The diners arrived at a nice Manhattan restaurant on a cold February night and stripped off coats, hats, gloves and scarves. They didn't stop there. Skirts, shirts, pants, underwear and stockings all ended up stashed in plastic bags by the bar as the patrons got naked for the monthly ?Clothing Optional Dinner.? ?It's exciting to be in a restaurant nude,? said George Keyes, 65, a retired junior high school English teacher. Nude yes, but not unadorned.

Health regulations mean staff must remain clothed even if they wanted to join in. And diners must bring something to sit on ? a towel or, for discerning women, an elegant silk scarf. The restaurant's manager covered the windows to maintain privacy at the strictly private party.

Extra heaters kept the temperature at a comfortable level for nudity. Carol, said she first went on a naturist holiday five years ago and she found the experience empowering. But, she explained, it's ?the least sexual thing you can possibly imagine.? ?Men in nudist resorts are striking a bargain. They get to see as many naked women as they like as long as they are polite and look them straight in the eye,? she said.

Claudia Parsons