It’s hot. You’re sweating. An ice lolly and a hand-held fan just won’t cut it. Your hand rises to your collar and you undo a button or two – maybe, you think, the shirt could just come off?
Stop right there!
We may be basking in an extreme heat wave, but let’s get one thing straight, gentlemen: it is never appropriate to take off your shirt in public. Ever.
There are broadly two types of men who fail to follow this advice. First, there are the buff gym bunnies, who are desperate to peacock at passers-by in parks and gardens. These are the guys with six packs, or something akin to it, who usually consign their pitiful strutting to their health clubs but who like to whip off their tops in public at the first hint of sun.
They flex a pec much as another man might raise an eyebrow. They delight in glistening oil. Even at a children’s party, they’ll be joining in with the football and waving their shirt round their head when they score a goal. Each, in modern parlance, thinks he is “him”.
