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Bare breasts in shop window flash LES

By Justin Rocket Silverman, amNewYork Staff Writer | jsilverman@am-ny.com

August 8, 2007

The trio of bulky men in what appeared to be an unmarked police car looked bored as they waited for a green light on Orchard Street, until one of them noticed the window display in American Apparel.

"Whoa!" he cried out to his companions, who also broke out into broad smiles at the sight of a pair of naked female breasts in an ad for a skimpy new vest. Their laughter echoed from the car as it pulled out onto Houston Street.

Pedestrians have also been stopping to gawk at the revealing images, which are displayed in a slow-moving slideshow series, sometimes featuring the vest closed, other times held wide open. The model in the photo is wearing a Star of David necklace.

What the residents have not been stopping to do is complain, and neither the clothing store's staff nor the local community board have heard any grumblings over the mildly erotic images.

"This is the Lower East Side," said the store's manager, Ariel, who asked that her last name not be printed. "I would be disappointed in the neighborhood if it was offended by this. It's not pornographic. This is art."

A different conclusion on another racy ad was reached last month by a state judge, when he issued an injunction against a toilet maker's plans to show a number of bare bottoms on a Times Square billboard. A nearby church agreed to drop its lawsuit after the butts were covered by a swath of white paint.

Still, the American Apparel ad may be in violation of state penal code section 245, which makes the "public display of offensive sexual material" punishable by up to a year in jail. Yet the penal code only applies if the display "appeals to prurient interest in sex," a murky legal definition that is very hard to prove in court.

Ariel said each American Apparel branch is sent a selection of marketing DVDs to play in the window. "To be honest the girls in the store and I like that one best," she said, "so we've been playing it for the past couple of days."

The company's online catalogue features a number of female models wearing the same vest, but they all have another layer of clothing on underneath.

"Provocative ads are a tried-and-true strategy for fashion companies," said Ron Berger, chairman of Advertising Week 2007.

"I'm not saying showing nipple is mainstream, but you have to be blind not to see the Calvin Klein ads where the guy is wearing a pair of briefs and his penis looks like it is 14 inches long."

Since the vest ads are located inside the clothing store, they do not require a billboard permit from the city (those permits are based on size and location anyway, and do not judge content).

Yet some public morality watchers suggested the city may want to take an interest in discouraging bare breasts.

"In effect what that window display does is put thoughts in guys' minds," said Frank Russo, director of the American Family Association of New York.

"It's apt to encourage activity that is not beneficial to their current or future families. It has consequences that unfortunately people just don't comprehend anymore."