The Unshaven Look

The curmudgeon Handbook is quite specific about facial hair: one is to be clean shaven to look, oh, I don't know, civilized, and any facial hair should be organized into something, like a mustache or neatly trimmed beard - it even goes so far as to permit Van Dykes.  Anybody with a "soul patch" should never be seen in public (a safety issue - one is so busy watching it bob up and down as the wearer talks that accidents are inevitable) and 1970s-style bushy sideburns should remain in the 70s.


Simple.  But no, some blithering idiot on Madison Avenue apparently thought a good-looking male model would look ruggedly handsome if he looked like he forgot his shaving kit on a week-long hike in the forest.  Said idiot apparently sold his idea, got magazines like Vogue - you know, the one where you can rip out the first 100 pages and not even touch the table of contents - and a "look" was hatched.  And what a sad day for civilized society.  Even the new Steve McGarrett frequently sports the 4-day version.  Like a state governor would hire someone who can't even master a shaver.


I like to think that this will just be a fad, but regrettably, men are lazy sorts and skipping shaving has real appeal.  And so does looking ruggedly handsome.  Unfortunately, most adherents to this "look" are far from handsome and just look stupid.  And lazy.