Red Line riders to dress down for ‘No Pants Subway Ride’

Don’t be alarmed if you see people riding the “L” without any pants on Sunday.

They’re participating — one hopes — in Chicago’s 15th-annual No Pants Subway Ride, an event that started in New York City in 2002 and spread to cities around the world.

This year, Chicago’s No Pants Subway Ride will start at the Loyola station on the Red Line. Participants plan to meet at noon at 1209 W. Arthur Ave. wearing “everything you would normally wear on a 25-degree day, including pants,” according to the event’s Facebook page.

Attendees will then walk to the Red Line, be assigned to groups and get off at different stops, where they will take off their pants and get back on a train.

The event is purely for fun — “a celebration of silliness.” In fact, riders are asked not to attach any political message, charitable cause or sponsorship to their participation.

“It’s the shock feeling about it,” said Steven Preston, one of the organizers for Chicago’s event. “Even if you go with people you know, the whole idea is not to patronize those people.”

Preston said participants want to look as if what they’re doing is completely normal. For example, many people will read books or wear part of their work attire.

The shock value is part of why No Pants Subway Ride is always held in the winter.

“The colder it is, the more people who turn out — just because it’s crazy,” Preston said.

Marco Ugarte/Associated Press