Those amongst you who aren’t afraid to bare all – rejoice! The annual No Trousers On The Tube Day is returning on January 8, marking 20 years since the original American event that kicked off a trouser-less revolution. Peachy!
The tradition started when the New York-based group Improv Everywhere kicked things off with the inaugural ‘No Pants Subway Ride’ in 2002. Subsequent London editions have been organized by The Stiff Upper Lip Society. Fast forward to 2023 and, on Sunday, January 8, hundreds of Londoners will strip off to take part in this year’s jeans-less jaunt. This year will also mark the inaugural trouser-less tube ride on the Elizabeth Line.
The No Trousers Tube Ride deets
The event starts at 3:00pm in Chinatown opposite the Canton Restaurant (use postcode WC2H 7JR to find it), before everyone splits off into smaller groups to catch the tube. Participants are told to arrive in ordinary clothes—it is pretty nippy out there, after all—and they’ll be given the signal to discard their britches once they’ve boarded the train.
There’s just two requirements for participation. You must be:
1) Willing to take trousers off on the Tube
2) Able to keep a straight face about it
And no you can’t cheat by wearing a long skirt or a dress. That defies the whole point! It’s about the silliness inherent in someone wearing no trousers and acting nonchalant about it all!
If you fit the criteria, own a backpack and a topped up Oyster card, and fancy feeling the breeze (of the tube air) in January – this sounds like the fun (albeit odd) event for you!
NB: It’s called the No PANTS ride… in America. Please remember to keep your pants (UK) firmly around your tooshie. And yes, one of the requirements is pants with sufficient coverage. Let’s keep it relatively PG here, eh folks?
Dare to bare? Join the Facebook event here.
Also published on Medium.