More Photos Below!Gallery
I don’t pretend to understand fashion. But maybe nobody does. Maybe it’s all pretense … and that’s fine. Fashion is where we get to pretend.
What about the idea of leaders and followers in fashion? It seems like everyone poaches, everyone gets their ideas from somewhere. They see something then get inspired by it or get inspired to do a riff on what they saw, change it up a bit. Maybe combine a few things.
I’ve heard that fashion is often about insecurity or dissatisfaction. But these things can be good or bad, it seems.
Hair is a big part of human fashion. Facial hair trends come’n’go.
I’ve recently been inspired by Steampunk and by the old-timey pics I see, of the 1800’s, of the Civil War, of old-days bike riders. They often had fancy beards and mustaches. I notice from visits to big cities that these things are in style now in a big way. Big beards and short hair — “in.” And more, much more.
I’ve enjoyed messing around with my beards and ‘stashes lately. Sometimes they get good responses, other times not so much. Or, they get responses from one part of the public that I encounter — youngsters, say. And nothing from another. My gambits kinda seem to make friends my own age get a bit awkward on occasion. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
Basically, it seems that if you’re feeling bold then a bold fashion of whatever kind seems comfy.
(And in terms of clothes, there’s color, material, texture and quality all to be played with. Three cheers to the thrift-store, for me! Color and material are always options there, if not from the current decade. Often quality is also available there — sometimes in the modern sense, more often in a classic sense.)
It’s interesting what makes fashion “work.” Also, one’s job is relevant. Those with “strict” jobs have less leeway. There are dress-codes. There used to be facial hair codes. I’m sure there still are, if unofficially. It’s not only about leeway: fashion seems to make an actual job statement.
Then there’s wax. I like the beeswax smell of mustache wax and have used it sometimes.
Then there are other accessories. I think about the pocket clip of my one-hander knife. Sometimes I fret that “showing clip” is a bit rustic. Like if I do to a contradance. I always carry my handy knife but sometimes I slip it down into my pocket — wear it annoyingly bangs around. But then I wonder if a clip could be made to look nice. Instead of a worn black Spydie clip I could have a matte silver one with a bit of engraving, say. Understated and classy. Less scary, in short.
I’ve never been a rings or other accessories type but why not?
Nowadays watches are becoming scarcer. They’re an easy way to accessorize. A fancy watch like a Rolex Oyster shows you’re really in the game, I guess. I wouldn’t know! But that’s how it works, I hear.
There’s the “fancy lad” angle — and we know David Letterman hates ’em. But fancy doesn’t have to mean bad or delicate. It can be as “game” as anything else. Maybe it means caring or trying, making an effort.
Everything says something. But who knows what!
Then there’s tattoo’s… I don’t quite get them. Sometimes I think they look neat, though. And once upon a time they made good sense to me. …Once at a classy bar at an industrial harbor I bumped into an underwater salvage guy who just got off weeks of the world’s most dangerous work — and highly lucrative, if you live. He was ready for fun. He had what might’ve been a hooker with him. He seemed like he could throw a stool thru the window — and maybe he told me he did. He had a tattoo and earring. I thought then that he deserved them and that they fit. He was revved up and happy to be alive. …As close to a pirate as I’ve encountered. Arrr matey! I figure that folks who do things like sail across an ocean or do dangerous work can sport things like that. But since then the tat’s have boomed 1000-fold. So I’ve lost track of it. I also recall reading about colonial British aristocrats who had facial tats — exotic. Churchill — and his mother! — had tats. But at present tats both attract and elude me.
Then there’s fur… I can see dudes who are industrialist types wearing fur. They’re in charge of serious things — life and death — or the financial survival of many folks under them. A biz suit isn’t the only way to dress “serious” and isn’t always ideal for cold weather. Also, if one has been in animal husbandry or other forms of sober management, I could see wearing fur. Also, it’s better/warmer/nicer and lasts longer and is more sustainable/recyclable than petro-chem-wear.
Anyway, I’m gonna post a few fave beard/stash pics from the Web…
Designer Philip Crangi.
Fancy lad.
Vintage scene.
Stylin’.
I have uncles who’ve looked like this. Hard work seems to go with such wild “looks” — but be careful with the beard around chainsaws. I know that I’ve felt pretty rugged after bustin’ thru mud and ice in waders carrying decoys for way too long.
