Here’s a thing that is apparently going on in my city that I haven’t realized is happening: guys — hot ones — in The Big Apple (you’re allowed to call it The Big Apple if you’ve lived here for less than 2 years) are taking their shirts off and just, like, walking around with their nips out. It has to be true. It’s in the New York Times.
There, on Bastille Day, was a shirtless guy checking out the windows at Bergdorf Goodman; there, on Lafayette Street one Tuesday morning, ambled a shirtless shopper hauling Urban Outfitter bags; there, on the R train, was a rider wearing nothing but jeans and sandals; there, on Astor Place, a cluster of topless men flaunting their abs and pecs.
To keep tabs on this allegedly sweeping trend, Atlantic Wire’s Alex Abad-Santos even made a shirtlessness map based on all the manboob sightings cited in the Times piece. It’s pretty comprehensive.
Do I see shirtless guys just chesting around like it’s nothing from time to time? Sure. But I usually assume they’re sexy heroin addicts or that, at the very least, they’re going through some heavy personal stuff. I feel the same way when I see bikini tops worn like shirts.
God, I love the New York Times Styles section. It’s like going to a bar in your hometown over Thanksgiving and getting hit on by your tipsy middle school math teacher. While it’s happening, you’re like Ew I can’t believe this but afterward you’ve got quite the anecdote.
[NYT]
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