Beards and Suits

There was a time when beards were considered the affectation of either, your jolly uncle, or the careers counsellor at school, but take a walk down any city street and you’ll be astonished at the number of well-kept beards crowning fitted men’s suits. These days facial hair is going through a bit of a renaissance with many men opting for the bearded look. So what is it with the beard? Why is it suddenly so popular?

 

 

Beards Through The Ages

Since Victorian times it has been the norm to shave every day. In those times bearded men were often thought of as suspicious characters – why would you want to hide your face? Strange it may seem, but apparently there is a deep lying suspicion of bearded types built into our psyche. All a bit bizarre when you consider that moustaches are considered acceptable! This feeling of mistrust guided our hands towards the razor for centuries with politicians, royals, and even celebrities fearing for their careers or reputations and so shunning the bearded look. In fact, such was our fear that the poor old beard has been outlawed (yes you read that right) and taxed in the past.

 

 

Facial Hair At Work

Firemen, police officers, and doctors have all fallen victim to the anti-beard movement in days gone by, with those in power believing that a beard was simply an unprofessional look. Throughout the last century the mustache has been the choice of white-collar men. It signified power, masculinity, and also a distinctly groomed aesthetic that the businessmen aspired to. But just as the beard has risen in popularity in the workplace, the moustache trend has drastically disappeared. Now it finds itself the butt of many a joke, a point proven by charity events such as Movember, where men are encourage to grow a mustache for charity, as if any sane person would do it just for kicks.

Now we find beards on the up in the world of style.

 

 

Looking Sharp

There is one undeniable truth found in the midst of this facial hair frenzy, and that is that beards look pretty stylish with men’s shirts and especially suits. Try it out for yourself, take a look at yourself now in your perfectly tailored suit, you probably look good. Now take a couple of weeks to fill out that beard and then take a look at yourself again. Hopefully you will see some difference. There is something about a well-groomed beard that can give formal suits an edge and an increasing amount of men are doing their best to pull off the look.

Taking this sense of style into the workplace hasn’t always been possible. The razor was usually the first thought before dressing yourself for an interview, whereas now we can simply reach for the trimmer. The reason for this most likely lies with the fashion and style icons of the present day.

Try to think of a famous beard and there’s a pretty good chance, Hugh Jackman could have been first to spring to mind. There’s no doubt that the likes of Mr. Jackman, Tom Hardy, and George Clooney have done untold good in the name of beards but it’s also no coincidence that both have been considered the most stylish men of the last two decades. Well-liked bearded celebrities have helped dispel that subconscious feeling of mistrust we mentioned earlier and have brought facial hair into the world of men’s fashion.

So if you’re still on the fence and you haven’t yet ditched the razor, now could be the time. The natural accessory could add impressive stylishness to every man’s suit.

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