's X-Glide. "I just want to make sure everyone is on the same level as far as equipment. It's the situation we're living in right now."
Aaron Peirsol was wearing the once-banned X-Glide when he reclaimed the 100-meter backstroke world record on Wednesday.
The various suits have their pros and cons.
Garrett Weber-Gale said he could feel the zipper on his Speedo LZR breaking as he bent on the starting blocks in the 50-meter freestyle heats on Thursday.
The Jaked polyurethane suit has caused a buzz because in certain colors it appears quite revealing. It's no longer legal to wear a so-called modesty suit underneath.
"It leaves little to the imagination, but you do feel fast in it," Jones said, smiling.
USA Swimming mandated that manufacturers be in Indianapolis with their approved swimsuits available for all swimmers on a purchase, loan, giveaway or other basis. Speedo, a USA Swimming sponsor, brought 1,000 suits, said Craig Brommers, vice president of marketing. Superstar Michael Phelps wears various versions of the company's LZR Racer, to which he has unlimited access because of his endorsement deal.
Phelps, like many other swimmers, has grown tired of being asked about suits.
"You can ask me as many times as you like," he said. "I'm here to swim."
Fred Bousquet, the French sprinter who wore a Jaked when he set the 50 freestyle world record of 20.94 seconds in April, saw his Speedo contract end last year, and he's since signed with Mizuno, which is just getting into high-tech suits. Italian star Frederica Pellegrini has also signed on, and Bousquet said Mizuno wants to expand into Europe.
"It's good and we're still working on it," said Bousquet, who plans to travel to Japan to help refine the suit's technology.
TYR brought 800 suits to the U.S. champs, including two Tracer models _ the mostly polyurethane Rise and the mostly neoprene A7, according to team and promotions director Matt Zimmer. The California company has had four other designs rejected by FINA and is asking a French court to appoint an independent legal expert to determine why some similar suits from other manufacturers were approved by FINA and TYR's were not.
"We thought it was wild a year ago when polyurethane started to come out with the LZR and the world records started going down," Zimmer said. "This is a whole new level. It's a very troubled deck."
Last month, FINA approved 202 suits and rejected 10 others for this month's world championships in Rome. FINA put the suits through laboratory tests for thickness, buoyancy and water resistance, and sent back 136 models to manufacturers who were given 30 days to resubmit modified designs.
The United States and Australia have expressed disappointment with FINA's decision to approve modified versions of suits initially rejected for competition.
FINA is in a race of its own to regulate the rapid advances in swimsuit technology that led to 108 world records last year. Some suits are suspected of creating "air trapping" effects that artificially enhance speed.
The world championships are the last major meet of the year. If FINA bans other suits, manufacturers could be stuck with hundreds of thousands of dollars in useless inventory.
Meanwhile, questions, confusion and mistrust are rampant on pool decks around the world.
"FINA put us in a very difficult situation," said Olympic sprinter Dara Torres, who wore a Speedo LZR on Thursday. "It's unfortunate they kept going back and forth. You see people wearing these polyurethane suits and you have to wonder, 'Are those fast?'"
