Born to be Mild- Neoclassic Man

This article called Neoclassic Man was originally written for The Hub Magazine. I thought I'd share this with you.

What’s a modern man to do? What with the weight of the world on his shoulders: interest rates, the global economy, duties around the house, baldness, rising trouser waist lines – not to forget ever-expanding waist lines – coupled with the compulsion to check the crackberry and i-phone at every given moment whilst keeping the trouble and strife happy. What’s a modern man to do in an age of rapidly changing expectations? Even the most rebellious men about town amongst us are questioning themselves.

“Am I suffering from change fatigue?”

It seems, the tide has turned for men’s hair and men’s clobber, now favouring a more groomed and slicked back, parred down approach ala Don Draper from the popular US hit TV show, Mad Men. Men, it seems, on the surface at least, have finally grown up. It’s the logical next step. Gone are the days of hogging your girlfriends straightening irons, or sporting elaborate multi-directional hair (I know you’re out there).

Thanks largely to the fashion world’s continued obsession with Tom Ford and his new muse actor Nicholas Hoult – star of Channel 4’s coming of age drama Skins, and Ford’s film A single Man – there has never been a better time than right now to neaten up and carry a comb in your back pocket.

If – like me – you followed the Milan men’s fashion shows from January in magazines and online, chances are you might have thought you were clicking through a casting call for Mad Men, or one of those late night war films. It seemed as though every model, fashion editor, photographer, stylist, and man-about-town caught on one of those hip street-style blogs was rocking a side parting and slicked back.

Modern man is neoclassic, he puts style over fad. This is quintessentially men’s hair at its best. Think of it like the backbone of male grooming. This is so refreshingly understated and unpretentious. Minimum fuss and maximum efficiency. Of course, the boys in Milan already knew that. Just check out the flagship Dolce & Gabbana Barbiere in Corso Venezia. The real question that modern man needs to answer is, where to find a decent barber?

Why not try the oldest barbershop in London, Truefit and Hill barbers who offer a close shave and a chat. Or across the Atlantic, VL Studio, 198 7th Avenue, New York, (212) 929-3039. Its where Scott Schuman, he of The Sartorialist fame, goes to get his locks seen to.

When in Melbourne, Australia, go and see Nick at All The Kings Men. A friend said it best, “They combine the unpretentious charm of an old-school barbershop with the reassuring artfulness of a ritzy salon, without all the hair tonic, herbal tea and unsightly fauxhawks.”

Speacial thanks to Rachael Oku from Creative-idle.

Images Dominic O’Keefe, Eddie Tucker from models.com, Jon Hamm depicted in Mad Men, street style photograph courtesy of The Satorialist, Dior Homme 2010 and Nicholas Hoult For Tom Ford.