Fop Hairstyles

17th century engraving of a British actor,
in character as 'Lord Foppington'.

Source: Wiki Commons

What Does Fop Mean?
The word 'fop' was used way back in the 1600s as a pejorative term for men who appeared to be overly vain, putting too much emphasis on their clothes, hair and general appearance. As a handy term for a dandified peacock, it caught on, eventually finding its way into popular culture via fictional characters such as The Scarlet  Pimpernel and Zorro.
The Rococo period
Foppishness was applied particularly to the French Court of Louis XV and the dandified and effeminate fashions which emanated from that part of the world, particularly in the eighteenth century, when French style among the male upper classes dictated such fashionable accoutrements as elaborately curled powdered wigs, skirted embroidered coats, delicately frilled cuffs, pink stockings, stick-on beauty spots and lush fabrics such as satin, silk and velvet. This was known as the 'Rococo' or 'Late Baroque' period and it was a good time to be a fop if you were that way inclined.

Liberace Fashion

Fun Times with the King of Kitsch
Strangely, I've never thought of Liberace as a fashion consultant or even remotely fashionable for that matter but perhaps there are those out there who do and if you're one of them (please, seek help!), this book purports to "swing open the closet door" on Liberace's extensive wardrobe in order to give us some sartorial guidance on the "fine art of extraordinary dressing for ordinary occasions". Tempted?

Of Men and Monocles

Actor Sam Bernard in costume. 1909. Source

Not surprisingly, you don't see many monocles around these days..and why would you? They are cumbersome, fiddly objects, only cover one eye and are apt to pop put at inconvenient moments. And yet...by Jove they're eye-catching and offer the wearer an instant transformation into eccentric gentleman - an interesting accessory perhaps, for fans of chappism.

Contrary to appearances, monocles are evidently perfectly comfortable to wear and are handy as a reading glass that can be tucked discreetly into a pocket when not in use. When they first appeared in the early half of the 19th century, they were a simple affair - an unpretentious circle of metal-rimmed glass which slotted into the eye orbit. The second wave of monocles in the late 1800s however, were more elaborate and featured a gallery, which was a kind of of  wire extension on the underside of the rim, designed to increase comfort and prevent the eyelashes from getting in the way of the glass. 

Chappism

Guest Post by Imogen Reed

"Human Race Reaches Sartorial Nadir"
So reads an article title in one of the UK’s most retro-chic ports of call - The Chap magazine. The subject of its ire? The invention of the ‘sweat pant for work’. To a Chap, being less than impeccably dressed at any time, under any circumstances, is totally unacceptable. There is a quote from their literary hero, Jeeves, butler to the P.G Wodehouse creation Bertie Wooster, the quintessential English gentleman. The quotation, which they display as an encapsulation of this world-view, can be seen on the site, almost as a call to arms:

What do ties matter, Jeeves, at a time like this?
There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter.
P.G. Wodehouse
   

Chaps Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, as Wodehouse creations Jeeves and Bertie Wooster

Men's Sideburn Styles

Sideburn enthusiast, Englebert Humperdink

Although daily shaving can be a definite drag for men, the existence of male facial hair does at least offer them the option of expressing their own individuality and completely changing their appearance via a beard, moustache and /or a shapely pair of sideburns.

Sideburns suggest virility but also, if in the right configuration, elegance - they can be employed to slim down a face, reflect an era or style and just generally conjure a particular image that the wearer might be desirous of getting across. With that in mind, let's explore some of the common sideburn affectations that have proved popular with the testosterone crowd....

Top Hats

Silk top hat from Ascot Top Hats

I'm puttin' on my top hat
Tyin' up my white tie..
Dancin' in my tails!

There are some fashion items that never seem to date....then there are some that date but are later retrieved, taking on a whole new style cachet for another generation. Then there are some that date and stay buried, never to return to the limelight or even the low light ever again, despite the fact that in their day, they outshone the rest.

The top hat is one such item - perhaps because it just too formal an item in a society that has largely eschewed dressing-up as an art form and valued convention, in favour of the comfort and convenience of the casual. Mind you, as fashion items go, the top hat is a fairly out-there item.. a trifle silly in its English eccentricity, at least from a contemporary perspective.

Men in Suspenders

Man in suspenders. Source

Never was a fashion accessory so diverse in its application as suspenders. True, ostensibly suspenders were made for the single purpose of holding up a mans pants but over the decades they've been worn as an emblem by such varied cultural groups as Neo-Nazis, the gentle Amish, alternative, hippy types and ferocious stock market players.

When I think Gordon Ghekko, the fictional ruthless financial entrepreneur of  the 80s film, Wall St, who's name is now synonymous with greed - I'm  reminded of wide braces over striped silk shirts and will probably forever associate that particular men's accessory with avaricious opportunism. It's an inescapable connection, particularly since my son's ludicrously paid orthodontist is fond of wearing the same style of suspender.

Yet when I see a skinhead in a pair of bother boots and a swastika tattoo or an Amish farmer riding to town peacefully in his black buggy,  new connections form. As a sub-culture, skinhead's have their own complex rules and regulations regarding clothes, which are more uniform than fashion. The width of the braces is   important, (3/4" and 1" in width, being the standard size), as is colour and height and position. Evidently there is some political significance to the suspenders being worn on the shoulders or down around the waist.

Dark and threatening. Still from Romper Stomper

For the Amish, of course, suspenders are a practical item as well as a symbol of the value of tradition and pre-modernism. They are still a statement however, as much as they are for the skinheads - just a different kind of statement.

 My Suspenders Define Me

King of suspenders, Larry King

Apart from skinheads, farmers and wall street types, suspenders also conjure images of grumpy old men (see Larry King photo) who give the impression they probably came out of the womb in suspenders. For these men, such an accessory is an immutable habit and they carry with them a kind of : "I've always worn suspenders and I always will " attitude.

It was a man called Albert Thurstan who invented the modern version of men's suspenders, in 1822, so they've been around for a while. Over the years they've shifted in and out of popularity, depending  on pants style and whatever happens to be flavour of the month fashion-wise.

In the 1920s they were particularly popular but waned in the 30s due to the abandonment of waistcoats -at that time suspenders were considered more underwear than outer wear. They had a brief return to popularity with the baggier trousers of the 1940s but all in all, in the battle between belt and braces, the belt has won hands down.

Are suspenders and sexiness incompatible..? Not necessarily, though much depends on the style and era. After all, Daniel Craig wore them to effect as James Bond, supposedly one of the sexiest men in fiction and they do look pretty good on 1920s men. The biggest non-no is to be caught wearing suspenders and a belt -that's just trying to have it both ways.

As always, what's important is the man inside the clothes...

Hitler's Hair
Cravats for men

Handlebar Moustache

Philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche

If a man really wants to stand out from the crowd, then sporting a large handlebar moustache is one way to do it. This is the kind of facial accessory for men who want to wear their testosterone on their sleeve..or rather their upper lip. Although the style dates back at least to the 18th century, when it was a favourite with soldiers and Wild West types, the handlebar moustache still has its fans in the 21st century. Over the decades, it has been worn to effect by philosophers, artists, actors, adventurers and Colonel Blimp prototypes.

Actor David Suchet as Hercule Poirot

Often but not always accompanied by a pair of bushy side burns, the handlebar is so-called for its obvious similarity in shape to bicycle handlebars and is defined by an upward trajectory at the sides. Some like their handlebar natural and wild, others slick and controlled and occasionally waxed and curled on the ends.


Although the classic handlebar is generous and bushy, there are some famous, stylized variations that fit the criteria in shape, if not in density. Fictional detective Hercule Poirot for example, wears a petit, waxy and controlled version of the style, while Salvadore Dali's iconic upper lip hair is a kind of interesting cross between a pencil-thin moustache and a handlebar.

Artist, Salvador Dali

The Handlebar Moustache Club
To join the handlebar moustache club, potential members must have an "hirsute appendage of the upper lip, with graspable extremities" and no beard. Founded in the UK just after World War II, the club has members all over the world, who are rightfully proud of their hirsute pursuit. There are some real beauties in the club line-up but beware, having a handlebar is not all beer and hairy conversation - the excessive moustache has its hazards, notably an incompatibility with cigarette lighters, soup and candy-floss.
Handlebar Moustache Club

Hitler's Hair

Hair brings one's self-image into focus; it is vanity's proving ground.  Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices.  ~Shana Alexander

 

Adolf Hitler

When I look at old black and white film clips, of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, I'm struck, not only by the intense light eyes and animated histrionics but also by his hair and moustache - features which ultimately became the defining physical characteristics of modern history's most notorious political figure. Anyone wishing to portray Hitler need only don the distinctive short, fat moustache and flickable asymmetrical dark hair and everyone will get it.

It's a very stylized look he cultivated and I can't help wondering what was behind it. Physically, Hitler was fairly unremarkable, apart from the intense eyes which hinted at disturbances beneath the surface.  Did he feel an egotistical need to develop a recognizable, designer identity through the plainness? If so, it was a look he clung to.

The whole Nazi propaganda machine was notable for its bold, Art Deco-influenced design features - the striking uniforms, boots, black leather Gestapo coats, the red and black emblems of eagles and swastikas (the latter borrowed from Indian culture) - and it wasn't merely the uniforms. Nazi architecture, which melded Neo-classicism and Art Deco, was all designed to foster a cult like worship of perverted German idealism.

Cravats for Men

Micheal Cain, dapper in a cravat

If it's good enough for Oscar Wilde....

Few things say "I'm a sophisticated man of the world" than a cravat, even if the sartorial statement is a little hackneyed. Despite this, I'd be hard put to think of a man I know personally who wears a cravat or who would even contemplate wearing a cravat. Apart from my Uncle Dick that is, who is now deceased, bless his paisley silk cravat. Is it just that I don't move in cravat-wearing circles, where the worldly and sophisticated hang out?

As male neck embellishments go, the cravat, though obviously screaming with style, has not been able to conquer the popularity of  the ubiquitous neck tie, at least not in the last hundred years or so. Perhaps this is because the cravat carries just the faintest whiff of effeminate vanity - to wear one requires a modicum of fussing and preening and those silky patterns are just a little bit reminiscent of a woman's scarf. Could it be that there's a perception that cravats are...gay...reserved for antique dealers, gallery owners and aging theatrical types?

So...? Liberace Museum.

Yet when I think cravat, I think of Hugh Hefner in a red silk smoking jacket, macho Rhett Butler and Laurence Olivier as that sexist bastard in Sleuth. True, there's also Noel Coward, Oscar Wilde and Liberace....but so? Gay and straight men wear neckties too. Besides, men are surely not so paranoid about their sexual identity....ahem?

It's also true that cravats are 'old-fashioned', even a throwback to the Victorian era, yet that hasn't stopped a plethora of other atavistic style statements from acquiring a cool retro cachet. Plus, it could be argued the cravat is classic rather than passe, as it's a style that transcends the merely faddish. No, there may be something else at play here.

I blame the corporate world. The neck tie is straight and narrow. It's serious - there's no mucking around, just down to business. By contrast, the cravat conjures an aura of easygoing relaxation and even frivolousness...it clearly says "there's more to life than balance sheets and business". The tie is pragmatic, the cravat romantic and ultimately threatening to the economics driven, corporate worshipping world we live in.

Clark Gable as Rhett Butler. A threat?

Chappism
Of Men and Monocles
Men in Suspenders

The Crew Cut

50s Actor & heart throb, Tab Hunter

The crew cut - which legend has it, was named after the Yale rowing teams of the late 1900s, became the standard cut in the US armed forces during WW2. Post-war, the  crew's popularity spread into the civilian population and in the 1950s it was the most common style for men.

Traditionally, a crew cut features short or medium length back and sides and  tapered hair on the top of the head, beginning shortest at the crown and getting gradually longer toward the front.Variations include an Ivy League cut which favors longer length all over and a buzz cut, which is shorter all over.

The flat-top crew, often associated with uncompromising military types, is yet another high maintenance variation, where the hair is designed to stand-up, forming a boxy square shape -frequent cutting is required to keep the square look.

In the 80s, Grace Jones gave the flat top new, cool meaning

In the 1960s, the crew cut became deeply uncool, as it was emblematic of the establishment. The mod look, cultivated by British bands required longer hair and the general breakaway from conservative short cuts became a symbol of the youth revolution. However, as fashion has a tendency to recycle itself, in more recent times, crew cuts became fashionable again in a retro kind of way.

The Crew Cuts...were a Canadian vocal group who had a hit in the 1950s with a cover version of Sh-boom,which was originally released by The Chords.
 

Chesty Bond

Bonds Underwear Icon

Chesty Bond

An icon of Australian manufacturing, the fictional Bond's advertising model, Chesty Bond, is a nostalgic testament to notions of mid 20th century machismo. With his tanned torso, rippling chest muscles, over-size chin, wavy blonde hair and confident, white-toothed smile, his image spelt out T-E-S-T-O-S-T-E-R-O-N-E...the not so sub-text reading 'real men wear bonds'.

Chesty bond was created by the Ad men in 1938 -chesty because singlets were Bond's thing and they needed a great torso to show off the wares. When Aussie men slipped on a Bond's singlet they could feel powerful by association. The original Chesty model was professional wrestler, Max Whitehead, who died in 2010 at 87.

Chesty's branded logo

Vulcanised rubber models, which are now collectible,  graced the underwear counter of major department stores. Vintage Chesty's are identifiable by a raised logo across the chest, which is absent from modern reproductions.

In 1940 a cartoon version of Chesty Bond (by Syd Miller) began to feature regularly in newspaper advertisements and for the next few decades as well. Australians became as familiar with the jaw jutting man in the singlet as they were with Waltzing Matilda.

Max Whitehead, the original Chesty

Disappointingly, in 2009, the underwear company (Pacific Brands) that was an Australian-made fixture for so long moved shop offshore, closing 7 manufacturing plants in the process. Ah well, as Ned would say...such is industry.

So chesty....Chesty Bond

Zoot Suits

In the 1940s, zoot suits were so big and loose and took up so much material, that the War Production Board was prompted to send out a public criticism, stating that such resources would be better spent on the war effort, rather than making the baggy suits - the implication being that zoot suits were unpatriotic. 

Modern zoot costume. Amazon

Stylistically, they were a pretty fancy item; the pants were very high-waisted and widely cut but tapered off to a slimmer cuff at the bottom, while the jacket was long, with wide lapels and bulky padded shoulders, giving the impression the wearer may have left the coat hanger in the suit.

Commonly the suit would be worn with a gold chain dangling from the belt, thick-soled shoes and a wide brimmed hat, with or without a feather for extra emphasis.

A soldier inspecting a couple of zoot suits in 1942

Zoot suits appealed to the male dandy and according to historians, were particularly appealing to Mexican Americans or Pachucos, as they were known, Filipinos and blacks  - if you wanted to make an assertive style statement, the zoot suit was the way to do it. In many ways they were a symbol of ethnic identity and indeed, in Los Angeles, California in 1943 when a battle broke out between American servicemen and Latino and black youths, they became known as the Zoot Suit Riots and the suit itself, a symbol of cultural subversion.

A subversive young dandy in his zoot suit

Although there are several theories about its origin(including one that posits zoots were a copy of Clark Gable's outfit in Gone with the Wind), the Zoot suit appears to have emerged from the vibrant Harlem jazz culture of the 1930s. At that time they were known as drapes and were possibly called zoots as a play on the word 'suits', though in urban jazz culture of the 40s the term 'zoot' meant anything that was exaggerated or extravagant and didn't gel with the norm.

Duck in a zoot suit, from Disney comic "The Spirit of '43"

Pencil Thin Moustache

The one and only

Suavo

Anyone addicted to old black and white films from the 1930s will know that the pencil thin moustache was a very popular fashion accessory for the stylish male. It was a short but intense fad that disappeared as the decades shifted gear and so far as I'm aware, never returned again..at least not in any great numbers, though I did notice Brad Pitt had kind of one for a while.

Pondering on this pencil thin question, it occurred to me that all the childish crushes I had on old actors (and there were a few), sported one of these archaic moustaches. Let's see, there was Don Ameche, who when I was eight or nine, thought was the bees knees - he was just so darn pleasant and had a great smile, as well as a carefree attitude. Yes, he was a serious crush.

George Brent..charm and wit

After Don, who, disloyal worshipper that I am, faded from view, I moved on to George Brent who was older and more mature but then so was I. When I was in my late teens, George seemed to me the epitome of sophisticated good humour, helped along in no small way I'm sure, by his defining pencil thin moustache. I wondered, with a certain wistful sadness, why there weren't men like George around anymore?

In my twenties, I discovered Errol Flynn, a fellow Australian and as elegant a rake as you'll find in a 30s film. Someone gave me a Leading Men of Hollywood book for my birthday and when the page fell open on a full glossy print of Errol's handsome yet sensitive face, well I'm afraid George had to move out of the way.  I just can't imagine Errol without his pencil thin moustache, so integral a part of his facial features was it. In fact, I wonder if it's even possible to be a swashbuckler without one. Which reminds me...why don't men swashbuckle anymore?

Oh my

More recently, I've begun to have *feelings* for the charming and urbane William Powell, after watching some old Thin Man series where he sparred with Myrna Loy. The dog was pretty cute too..but no moustache.

Ok, a moustache yes,..but not pencil thin

I mean really, how debonair can you get?

Strangely enough and despite all these nostalgic black and white yearnings for men gone by, I don't think I'd like to see pencil thin moustaches on men today. It just wouldn't be right somehow...the pencil thin moustache belongs in the 30s, to an era that just can't be recaptured.

The Handle Bar Moustache

Of Men and Monocles
Cravats for Men
More Men's fashion

Bow Ties

Winston Churchill wore them, as did Groucho Marx, Orson Welles, Fred Astaire and Karl Lagerfield....

Stylish or silly?

The world is divided on the bow tie issue, however as it's a relatively rare sight to see a guy trucking down the street in a big beautiful bow tie, I guess the anti-bow tie forces are out in front.

There are some who are willing to swim against the tide but are they just Art Gallery Directors, foppish ham actors and dust-covered, retired Latin professors...?

A young Orson Welles

 
Not really..bow ties can look swish, elegant, manly and stylish. The secret is to wear them with confidence and not sheepishly...too self-conscious of the eccentric piece of fabric knotted around your neck. BT's are also worn by the seriously fashion conscious. Have a peek at Walking ART, who has that  boy-reporter/Jimmy Olsen look thing going. 

 

The Origin of the Bow Tie

Marty, from Texas, circa 1960s

Bow ties began with the Prussian war in the 17th Century. Croatian mercenaries used a scarf tied round their necks to hold their their shirt opening togeteher - they must have looked good because the French fashion elite adopted this 'neck tied' style and called it a cravat.  From the cravat came the necktie and the bowtie. (wiki)

Traditionally, a bow tie is tied by hand, although modern versions may be pinned on or held together by an adjustable elasticised band. They also come in different lengths, according to neck size, though  for  formal wear, fixed length is desirable to provide that neat look.

Fabrics range from silk, linen, cotton, polyester (goes with the elasticized ones) and as far as design goes, the sky's the limit - big, small, flat, bulky and in checks, spots, tartans, florals, geometric designs etc, etc. Bow ties were particularly popular in the 1920s...they looked so good with a boater.

Alexis Mabille...definitely manly

Hip French designer, Alexis Mabille has created some uber-cool, playful bow ties...

 

How to Tie a Bow Tie

Bermuda Shorts and Socks

Incredible as it may seem, in the 1960s and early 70s there was a craze for men to wear  suit pants in a shorts form, ie; cut off at the knee and teamed with long thickish, ribbed socks, cuffed at the top. Originally adapted from the British colonial military look (think Dr. Livingstone), the fashion began with businessmen living and working in steamy Bermuda, where long pants were just a tad too hot to wear and spread to other countries, albeit for a limited time...it wasn't a lasting fashion. There's a fetching picture of period Bermuda shorts and socks in action at allposters

In summer, office workers, salesmen, real estate agents and other miscellaneous businessmen would trundle off to work in their respectable Bermuda suit shorts/socks combination and no-one would bat an eyelid. On weekends the jacket and tie could be abandoned and the shorts and Bermuda socks could be worn with a casual top. Somehow I just can't see that style happening today, though I believe they are still commonly worn in Bermuda...

Must have forgotten to put his socks on