"It's very, very current," said Jimmy Paul, a New York hairstylist who works exclusively on fashion shoots and who until recently did not take a beard trimmer to work. "It's a very subversive and strong look. It's like a new punk. I don't think you can really have a job with one."
The New York Times Fashion & Style: Shaggy Chic: The Call of the Semi-Wild
But maybe not yet:
There is even a reference to the gay subculture of "bears": men who are unapologetically hirsute. Largely a fringe element only a few years ago, bear culture is winning converts among gay men turned off by the plucked and waxed world of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
I never had grown facial hair until a few years back. It was a revelation, the way it changed my outlook in life. I especially liked the reaction I got, the people from whom I received an approval. It does make an statement.
The beard is also a blatant and almost primal expression of masculinity. For a study published in the journal Psychology in 1973, eight young men were photographed in four progressive states of beardedness. The photographs were shown to a panel, who were asked to rate the men on a variety of attributes. The responses linked longer beards with masculinity, dominance, self-confidence, nonconformity and liberalism. (...)
Most beard wearers agree that one of the remarkable things about having a beard is how people react to it.
Thought Not hates the article. It is fluff. It's hype. But it is always better to be ahead of the curve.
