The History and Styles of Mustaches: From James I to Tom Selleck and Beyond

There are different opinions on whether wearing a mustache is tasteful, stylish or old fashioned

Growing a mustache has once again taken over the fashion world. Top models, singers, actors and designers recommend seeing the potential of this fashion trend and growing and creating a stylish mustache, which came into fashion as a masculine style element in England after the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In her time, beards were more popular. When James I ascended the throne in the early 17th century, he had a neat moustache, evidence of which can only be seen in paintings. His son Charles I also had a curled mustache and beard. Later, at the end of the century, beards quickly went out of fashion in Europe, while in Russia Emperor Peter I introduced a beard tax. It was the golden age of the mustache. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, mustaches were worn luxuriously twisted and often together with beards, decorated with impressive fringes of ribbons and pearls, but already at the end of the same century, the fashion for beards and mustaches disappeared. For example, during the First World War, soldiers shaved clean to make gas masks fit better on their faces.

Mustache as a symbol

In 1920, the writer Agatha Christie published her first detective novel, “The Mysterious Incident at Stiles”, introducing the public to the detective Hercule Poirot and his mustache. In Spain, the mustache was a symbol of the era of surrealism – the mustache of the painter Salvador Dali has become a legend. When Dali was asked in an interview in 1954 if he grew a mustache as a joke, the artist replied that it was the most “serious” style element of his personality. Periodically, mustaches went out of fashion, as it also happened in the sixties and seventies of the last century, only later – in the eighties – they came back into fashion and became very popular thanks to actor Tom Selleck’s mustache in the American series “Private Detective Magnum”, which conquered the hearts of thousands of housewives around the world . Nowadays, mustaches have become not only an element of men’s style or a proof of sexuality, they are used as a symbol of Father’s Day in Latvia, also in the men’s health campaign “Movembris” or mustache month, when attention is paid to men’s health problems, their timely diagnosis and treatment.

Current styles

Pyramidal mustache with pronounced corners will suit men with a big mouth – the mustache above the upper lip is narrow and wide at the bottom.

Narrow, graphic moustache are very stylish at the moment, but such a mustache requires careful maintenance.

Horseshoe mustache not suitable for men with a narrow face, they should be adjusted as part of the image. Such a mustache looks good with a leather jacket or a two-piece denim suit.

Mustache and beard is the most common style. In order for such a mustache to look better than a clean-shaven face, the contrast between the skin and hair tones must be pronounced, and the hair must be grown in an even length and thickness.

Some facts

* In the theory of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, about the relationship between dreams and the reality of human life, a mustache seen in a dream has nothing to do with male power. If a man or woman dreams of a mustache, changes are expected in their lives. The bigger the mustache, the more grandiose changes are expected.

* A man touches his mustache 760 times a day. Canadian professor Alan Peterkins, the author of the book “1000 Mustaches: Mustaches as Cultural Heritage”, came to this conclusion.

* Many women like men with beards or mustaches because they like to be stroked or touched. Therefore, a mustache can become indispensable even in intimate life.

* Catholic clergy are always clean-shaven. Jesus had a mustache and a beard, but the priests shave them so as not to be on the same level as the son of God.

* Most US states have passed ordinances prohibiting firefighters from wearing mustaches and beards.

* According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest mustache belongs to Ram Singh Chauhan, who grew it for 25 years, and it reached 4.29 meters.