One of the first Fashion Friday posts I wrote covered the idea that men are starting to dress again. Since that article was written, I have noticed that not only has the trend strengthened, but the idea has grown tentacles and touched other aspects of the everyday man paying closer attention to himself. These ideas obviously have existed before, but it’s like when you hear a word for the first time and then all of a sudden it appears everywhere.
The fact that there are barber shops that are a hundred years old proves the existence of specialized salons for men has been around for a long time. I know it’s not the innovation of the century. It could be because I had shaved my own head for ten years that I missed out on the influx of old school master barber shops opening everywhere. Now that I have hair, every two weeks or so I go to Freeman’s Sporting Club and, without fail, it’s an hour wait regardless of what time or day it is. Waiting sucks but the cuts are great, further proving that sacrifice for aesthetics is not just for women. And these sacrifices aren’t just for aesthetics for that matter, once you realize that a lot of these places offer more than just a good haircut. When you sit down in a master barber’s chair, get a trim, maybe even a shave, have your face is wrapped in a hot eucalyptus towel and breathe in how manly you feel, only then you will know that the experience is as important as the aesthetic end result.
I have also noticed that a flurry of men’s shaving and skin care lines have come to the surface and the saturation of this particular market is an indicator of how we are a relevant force at the cosmetics counter.
I was never the skin care routine type. Actually, I’ve always hated having anything on my skin. Taking my contacts out every night is a task, let alone a five or six step skin care regiment, but I was given the Shiseido Men’s line as a gift which I love/hate. Love because my face and a baby’s ass are in serious competition in the soft and smooth categories. Hate because this round was free and, like a drug dealer giving someone their first taste, I am hooked.
I have also always been a bit of a shaving snob. You know the type, shaving brush placed on it’s perch, shaving soap in it’s steel tub, and the straight razor that’s nearly killed me perfectly placed next to them both. Thanks to places like FSC and The Art of Shaving it’s much easier to find everything I need to make me feel much cooler than I really am.
Although this may sound like an ad for the above mentioned products and places, the truth is, the fact that these products and places exist for me to praise, just proves that men are not yet done evolving.
Photo Credits: Ralf Nau
