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Is it back???? Time again for moustaches?
YaadPyar:
The thoroughly modern moustache?
by Catherine Hours
Thu Jun 8, 1:26 PM ET
"I think it's sexy," Donald Bradford, 26, says of the bushy growth that has adorned his upper lip for the past two months.
Largely shunned since the 1980s, moustaches are enjoying something of a renaissance among young New Yorkers, following a comeback trail blazed by such hip role models as actor Nicholas Cage and the ultra-trendy fashion photographer Terry Richardson.
"It's just cool, right?, and it's fun," said Bradford, a tall man with blonde highlights in his hair to match his silver jacket.
Jay Della Vale verges on the evangelical in his praise of the moustache's attributes which, according to the 26-year-old DJ, include intimations of virility, a relaxed style and a healthy sense of humor.
"You walk differently. You're more laid back. You dress differently," Della Vale said. "We're on a mission to bring it back."
Della Vale's devotion to facial hair prompted him to make a documentary "The Glorious Moustache Challenge" in which he persuaded 30 men to grow moustaches for a month to see what difference it made in their lives and the reactions of those around them.
"For the first month, everybody is against it, especially the women," he said. "They say, 'Please don't do that, you remind me of my father ... or a 70s porn star'."
According to Della Vale, most of his moustachioed guinea pigs weathered the early critical storm and actually became quite fond of their new accessory.
Love of "the stache" was taken for granted at the recent New York City Beard and Moustache Championships, which saw hundreds of hirsute aficionados turn out to root for their favourite styles.
Iconic images of movie stars and characters who championed the moustache -- Clark Gable, Sean Connery, Inspector Clouseau, Marlon Brando in "The Godfather" -- were projected onto a giant screen to appreciative applause.
But the real adulation was reserved for a photo of the contestants' main hero, Tom Selleck, who brought stache-style to the masses in the early 1980s with the television cop series "Magnum."
But not long after those heady days, the moustache's fortunes took a dive in the popularity stakes -- it's fall from grace best summed up by the makeover forced on the "Brawny Man."
A brand icon whose lumberjack shirt and heavy moustache had promoted Brawny kitchen towels for decades, the Brawny Man was replaced in 2003 by a clean-shaven hunk who was seen as more in tune with the times.
For all the efforts of Della Vale and his cohorts, bringing back the old style is proving a tough sell to the average man in the street.
"I feel less confident, more insecure," said Graham Veysey, 24, who grew his moustache and entered the New York contest in a response to a dare from his friends.
"It's just not me," Veysey said. "I didn't understand how much it would dominate the conversation. It's like 25 times a day!"
New York-based French fashion designer Thomas Vasseur finds his moustache -- complemented with prominent sideburns -- serves as an open invitation to comment from just about everybody.
"For some of my friends, it suggests I'm looking for a new identity," said Vasseur, 32.
"My mother tells me I remind her of my father who she divorced 25 years ago, my nephews tell me it scratches, and then there are also those, happily, who say that it suits me," he added.
No matter what the reaction, Vasseur insists he has no intention of taking a razor to his upper lip.
"It's a male accessory, just like highlights or make-up for women," said Vasseur. "I would feel naked without it."
As for the future, zealots like Della Vale optimistically predict an "epidemic" of moustaches spreading across the country, while other fashion arbiters are more cautious.
"It's almost like a tongue-in-cheek kind of style," said James Bassil, editor-in-chief of the male lifestyle website, AskMen.com.
"The general impression that women have of moustaches is either they love them or they are absolutely repulsed by them, and there's no real middle ground," Bassil said.
"And there needs to be a middle ground for a fashion or a facial hair trend to be adopted en masse permanently," he added.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.
SFEnnisSF:
I never used to like moustaches, but suddenly after BBM, I'm finding myself noticing them more..... ;D
YaadPyar:
Seems the moustache has just been co-opted by the whole beard-moustache combo. They're still there, but kinda incognito as part of the whole facial hair package.
It so depends on the man and the moustache. I've never been a fan of them on women... ;D
Brown Eyes:
I've always wondered about something regarding Jack's moustache and BBM. It seems very pointed that we don't get to see Ennis and Jack kiss once the moustache appears. I wonder if middle America wouldn't be able to handle seeing a man kiss another man with a moustache. This is a wierd question, I know. But, it sort of bothers me. I wish that there had been at least one kiss with the moustache.
:-\
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: atz75 on June 10, 2006, 12:24:01 am --- I wonder if middle America wouldn't be able to handle seeing a man kiss another man with a moustache. This is a wierd question, I know. But, it sort of bothers me. I wish that there had been at least one kiss with the moustache.
:-\
--- End quote ---
This made me laugh a little; I picture viewers who managed to get through the first tent scene become so incensed by a moustache-kissing scene -- "That does it!" -- they would storm out of the theater. But it's an interesting question. You could be right that a moustache would make a difference -- it's a little extra reminder of masculinity. More in your face, so to speak. It's hard to say, since they don't kiss, period, after the reunion scene. If the moustache were the only thing keeping them from kissing, you'd think Ang could have just had Jake shave it (or not glue it on). ;D
Another thing that occurs to me, now that you mention this, is that age might have been an issue. Viewers who have a hard time with the love scenes probably can, even if they're homophobic, find them slightly more tolerable when the participants are young and beautiful than when the participants are aging (and, well, still plenty beautiful, but theoretically less so). Older gay sex, after all, violates two taboos.
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