Mind you, I did this when I was a teenager, I'd be shy to do it now. Appearances didn't really matter where I was from. Mostly Rugby guys, surfing ppl and tradesmen from my small town. Nobody judged you by appearance. I've never seen so much designer ware until I lived in Korea. But, fan death does have a cultural stigma here, and appearances matter. It's really hard to change someone's belief on fan death. So, it's better just to feel amused by the difference in culture.

I'd guess they're talking about something more similar to American cargo shorts or swim trunks.