Can men really get away with a moob tube? Our man tries out the latest fashion fad for brave blokes – The Sun

We challenged writer Nick Harding, 49, to try the latest blokes’ fashion fad on for size

'Taking off my jacket, it didn’t take long for a man at the bar to shout: “Stag do dare?”.

“Actually, it's fashion, mate,” I sniffed haughtily. By fashion, I was referring to my black moob tube, which I’d teamed with jeans and flip-flops – and was causing a stir in the pub, where some guys were having a laugh at my expense.

Trying to ignore them, I reached over for my drink, but my top suddenly slipped down and a hairy nipple popped out. One guy guffawed, while the other pretended to retch, which just about summed up the response I’d been getting all day.

For those who’ve been living under a style rock, the moob tube is a boob tube for men and is, allegedly, along with the crop top, the next big (or tiny) thing in men’s fashion. Back in the day, it was pioneered by Will Smith in The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, but now ASOS is bringing the moob tube (or bandeau as they call it) back. And for a bargain £15, you can buy one for the man in your life.

Admittedly, as a fella, it takes guts to wear a tube of elasticated material that barely covers your chest. It also shows guts, literally. However, it took balls for the first men to give jeggings a go, but now they are practically uniform for blokes in Essex, and moob tubes could well go the same way.

“Eighties fashion has come around again,” says Carole Watson, programme leader in fashion journalism at the University of Sunderland. “But with gender-neutral clothing becoming mainstream, anything goes. You don’t have to dress as a man or a woman in the traditional sense. It’s why Billy Porter wore a tuxedo gown to the Oscars this year.”

While I’m not ready for the full frock yet, I was definitely up for this challenge. Just 24 hours

after logging on to Asos.com, I was standing in my bedroom deciding which one would look best (least embarrassing) on a night out.

First up was a cropped halter-neck – a more modest option than a tube top, but a struggle to get on. For such a basic piece of clothing, it was remarkably difficult to work out where my head needed to go. After a short wrestle, I succeeded and as I stared into the mirror, I learned my second lesson: that there are two things a man needs in order to wear such avant-garde garb – a six-pack and a complete lack of self-awareness. Unfortunately, I possess neither. Staring back at me was the same familiar balding, hairy middle-aged man… only now, wearing a top that seemed to amplify just how old and hairy he was.

“The concern is that with garments like these, we are objectifying men in the same way women are objectified and we are creating body image problems because men will feel the need to have a crop-top-ready body to wear them,” says Carole.

Unconvinced, I picked option two – a white long-sleeved crop top, which left nothing to the imagination. Each time I shrugged, my top rose above the nipple, and there was twice as much material in the arms as the body.

Eventually, I ended up opting for a black moob tube, which was at least easy to get on. But venturing ouside even with a jacket on I felt silly. I popped into Tesco en route to the pub, and again suffered nip slip reaching for the top shelf. “Half your top’s missing,” a man smirked. Indeed, in the 10 minutes it took to walk to the pub I encountered a lot of smirking and side-eye. Normally I laugh off people’s reactions, but I couldn’t help feeling exposed – physically and emotionally. Even in the pub, where I joked along and joined in the banter, I couldn’t wait to leave.

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When I met up with my wife Stephanie for dinner, she sighed with weary resignation as I removed my jacket to reveal my moob tube. In the past she’s experienced a few of my fashion experiments (meggings, lingerie for men…) so is used to being out with a walking fashion faux-pas.

“It’s a moob tube,” I explained as I reached for a poppadom and exposed a nipple in the process.

She shook her head and we ate in silence. Perhaps the world isn’t quite ready for the moob tube yet, but it will be one day. No one said being a fashion pioneer would be easy.'

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