Beards have gone in and out of fashion ever since the dawn of time. From the tool-less neanderthal to the modern day Ranveer Singh, beards have more or less been a mainstay for the quintessential man. But there have been times when famous personalities have made certain facial hairstyles memorable, throughout history.
We chronicle the different staches & beards which have graced men’s faces through the times.
1. The ‘No shaving tools’ beard.
Because the caveman didn’t care much about style as he did about intimidation, protection, and warmth. Also, no trimmers and razors.
2. The ‘Roman’ (or the clean shaved).
When Romans brought in the first barbers, they found out the magic of the blade against men’s cheeks, and voila! The clean shaven look became a mainstay for many years.
3. The Guy Fawkes
Everyone remembers this man’s face mask which was made famous in the cult classic ‘V for Vendetta.’ But few know that he came up with this style in the 16th Century and it stayed that way for a while.
4. The Mutton Chops
In the American Civil War era around the 1860s, General Ambrose Burnside made the ‘sideburns’ (yes, the name comes from his own name) or the more recently named Mutton Chops famous. It caught on like a charm and manly men started sporting it more and more.
5. The Chin Curtain (or the Lincoln)
In the same time of the Civil War, American president Abraham Lincoln emerged with his iconic ‘Chin Curtain,’ a beard without a visible upper lip moustache, and took the facial hair world by storm.
6. The Taft (or the Handlebar Moustache)
At the turn of the 19th Century, the 27th President of the United States William Howard Taft sported a mighty curved and shaped moustache which became known as the handlebar. For reference purposes, what Ranveer Singh sported in Bajirao Mastani was also a handlebar.
7. The Chaplin (or the Toothbrush) (or the lesser known Hitler)
A certain tramp in the 1900s chopped off his moustache over his lip corners and gave birth to a legendary character and an even more iconic moustache. On the other side of the world, a certain Fuhrer chopped off the curls of his handlebar to better seal his gas mask. The rest, as they say, is history.
8. The Clark Gable (or the Pencil)
During the rise of Hollywood heroes in the 1940s, a certain movie called Gone With The Wind arrived in 1939. Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable) revolutionised the moustache by sporting a pencil thin line of facial hair over his upper lip. Is it there or not there? The mystery proved to work for him as the Pencil Moustache became a fashion statement.
9. The Van Dyke (or the French beard)
A facial beard got a revamp as it encircled the lips and touched the chin and got known as the French beard. Funnily, it never originated in France. Sir Anthony van Dyck (after whom it is named) was a painter in England in the 19th Century. Lenin popularised it and it came back into resurgence when Robert Downey Jr. revolutionised it for his role in the Iron Man movies. Amitabh Bachchan is an obvious addition.
10. The Goatee
Charles Dickens was probably the most well-known personality to popularise the goatee, as well as Black Jazz musicians in the 1960s. Known for its concentration around the chin, it got famous in popular culture most notably by System of A Down singer Serj Tankian, also known as a Chin Fuzz.
11. The Hulk Hogan (or the Horseshoe)
1980s popular biker and wrestling culture saw the rise of the Horseshoe moustache, a thick crop of hair above the lip growing down to the jawline. The manliest of moustaches at that time, it gave off a vibe of a tough personality and rude behaviour.
12. The Tom Selleck (or the Chevron)
Everyone knows Richard from FRIENDS. Although his perfectly manicured moustache was a sight to behold in the sitcom, he popularised it in his TV show Magnum PI. Many tried their own versions of it, notably Freddie Mercury, but no one got as perfect a Chevron as Selleck himself.
13. The Soul Patch
Jazz musicians, especially trumpeters, sported this little dot of hair below the lip so that it gave some amount of cushion for their trumpet mouthpieces. Made famous in India by Aamir Khan in Dil Chahta Hai.
14. The Lumberjack
Modern day beard style came into mainstream and hipster focus with the rise of the wood cutter trend. Lumberjacks sporting tattoo sleeves, side cropped hair, plaid shirts, and a full beard became the current in-thing for facial hair fashion.
15. The Baba
Forget that you have shaving duties, go into spirituality, and become drawn out from the material world. Practice yoga or smoke ganja on the banks of River Ganga. It’s less famous, but technically still a style! ?
Beards will always keep coming back in fashion and it is interesting to know which style will be trending 20 years hence.