In recent years two men have lead the charge when it comes to column inches about hair: David Beckham and Justin Bieber. Currently, Beckham is slightly resting on his laurels. He’s sporting the pushed back hairdo with a scruffy beard that he’s had for a while. It looks perfectly fine but it’s not really saying anything new. In contrast, Bieber appeared on a red carpet last week channeling a sort of retro-wet-look do of the sleekest order. It’s almost a bit Frank Sinatra.
If ever there was a month to ponder all things hair it’s December. Men’s hair, particularly during party season, has a surprising amount of work to do. And after a month of talking about moustaches, I feel it’s time to re-focus our hair attentions back up top. Men don’t have that many things to throw at an outfit, so if you have hair, you need to own it. Think about it: hair has the potential to be the shoes at the top end of your body i.e. the finishing flourish. Well, this is how I justify watching One Direction videos, scrutinising the pages of NME and watching Twilight films. These things give A LOT of hair – good or otherwise.
The very slicked back, borderline-wet look has of course been making something of a comeback before Bieber wore his like that. Pop duo Hurts have been ambassadors for this trend for well over a year. At the British fashion awards last month designer Henry Holland, known for a perky up-do quiff, plumped for a sleeked back, wet-look style. It was a dapper choice, particularly teamed with a double breasted suit jacket and bow tie. It also showed how different your overall appearance can be when you switch up your hair. Henry looked borderline serious, instead of his usual jolly self.
Sticking with hairdos that require lashings of product, let’s talk about Alex Turner’s latest hair, which is sort of a 1950s rockabilly-greaser thing. Now, I can’t say I like it, but I’ve come to the conclusion that at least he’s branching out and mixing it up a bit. The indie-kid messy-choppy thing definitely feels a bit old hat.
Bryan Ferry recently went to Buckingham Palace to collect a CBE. He took his four sons. Now there is a family with Burberry ad campaign group-shot worthy hair. Merlin, 20, had a bit of hair sticking out at one side with a short fringe, Isaac, 26, had a sort of footballer-meets-indie do, which is a bit lad-about-town. Otis, 29, has the posh boy countryside flick while Tara, 21 just has good hair, the kind that just looks effortlessly fabulous. Of course no-one quite nailed it like Bryan, who’d worn his neatly brushed back with a dash of product.
My personal three hair-cons this year though are, in no particular order, Andrew Garfield, Ben Whishaw and Charlie Fink from Noah and the Whale (top photo). These chaps excel in quite big hair, which is a bit messy, a bit prone to doing its own thing and a bit curly. Fink’s is also fantastically high at the front. Sticking with this overarching big hair theme, of late I’ve been referring to my own bouffant as “a bit Michael J Fox circa 1985.”
But what will come next? I refuse to take Fink off the moodboard just yet, but I am swiftly adding the following: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Gatsby blonde lick and Warren Beatty, as seen in the great hair source that is the recently published book: Hollywood and the Ivy Look. Oh, Beatty’s tidy and high style is a triumph.
And lastly, let us take a special moment to celebrate the hair of designer John Rocha, which never changes but never looks anything but totally mega.
Five other menswear considerations this week
• New shop alert: Loake, the shoemakers who’ve been producing quality British footwear since 1880, open their first ever store this month. Located in the recently refurbished Prince’s Arcade at Piccadilly in London, this is somewhere to discover proper grown up shoes with prices that aren’t stupid. Think a gorgeous pair of brogue boots for £195.
• Valentino at Pitti: as soon as the new year turns, the fashion circus cranks straight into gear with an onslaught of menswear action in January. First up is Pitti Uomo in Florence, a menswear showcase that precedes the catwalk shows of Milan and Paris. It has just been announced that the house of Valentino, as designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, will present their autumn/winter 2012 collection at the event this season. Previous designers to have shown there include Viktor Rolf and Band of Outsiders.
• High-street buy of the week:Topman’s jumbo dot white shirt – the dots are also white – is a latecomer for the party-shirt-of-the-season prize. But it’s a proper contender and costs just £28. Result.
• Marc by Marc Jacobs spring 12 collection, as discussed lastweek, is continuing to arrive in stores and online. The latest piece tocatch the eye is the “dystopia” t-shirt, which features a pineapple, someelephants and a butterfly. It’s busy but in a good way. Style with black jeans, a blazer and trainers.
• Sticking with the t-shirt theme: how much is too much for a T-shirt? I was in Liberty yesterday and got excited by a new season Burberry catwalk printed t-shirt. Then I saw the price. £225. What? Why? There’s no doubt that it’s a gorgeous print but I could never justify this much on a T-shirt. Could you? Discuss.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2011
The very slicked back, borderline-wet look has of course been making something of a comeback before Bieber wore his like that. Pop duo Hurts have been ambassadors for this trend for well over a year. At the British fashion awards last month designer Henry Holland, known for a perky up-do quiff, plumped for a sleeked back, wet-look style. It was a dapper choice, particularly teamed with a double breasted suit jacket and bow tie. It also showed how different your overall appearance can be when you switch up your hair. Henry looked borderline serious, instead of his usual jolly self.
Sticking with hairdos that require lashings of product, let’s talk about Alex Turner’s latest hair, which is sort of a 1950s rockabilly-greaser thing. Now, I can’t say I like it, but I’ve come to the conclusion that at least he’s branching out and mixing it up a bit. The indie-kid messy-choppy thing definitely feels a bit old hat.
Bryan Ferry recently went to Buckingham Palace to collect a CBE. He took his four sons. Now there is a family with Burberry ad campaign group-shot worthy hair. Merlin, 20, had a bit of hair sticking out at one side with a short fringe, Isaac, 26, had a sort of footballer-meets-indie do, which is a bit lad-about-town. Otis, 29, has the posh boy countryside flick while Tara, 21 just has good hair, the kind that just looks effortlessly fabulous. Of course no-one quite nailed it like Bryan, who’d worn his neatly brushed back with a dash of product.
My personal three hair-cons this year though are, in no particular order, Andrew Garfield, Ben Whishaw and Charlie Fink from Noah and the Whale (top photo). These chaps excel in quite big hair, which is a bit messy, a bit prone to doing its own thing and a bit curly. Fink’s is also fantastically high at the front. Sticking with this overarching big hair theme, of late I’ve been referring to my own bouffant as “a bit Michael J Fox circa 1985.”
But what will come next? I refuse to take Fink off the moodboard just yet, but I am swiftly adding the following: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Gatsby blonde lick and Warren Beatty, as seen in the great hair source that is the recently published book: Hollywood and the Ivy Look. Oh, Beatty’s tidy and high style is a triumph.
And lastly, let us take a special moment to celebrate the hair of designer John Rocha, which never changes but never looks anything but totally mega.
Five other menswear considerations this week
• New shop alert: Loake, the shoemakers who’ve been producing quality British footwear since 1880, open their first ever store this month. Located in the recently refurbished Prince’s Arcade at Piccadilly in London, this is somewhere to discover proper grown up shoes with prices that aren’t stupid. Think a gorgeous pair of brogue boots for £195.
• Valentino at Pitti: as soon as the new year turns, the fashion circus cranks straight into gear with an onslaught of menswear action in January. First up is Pitti Uomo in Florence, a menswear showcase that precedes the catwalk shows of Milan and Paris. It has just been announced that the house of Valentino, as designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, will present their autumn/winter 2012 collection at the event this season. Previous designers to have shown there include Viktor Rolf and Band of Outsiders.
• High-street buy of the week:Topman’s jumbo dot white shirt – the dots are also white – is a latecomer for the party-shirt-of-the-season prize. But it’s a proper contender and costs just £28. Result.
• Marc by Marc Jacobs spring 12 collection, as discussed lastweek, is continuing to arrive in stores and online. The latest piece tocatch the eye is the “dystopia” t-shirt, which features a pineapple, someelephants and a butterfly. It’s busy but in a good way. Style with black jeans, a blazer and trainers.
• Sticking with the t-shirt theme: how much is too much for a T-shirt? I was in Liberty yesterday and got excited by a new season Burberry catwalk printed t-shirt. Then I saw the price. £225. What? Why? There’s no doubt that it’s a gorgeous print but I could never justify this much on a T-shirt. Could you? Discuss.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2011
