One year ago today, I posted an article for my “Subtle Little Things” series in praise of the T-shirt with Trunks look. I described this preferred clothing choice of many wrestlers — usually before a match and sometimes into the match: a pair of wrestling trunks peeking out from under a complementary cotton t-shirt or tank hanging down to about waist level.
This look has grown on me over the past 365 days. That’s the thing about Subtle Little Things in pro wrestling: once you notice something you dig, it can get inside your head and grow into a full blown obsession. So here are more photos of wrestlers teasing us by covering their upper bodies while offering glimpses of their lower bodies in colorful spandex.
Are we starting a new tradition here on the Wrestling Arsenal? Is January 10th now going to become annual T-Shirt + Trunks Day? Will dudes around the world someday go out in public on this date wearing only spandex shorts and cotton Tees? (I wish — but it’s pretty cold, at least where I’m from, on January 10th, so this may not be the best date to schedule this holiday…)
After I posted the Tee & Trunks article last January 10th, a reader shared his advice on the proper wearing of these clothing items for maximum hotness. He seems to be a connoisseur of this fashion choice — here is what he wrote:
“I definitely think trunks and t-shirt are a hot combination for walking to the ring or just standing around. As you’ve shown, the body needs bulging pecs and a flat stomach, while the shirt needs to be tight and just the right length – the end landing right above the bulge. If it can also puddle on a firm round ass, that’s literal perfection.”
To illustrate my reader’s point, Big Dick Barrett, seen here, definitely has managed to land his t-shirt right above his bulge — which is pretty much guaranteed no matter what he wears. And if you scroll up to the beginning of this gallery, you can see an example of Dolph Ziggler’s shirt puddling on his “firm round ass.” They definitely wear it well.
Message Tees can add to the fun, especially if the message is sexy and homo-erotic. You can see more examples of the innuendos on wrestlers’ clothing in my T-shirt Heat gallery.
This dude lets us know he cheers for (i.e., gets excited by) the villains, but I wish I could read the fine print. Is he a wrestler, or just a fan who looks good in black and enjoys when Bad Guys get sleazy?
The Tee & Trunks look is the image of the half-undressed male, a work in progress. It’s like a flirtatious guy in your gym locker-room who has managed to remove his pants, but became “distracted” before he got around to stripping off his undershirt. He struts around in his fancy, brightly-colored briefs and undershirt.
A wrestler who walks around in this provocative look wants us to realize that he can look great even WITH some clothes on — at least really tight clothes that accentuate his chest and draw your eye to his colorfully clad ass and bulge. It definitely can be a nice visual on the right body with the right colors and textures. Obviously making us wait for the reveal — the strip-tease as he peels off that t-shirt to show us his bare torso — is meant to build anticipation and create some dramatic suspense.
So to those of you who enjoy seeing this pairing of cotton top over spandex bottom, I wish you a happy Tee & Trunks Day! And to those of you who believe that less clothing is more when it comes to pro wrestlers, don’t worry — tomorrow we will return to our regularly scheduled near-nudity in the ring.