YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    John Travolta dances his shirt off in John Travolta dances his shirt off in With women's outfits becoming more and more revealing (i.e. no pants, exposed bras) these days, it's almost no surprise that men want in on the action. This means plunging necklines and exposed man cleavage, or heavage, on proud display. The Wall Street Journal notes that designers like Duckie Brown, Michael Bastian, and Yigal Azrouël incorporated scoop necks and deep V-necks into their collections, and that many celebs--and not just European ones--are taking the plunge.

    New York designer Michael Bastian said he took his cue from "Latin guys" opening a few extra buttons on their shirts. "We wanted to go back to a more natural body, a more '70s body with the models, getting away from the super skinny," says Bastian. Former model and "True Blood" star Mehcad Brooks has been showing off his pecs on-screen and off. "If you can pull off three buttons undone, then do it," he says. But who can pull this off? Is it the same handsome, A-list crew that can pull off a ponytail? Jude Law, "Gossip Girl" star Ed Westwick, and even Alec Baldwin are showing off their heavage. Menswear historian Robert Bryan says their bare Ed Westwick and Mehcad Brooks show off their man cleavageEd Westwick and Mehcad Brooks show off their man cleavagechests are a nod to those famous chest-baring men before them like Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire," Sean Connery as James Bond and John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever." And while Bryan refers to the 1970s as "the golden age of male chest hair," men today are showing off their chests both with hair and waxed.

    While on a flight home from Los Angeles last night, the 40-something-year-old man across the aisle from me had his shirt unbuttoned almost to his waist, with his hairy chest largely exposed. I know sometimes people like to kick off their shoes and be comfortable on a long flight, but was that really appropriate when seated intimately next to a stranger? [WSJ]

    Is men's cleavage more unsettling or inappropriate than women's cleavage? Do you find the look to be hot or a total turnoff?