Close X
Friday, November 22, 2024
ADVT 
Style

Embrace The Beard: The Return Of Beards To Warsaw Reflects Global Popularity Of Facial Hair

The Canadian Press , 20 Nov, 2014 11:15 AM
  • Embrace The Beard: The Return Of Beards To Warsaw Reflects Global Popularity Of Facial Hair
WARSAW, Poland — Jakub Marczewski grew a beard six years ago because he was too lazy to shave. Now he finds himself in the middle of a global trend.
 
The 21-year-old got his hair and beard trimmed at a new shop with a hip retro vibe, the Barberian Academy & Barber Shop, which opened in Warsaw last month to serve the growing number of Polish men with facial hair. A revival in the culture of barbering in this Eastern European capital is just one sign of how popular beards have become, with actors, athletes and hipsters leading the way.
 
Metrosexuals be gone: Europe is agog for beards.
 
"Worldwide, we are at the height of facial hair," said Allan Peterkin, a Toronto psychiatrist and author of "One Thousand Beards: A Cultural History of Facial Hair."
 
"It's a delightful expression of masculinity, but not a super-macho expression."
 
After World War II, men were mostly clean-shaven, reflecting a military ethos that came to dominate corporate life, Peterkin said. Over the next decades facial hair was adopted by outcast groups like beatniks and hippies. Since the mid-1990s, it has been slowly spreading to the point that now the mountain man beard is all the rage across North America.
 
The 2008 financial crisis added to the beard momentum, with some men who lost their jobs ditching the conformist look as they reinvented themselves.
 
"To grow a beard is to start a new life and to have more confidence in yourself. You look a little older, so people have more respect," said Salvador Chanza, a 31-year-old master barber from Spain who trains professionals. Sporting both a handlebar moustache and a substantial beard, he said the embrace of facial hair reflected a rejection of the previous clean-shaven metrosexual ethos.
 
Now facial hair is hugely popular across Western Europe, especially in fashion-conscious Paris. And across the globe, it's the month of "Movember" — when men are encouraged to grow a moustache to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues.
 
Piotr Zuchowski, manager of the Warsaw shop, said barbering is reviving after vanishing during Poland's communist era. Although democracy leader Lech Walesa sported an impressive walrus moustache, most communist-era workers were clean-shaven.
 
Peterkin said the popularity of facial hair has always been cyclical.
 
"When something once edgy becomes so commonplace, like tattoos, it loses its edge," he said. "If every guy across generations is doing it, then there is going to be a shift back to clean shaven-ness."

MORE Style ARTICLES

Pick old clothes for Halloween

Pick old clothes for Halloween
People are looking around for the best clothes to look different on the occasion of Halloween, which is Friday. What if you get your best attire...

Pick old clothes for Halloween

Leopard print: Autumn fashion must-have

Leopard print: Autumn fashion must-have
Leopard is a statement print that never dates, and it's back with a vengeance for autumn. One should embrace the fashion must-have with open...

Leopard print: Autumn fashion must-have

Fashion do's and don'ts for curvy women

Fashion do's and don'ts for curvy women
Are you overweight? Is selecting the right outfit a challenge for you? Here is an expert who can guide you through the right wardrobe....

Fashion do's and don'ts for curvy women

Look stylish in leather trousers

Look stylish in leather trousers
Leather trousers are stylish, but the thought alone puts many women off them. Hence it is important to get the styling right for these wardrobe essentials and choose the right fit....

Look stylish in leather trousers

Tips to look gorgeous during festive season

Tips to look gorgeous during festive season
It's festival time and apart from indulging in shopping and partying, one should also take good care of one's skin. The revelry should not stop you...

Tips to look gorgeous during festive season

Look 'hot' in cold!

Look 'hot' in cold!
Don't let the cold weather be your excuse for not looking 'hot' this winter! Give your wardrobe a makeover....

Look 'hot' in cold!