Latest news with #facialhair
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Few men can really rock a moustache. Timothée Chalamet is not one of them
What is it with all these wispy moustaches suddenly decorating young men's faces? These things, which have crawled their way on to so many upper lips, aren't fully formed moustaches. There's no depth to them. They're straggly, patchy, with skin showing through them. They look as though their owners aren't fully committed to them. Or, worse, that they are trying their best, but this apology of a moustache is all they can manage. It's the kind of moustache you grow when puberty first makes it possible to do so, the debut facial hair with which you aim to convince publicans that you're old enough to be served alcohol. The only thing I can say in their favour is that they are at least equal opportunity moustaches, in that even those who can't muster much in the way of facial hair can have a fair crack at producing one of these. But otherwise, my firm view on moustaches, for the infinitesimally little it's worth, is to go big or go home. I'm working on a documentary about Sir Edward Elgar. Now that's what I call a moustache. Full, bushy, yet neat. A veritable symphony of bristle. It may be that spending so much time with Sir Edward lately is what led me to suddenly start seeing these miserable creepy-crawlies sullying faces everywhere. Initially, I felt a bit sorry for their owners. I took it they were doing it for a charity thing and, even though they plainly looked crap, were sticking with it in aid of a good cause. Respect. But I checked my calendar, and it turns out we're in the month of June, not Movember. Could it be, could it really be, that they think these things look good? It would seem to be so. I sought confirmation that this rubbishy apology of a moustache has been confirmed as an actual trend. And, if so, who started it, when and why? I asked everyone I know who is trendier and more trend-aware than I am, which is almost everyone I know. So I narrowed the cohort down to various dandies of my acquaintance, my daughters, their friends, and anyone I got within range of who happened to be in their late teens or 20s. A consensus soon emerged that the sporting of these awful 'taches is indeed a thing. But getting to the root cause of this troubling trend is quite the challenge. No sooner do you think you've got there than someone pops up insisting it goes back a lot further than that. I was sent a piece from the Cut, part of New York magazine, describing it thus: 'It's petite, it's well-groomed, and like its wearer, it's decidedly queer: the skinny mustache.' Pardoning the American spelling there, I read on with interest. It was good to know I was on to something with writers as on-trend as this. Then I checked the date: 2019. I'm just six years behind the curve, then – quite good for me. And one thing's for sure: this trend is now close to its end. Because if a trend has become entrenched enough for my dopey ungroomed self to notice it, then it has surely peaked and the end is nigh. For example, when I was at school there was a phase when all the other boys, as if by some agreement made behind my back, started wearing shoes called Pods. But my mum had just bought me some other new school shoes and wouldn't hear a word about this Pods business. I kept on at her, but by the time I'd begged her to buy me some, everyone else – again by some secret agreement, apparently – had ditched their Pods and moved on. And I got laughed at for wearing them. There you go, confessions of a failed dandy. Anyway, this piece out of New York reports a Brooklyn barber saying of this 'mustache' that 'its two most crucial descriptors are subtle and understated'. Obviously, having applied other adjectives, I snorted at this, but reading on I started worrying I was getting into some culturally sensitive areas. A point is made about it all being a legacy of the 1960s, when lip fuzz was seen as a form of rebellion against authority, particularly military masculinity. And this new wispy 2019 version is said to have a 'whiff of deviancy' about it. I don't doubt it for a moment but, six years on, if every other young dude on the tube is wearing one, the deviancy has surely been diluted. So what we're seeing now is probably a revival of something from six years ago that was itself a revival of something significant that started 60 years ago. Fascinating. But I'm sorry, I still think they look crap. It was a photograph of Benson Boone, the American singer, that started me on all this. It seems you can draw a direct line back from him, via Paul Mescal and Harry Styles, to Timothée Chalamet, upon whose face one of these aberrations appeared last year. Interestingly, if you think about it, that acute accent in Timothée's name might be said to resemble one half of his trendsetting 'tache. Anyway, I'm indebted to one of my Guardian colleagues for sharing with me an article about it from Vogue – not a publication I generally read. It says that Chalamet's wispy whiskers are 'not so much a symbol of masculine gruff as a free agent coming of age'. I've no idea what that means but it sounds about right, even though I've a better theory: noting that Styles, Mescal and Boone all followed where Timothée led, it struck me that what these chaps have in common is the feverish sexual desire they excite in millions of people. This must get a bit tedious after a while, so I wonder if they're wearing these terrible 'taches to try to make themselves less attractive? A clever move, gentlemen, if I may say so, though it doesn't seem to have worked. The whole world's still hot for the lot of you. And boys everywhere, poor deluded souls, thinking your magic resides in your bumfluff, are now all at it. This must stop. They look awful. Fellas, either grow a proper one. Or get rid. Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Edinburgh police looking to speak with duo after late-night robbery
Police in Edinburgh are looking to speak with two males after a robbery in the city. The incident occurred at around 2.40am on October 31, at the junction of Gorgie Road and Wardlaw Street. The first male is described as white, aged 19 or 20-years-old, and approximately 5'8". The second is also white, around 18 or 19-years-old, and between 5'11" and 6 foot in height. Anyone who may have seen the duo is urged to get in touch. READ MORE: Edinburgh police probe latest firebombing outside home as gang war rages on READ MORE: Edinburgh fire crews 'using axes to break down wall' after blaze breaks out at takeaway A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "The incident occurred at around 2.40am at the Gorgie Road and Wardlaw Street junction in Edinburgh. "Officers believe the males could assist them in their ongoing enquiries and are appealing for them or anyone who may recognise them or has information about this incident to get in touch. The first male (pictured) is described as being white, aged between 19-20 years old and approximately 5'8' in height. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox "He has short, thick dark hair and facial hair. He was seen to be wearing a dark zip-up jumper with a Fred Perry logo on the left chest, socks but no shoes. The second male (pictured) is described as being white, aged between 18-19 years old and between approximately 5'11' and 6ft in height. "He has short brown hair styled up at the front. He was seen to be wearing grey jogging bottoms, yellow and purple Nike Dunk style trainers and a black hooded jumper." Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. A Police Scotland representative said: "We urge the males pictured or anyone who may recognise them to contact us. If you have any information about this incident, please get in touch as soon as possible'. Anyone who can assist is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 1439 of 31 October 2024. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be given anonymously.
CBC
09-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
If the beard is strong, can the team go wrong?
It's that time of year when superstitions start to emerge. Whether it's watching the game from a certain place, wearing specific clothes, or even growing a beard, NHL fans and players alike take on all kinds of rituals and routines during the playoffs. But how did facial hair become such a key part of playoff hockey? Andre Costopolous is the chair of the anthropology department at the University of Alberta.
