Style in Sweden

Swedish guys are known for their good taste when it comes to clothes. I have often heart that Finnish guys call them gay because of their interest in style. Generally I also think that many Swedish guys put a lot of effort and time into their outfit and, yes, many of them indeed look great. There is just one thing that confuses me every summer here: being topless…everywhere.

Maybe it is just my personal impression but I have the feeling that, as soon as it becomes warmer outside, Swedish guys throw their fantastic shirts away and prefer the more airy variant. I have seen topless guys at the supermarket, gas station, on their bikes, just everywhere. Moreover, it is not just one type of guy who likes to strip to the waist. You see all kinds of bodies from the six-pack stomach to the beer belly.

I’m wondering if it is more socially accepted if guys are topless in Sweden. Maybe I’m wrong but I think topless guys in Germany are more rare if they are not at the beach, drunk on Mallorca or working on some construction site.

I love clothes. Of course I prefer the well-dressed variant! But if I’m right and topless guys are more accepted in Sweden I’m wondering why. Maybe it’s the old weather story that provides explanations for every kind of Swedish behaviour. It’s getting warmer and everybody is so glad and avid for sun that they think the less clothes the better.

Or maybe Swedish guys just didn’t get the message of the Swedish feminist movement “Bara Bröst” (it literally means both ‘bare breasts’ and ‘just breasts’) who has fought for the right that women are allowed to bathe topless at public swimming pools. Who knows?

However, I am thankful if men at the supermarket counter wear a shirt!

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