Beards have been big news in men’s fashion for a couple of years now, and have been adopted by far more younger guys than they used to be. There are lots of upsides to growing a beard for a lot of men, like the convenience of not having to stay cleanly shaven, and the fact a beard can be slimming, hide a double chin and camouflage any features or blemishes on the lower face, like moles or scars. A lot of women were also supportive of the beard trend (though not by attempting to grow one themselves), with girls showing their love for their bearded boyfriends or husbands with things like t-shirts proclaiming ‘beards are best‘.
However, if fashion magazines are anything to believe, the beard may be going back out of fashion again, and more men may soon find themselves reaching for a good electric shaver and going back to the clean cut look.
Hipster Associations
Some people find being called a hipster to be a compliment, meaning that they are in tune with the latest fashions and yet also managing not to be ‘mainstream’. For many, though, ‘hipster’ is a derogatory term, and means someone who basically looks ridiculous for weird reasons. Hipsters – self-proclaimed and otherwise – have certainly embraced beards and the ‘mountain man’ look became something of a hipster staple – complete with plaid shirt and jeans (though not an axe or any muscles, usually). Of course, this annoyed people who actually were outdoorsy or had had a beard since before the trend. A lot of men like the beard trend because it is low maintenance and manly, but the advent of the huge range of ‘beard oils’ and similar grooming products no lumberjack has ever conceived of using made them seem less so. Hipsters are ready to move onto a new trend, which will probably involve wearing dog ears made of corduroy on their heads or something, and the men who don’t want to be seen as hipsters are ditching the beards to avoid the association.
Clean Shaven Never Went Away for Corporate Jobs
Another reason beards may be losing traction with those who want to look stylish is that while the fashion world – both mainstream and counterculture – embraced them, corporate America did not, and the clean cut look was still tacitly expected from young professionals in industries like law and finance. Older, distinguished men could wear beards, but on younger men it felt somehow frowned upon, like having a visible tattoo. In trendier industries like media and tech, beards were everywhere, but for those with corporate aspirations they just never really found a place.
Should You Shave, Then?
Since the trend seems to be going away, whether to keep your beard or not really depends on why you have it. If it was just for a change while it was cool but you won’t miss it, then now might be the time to go fresh faced again.
However, if you have loved having your beard and now feel like it’d be horrible to go back to shaving all the time and lose the look you’ve gotten used to, ignore the passing of the trend and keep it!
