The road to Tommy Hilfiger Men was a rough one on Friday evening: We couldn’t catch a cab, a doorman yelled at us, and one of us literally fell off her wedges into a hole, skinned her knee, and bled all over the taxi that eventually took pity on us. But when we arrived at the North Cabana of the Maritime Hotel, it was as if the heavens opened and the angels began to sing. Because Tommy served not just cocktails , but also an American gold medalist hottie in the form of swimmer Nathan Adrian, who looked preppy and patriotic in his blue Hilfiger suit and red, white, and blue tie — and who was as charming and adorable in real life as he is in all your swimming-focused fantasies.
While we waited for Adrian to finish posing for pictures with fans, we ogled Revenge actors Joshua Bowman and Gabriel Mann, both of whom were well turned-out in crisp suits. Mann, in particular, was sporting a refreshingly regular and weather-appropriate number of layers, when you consider his alter ego Nolan is infamous for the bizarre number of scarves and shirts his character piles on simultaneously — like the male version of Debra Messing on Smash, whose torso always appears to live in Alaska when the rest of her is in New York.
But, back to the torso we truly cherish. As soon Adrian finished waxing positive about his hotel’s pool (that ought to be a valued Trip Advisor review!), we sidled up to him and asked the real, hard-hitting question on everyone’s mind: Namely, which man on the U.S. Olympic swim team most desperately needs a fashion intervention? Adrian didn’t even hesitate before laughing and naming fellow gold medalist Matt Grevers. Apparently Matt’s been wearing the same pair of shoes since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. “And it’s like, we’re getting eight new pairs of shoes, dude. But … no,” Adrian said, shaking his head. We wondered if maybe Grevers was hanging onto these mythical ‘08 shoes for good luck. “No,” Adrian insisted. “It is not for luck. HE KNOWS.” Matt Grevers, you have officially been served. Perhaps you boys can settle this in the infamous hotel pool. We’ll wait.
To even the score, we asked whom Adrian thought was his best-dressed teammate. He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Michael (Phelps), Lochte, and Conor (Dwyer),” he said. “Even with the grill?” we asked, referring to Ryan Lochte’s (insane) $25,000 custom mouthpiece. “Well,” Adrian explained good-naturedly, “that’s why I named all three of them. Because it’s a tie. Depending on your tastes.” That makes for more good news: If Adrian decides not to get back into the pool, he certainly has a bright future in diplomacy.