Three Semi-Naked Guys: Men’s Wearhouse Street Promotion

August 2, 2011

One of the benefits of having your spouse work near where you work: taking the same route together in the mornings. Most days, Liz and I are on the Blue Line downtown, and we part ways at State and Jackson.

Today, she gave me a call letting me know there was some kind of promotional stunt happening near Wabash and Jackson. Apparently, a bunch of guys were standing on various corners of the intersection, wearing nothing but their boxer shorts – some kind of promotion for Men’s Wearhouse.

Naturally, I decided to pop down for a few quick photos.

This guy was smiling the whole time. The moment he saw a camera in my hand, he turned his sign my way and began posing.

Across the way, near where Liz works, was another guy. The way he held his sign, it made it look like he had zero on besides his shoes and socks.

Most people laughed and stared a bit, but I love how this woman near him seems to be totally ignoring what’s happening.

Another guy, on the NE corner.

This is probably my favorite photo. A few moments later, the mom pulled the girl closer to her, and made her face the other direction.

As I got closer, I started asking a bunch of questions. Mostly, I was curious if they got in trouble with the police for not wearing clothes in public. The guy said that no, they hadn’t had any problems. In fact, at least one officer seemed to encourage them. The guy with the sign told me that the cop said something like “you’re probably making more money than I am.”

I also asked how long they were going to be at the intersection. Apparently, they were only sticking around another 30 minutes, and were headed elsewhere… to do the same thing in a different spot. Seeing the pile of clothes on the ground near his feet, I asked if they walked around dressed and then stripped down at each destination. But according to him, they walked around in their boxers the whole time.

By the time I walked back to work, I realized one great question I should have asked but didn’t: what did they do with their wallets? If they had to take public transportation, how would they pay? Now I’ll never know…

Thanks to my wife, for seeing a bunch of smoking hot guys… and then thinking immediately of me.