Marie Claire magazine dubs Milwaukee its sexiest city

By LORI PRICE
lprice@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Aug. 14, 2008

Prepare to be shocked: A national magazine has dubbed Milwaukee its sexiest city.

"What? You're kidding me," said Rebecca Casper, 26, after learning Marie Claire thinks we're hot.

Once past the initial disbelief, some locals embraced the sultry label.

"I'm not surprised," said Margaret Martin, 27. "I feel sexy every day, and I know a lot of sexy people here."

Let's backtrack for a moment, in case you, unlike Martin, can't grasp the idea of "sexiest city" and "Milwaukee" being used in the same sentence.

The August issue of Marie Claire, which targets 20- and 30-something women, included our town in a list called "Sexy 101." The lead-in to each item on the list, described by one of the magazine's editors as an "It" list of the here and now, was "sexiest." The list included such items as the Democratic National Convention, France's top newlyweds Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, AMC's "Mad Men" and the trend of women out-earning men.

And, yes, Milwaukee.

"Really?" said Steve Ciechanowski, general manager at Bayou restaurant. "How did that happen?"

Because, according to the entry, Milwaukee is "the nation's summer-festival epicenter" where "NASCAR tailgaters, Lebanese dabka dance fans and Foo Fighters freaks (are) all welcome."

The four-page spread also included a short list called "The Unsexiest . . . ," a place some thought more appropriate for Milwaukee.

"But aren't we the fattest city?" said Jon Bailey, 26. "Well, we are the drunkest city, so I guess that comes with the allusion of sexy." (Actually, we've recently fallen to the second-drunkest city, displaced by Austin, Texas.)

Try our flirtatious fests

Marie Claire staffers spent a few months creating the hot-and-bothered package, said Lea Goldman, the magazine's features editor. The goal was to create a holistic snapshot of ideas that would appeal to the magazine's young, female demographic, she said.

The magazine's staff considered other cities such as Miami, New Orleans and Beijing. They were looking for a place that had a lot to offer "women like us," Goldman said.

A long list of summer festivals, moderate seasonal temperatures and upcoming events such as the Governor's Cup weekend at the Milwaukee Mile, Arab World Fest and the Harley-Davidson 105th anniversary celebration made Milwaukee the G spot - as in a go-to spot, for those of you with your sex-crazed minds in the gutter.

"In most instances, people look for ways to leave their cities this time of year, to flee to other places for entertainment," Goldman said.

But Milwaukee holds people's interest with plenty of activities for a person to stay put in the summer, the magazine's staff found.

The magazine didn't send a writer here and used anecdotes and general research to make its decision, Goldman said.

"We were astonished by how robust the city was in terms of entertainment," Goldman said. "On any given weekend, you can find at least three festivals in the area that offer diverse options."

Friendly is sexy

True, there is a lot to do here in the summer. But does that make Milwaukee sexy? Chris Dobs thinks not.

"I wouldn't call all us sexy," said Dobs, co-owner of Urban Sense, a flower shop on W. Vliet St. "I would call it more hometown."

Sexy conjures up images of cool night life, hot women and men and super style, not cozy festivals and family fairs, Dobs added.

That's not to say that Milwaukee isn't a good place to live and play, Dobs said. What Milwaukee lacks in sexiness, it makes up for in friendliness, a characteristic missing from places that usually come to mind as turn-ons.

"New York, Chicago, L.A., Seattle - those are sexy cities," Dobs said. "But when you think of those places, the people aren't nearly as friendly as we are here."

It's also difficult to think of Milwaukee as a sexy place because of the stereotypical images constantly portrayed about the city, said Robert Jenkins, co-owner of Bayou.

"I've just been brainwashed with what I've heard and read" about the city, Jenkins said. "And cheeseheads and beer are not sexy. Sorry."

But, really, how can a city be sexy?

"I don't think you can classify a city as sexy," said Angelique Andujal, 22. "I love this city, but that's an obscure way to describe it."

What Andujal would say about Milwaukee is that it has a good culture, a beautiful, diverse group of people and residents who want to make the city a better place with homegrown businesses.

"That's what makes us beautiful," Andujal said. "And, I guess, that is pretty sexy."

Goldman said the Milwaukee entry on the list has drawn tons of attention from Marie Claire readers and others.

So, did that make the magazine's staff think twice about choosing Milwaukee?

"No, it made us feel like we'd pioneered something," Goldman said. "It's sort of like when you find a cool bar before anyone else finds it. You pioneer it, and we think Milwaukee may be that bar, a place that might be the nation's best-kept secret."