Richard Torregrossa’s Best -Undressed List [TM]

There’s a new list in town and it’s hotter than the A-list. Hotter than any list so far.

I’m pleased to announce the first ever, the one and only, the first and foremost Best-Undressed List. It’s the flimsier side of the best-dressed list and a lot more fun.

Mark Twain once said, "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Well, he was wrong. Skin is in and today’s top celebrities prove it, both on and off the red carpet.

From rising political star Barack Obama, who revealed an impressive set of pecs during an ocean swim to Tara Reid's infamous press-conference nipple slip, today’s celebs attract as much attention for being undressed as their predecessors did for being well dressed. Paris Hilton, for instance, gives a whole new meaning to the term “news flash.”

I spent the last three years studying the finer points of custom tailoring and fashion for my book Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style, Foreword by Giorgio Armani, which, for the first time, traces the evolution of Cary Grant as a style icon.

But I discovered that unlike in the old days, today’s nearly naked stars often upstage the well-dressed ones.

But there’s an art to it. Flirting with nudity without being nude is the main criterion for selecting people for this list. Some celebrities do it better than others. Just like some celebrities dress better than others.

Here now is a feast for the eyes and the senses and a break from all those red-carpet glittering gowns and stuffy tuxedos.

1. Matt Lauer
Surprised? You should be. Behind the mild- mannered façade of the Today Show’s long-time co-anchor is a hard body. Despite the early wake-up calls—Matt says he gets up at 3:30 am for work —he still manages to make it to the gym—and it shows. He’s first in physique because he keeps it discreet.

2. Senator Barack Obama
A politico with pecs. And great abs. This might be a first. Kudos, then, to the Senator from Illinois for making such a big splash on a beach in Hawaii. He’s as fit as his fiscal policy.

3. Tara Reid
When her breast slipped out of her dress at a press conference it was a turning point in the culture. Tara accidentally started the nipple-slip trend, but….

4. Eva Mendes
...Eva Mendes perfected it. Whereas Tara seemed surprised and embarrassed by the slip, Eva’s slippage seemed perky, confident and perpetrated on purpose.

5. Matthew McConaughey
"Pecs" bad boy. Who needs Prada, Versace, and Armani when you have a body like mighty McConaughey, the sexiest man alive? Does he even own a shirt? He says he likes to “break a sweat at least once a day” and we believe him because you don’t get abs like that sitting on a futon.

6. Jennifer Aniston
She’s a unique case. Even fully clothed Jennifer Aniston seems naked. Clothes reveal more than conceal on her for some blessed genetic reason.

7. Beyonce
At a recent fashion show, Beyonce upstaged the runway models by slippage of another kind: a clingy dress that failed to cling.

8. Jake Gyllenhall
Clearly, his back ain’t broken; it’s as ripped as a personal trainer’s. Jake’s sensitive nature and modest demeanor belie a rock-hard body that elicits a kind of cross-gender swoon.

9. Anna Kournikova
She’s cute. She’s girl-next-store pretty, but this picture taken at a sporting event shows that she’s not afraid to flaunt a little flesh—tastefully of course.

10. Katie Holmes
While most celebs would seem slutty in this dress with a décolletage that plunges almost down to her knees, Mrs. Cruise still manages to appear innocent, pure, and appealing. No easy trick.

11. Cameron Diaz
She exudes a perennial sense of youth. It’s no wonder she looks the most playfully appealing in her birthday suit rather than in the Gucci sweaters she wore in “The Holiday”.

12. Kate Moss
As good as she looks in couture, she seems to have been made for a European nude beach.

13. J-lo
She makes clothes do the opposite of their traditional purpose. They reveal specific body parts. An official nipple-tweaker is employed to make sure you get the point (or points, rather).


14. Hugh Jackman
He’s ripped. And seems to be following Matthew McConaughey’s cue—go shirtless whenever there’s a camera around and you just might be voted the next sexiest man alive.

15. Alyssa Milano
She said “she used to sleep naked—until the earthquake.” What earthquake? Although she looks great in clothes, clearly she follows a less is more sartorial philosophy, at least in this photo.

16. Danielle Radcliffe, aka, Harry Potter
He’s made the transition from teen heartthrob to grown-up thespian quicker than a wish granted by a wizard. His recent appearance on the London stage in a mature role revealed a side of him we haven’t seen before, he’s casting a spell on critics and audiences that would make Harry Potter jealous.

17. Leonardo DiCaprio
Thanks to director Edward Zwick, DiCaprio’s usually boyish good looks now have a more believable tough-guy edge. DiCaprio was so convincing as a lethal weapon in Zwick’s “Blood Diamond,” he was nominated for an Oscar. Scorcese deserves credit too. He tweaked the sweeter side of DiCaprio’s image by casting him in another tough-guy role in the “The Departed” and picked up a few Academy Awards for his efforts.

18. Anne Hathaway
Star of The Devil Wears Prada Anne Hathaway showed that despite the numerous designer brands she wore in the movie there are other ways to elicit admiring stares. The devil wears, well, very little, off screen at least.

19. Pamela Anderson
She undressed for a good cause—and made the fur fly. Or so she hoped. To protest the use of fur in fashion she undressed in Stella McCartney’s Mayfair boutique. No word on whether fur fans J-Lo and Beyonce got the message but she got our attention.

20. Paris Hilton
Gotta mention Paris, who gives new meaning to the term “news flash.” But she’s low on my list. I’d prefer a more tasteful way of showing off one’s assets. Taxi!

Copyright (c) 2007 by Richard Torregrossa. All rights reserved.

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