Following last week's focus on women's thick brows, we thought it was only fair to celebrate men with moustaches. And who better to consult than Another Man editor and stalwart 'tache wearer and enthusiast, Ben Cobb?...
Following last week's focus on women with thick brows, we thought it only fair to celebrate men with moustaches. And who better to consult than Another Man editor and stalwart 'tache wearer and enthusiast, Ben Cobb? His latest issue for spring/summer 2011 sees writer and artist Harland Miller cite Ron Mael, 1970s American musician and micro-moustache-sporter as his 'Style Icon'. "Part of the appeal of Ron's look was that you couldn't copy it easily", recalls Miller, "His moustache was difficult – well I had blond hair so that was definitely ruled out for me!"
Moustaches date back to Neolithic times when stone razors were first used and the oldest portrait showing a shaved man with a moustache is an ancient Iranian horseman from 300 BC. The longest recorded moustache belongs to Bajansinh Juwansinh Gurjar of Ahmedabad, India – it had not been cut for 22 years and was 12 feet, 6 inches long in 2004. There are a variety of tools and grooming products available for the care of moustaches such as shaving razors, moustache wax, moustache nets, moustache brushes, moustache combs and moustache scissors.
There are many notable moustache wearers in popular culture – from Adolf Hitler, Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin, Salvador Dali to sport stars such as footballer Bruce Grobbelaar. However, Cobb prefers the thick, full, trim versions over narrow, curled and twirled styles and says there are countless examples in Italian cinema. Here, Cobb has selected his favourite examples, including star of Italian crime cinema Maurizio Merli, actors Dennis Hopper (specifically his Easy Rider era) and Alain Delon, musician James Taylor and Italian record producer, songwriter and performer Giorgio Moroder.
Text by Laura Bradley
