I’m of two minds here: it’s just a body, everyone’s got one, no need to be ashamed of it or hide it; but people can also be reasonably distracted by seeing someone’s body at most workplaces (strip club bartenders excluded, for example) when they’re not expecting to, because they aren’t commonly displayed.

There’s also the factor of necessity: in extremely hot environments, people need to cover less of their body (unless they want to fully cover themselves with materials designed for it, like Bedouins, but a lot of people don’t want to do that and that’s a reasonable choice). In that situation, or in places like the beach, people should expect to see more of others’ bodies, and they are “at fault” for getting distracted.

To be clear, I think you behaved perfectly normally and well in that story. I was just thinking about the concept of nudity or near nudity at work in general.

New Yorker here. Some of us with office jobs aren't always wearing our work clothes on our commutes. We may be wearing something that can get sweaty and gross on the way, more comfortable shoes, etc. and change into office stuff when we get to work.

I'm a guy and usually wear a business-casual button-up shirt, but on my summer commute that shirt is in a bag or tied around my waist like a 1990s grunge-kid's flannel while I sweat through an old T-shirt or A-shirt my boss will never see.

Yeah in New York I saw people wearing as everyday clothes stuff I felt awkward wearing to and from clubs. Plus side is I'm now entirely comfortable wearing leather pants in public

I need to go to New York, it would seem.

Many of them were probably wearing half or three quarter socks. Hopefully most, but even so, they’re almost never made of cotton or a material that actually handles sweat well.