I find myself both feeling sorry for and envying men their easy wardrobe styles. Let's face it. In most companies, a man is going to have a very restricted set of choices for dress. The type of shoes, type of shirts or trousers, and requirements regarding neckties are usually decided for men. So what's left to worry over? Short sleeves or long? Red tie or green striped? Full suit, or sports coat? Women have already made five times the decisions a man has before the work day has even started, when it comes to sartorial choices.
I have written dress codes for four companies with very different business models, one for professional dress, one for casual, and two for business casual. Without a doubt, the men's section was always the easiest. You don't have to find delicate ways to tell men that their shirts should be buttoned up to a certain point, or that their hemlines should fall below a certain point. You don't have to tell men that they shouldn't wear distracting amounts of jewelry. You don't have to find ways to reword a manager's demand that, "We have to tell them not to wear shoes you'd see in a strip joint!"
The challenges in writing a men's dress code usually come down to determining how restrictive and/or professional it will be. Once you've made that decision, the clothes take care of themselves. All that is left is adding wording in about no visible underwear or tattoos, and in discussing hairstyle and facial hair.
We don't live in a time when a man's hair was expected to be cut above the collar of his shirt, so there is plenty of room for self-expression, but you should always remember that the self you want to express at work isn't the one with the love for Cheech and Chong movies, Hooters, and Southern Rock, or the self who really just wants to direct, or the self who listens to Death Cab for Cutie and pines after Zooey Deschanel. The self you want to express at work is the professional, who can be depended upon to take care of business. It's a little hard to do that when your look is screaming, "I am expressing myself!"
Good management hair for men is similar to that for women. Keep it clean, keep it tidy, and keep it professional. If your hair is long, though I personally shudder at the thought of Gordon Gecko's do or anything longer, maintain it with care. Avoid trends if you are in management or over 30. No matter how much you love The Beiber, your employees are going to be snickering behind your middle-aged back when you come in looking like your daughter's boyfriend. Remember "The Clooney"? Only if you are The Clooney. Look at House. All of the men on House have perfectly professional hair, as do the men in my old faithful Boston Legal.
In my mind's eye, James Brolin from his days in hospitality management as Peter on the 80s television show Hotel, is the most handsome example of full facial hair.
Of course, when I Googled him I was surprised to see how puffy his hair was back then. Oh, 80s, you were so fluffy!
Still, if you're going to wear a full beard and mustache, this is definitely the way to do it. It is well groomed, nicely shaped, and still shows his dimples. That last bit has nothing to do with being professional, but everything to do with making a lasting impression on my pre-teen mind. Rowrr!
Super Spy Chuck's coworker at the Buy More, Morgan, has been through a few different combinations of beard and hairdos. The first is awful. You cannot mix I Wanna Hold Your Hand style Beatles with Sgt. Pepper style Beatles. No. Never. One or the other. Moptop or beard, pick one.
The second is better. Morgan was getting the hair under control and his patchy facial hair had grown into a full half face of hair. The third iteration, as he came into a management position, is the best. The hairstyle is structured and the beard is much more manicured and kempt. Structure being the key word.
Two more examples of full beards that you could wear to work come from Conan O'Brien and David Letterman's strike beards. Each of these men is wearing facial hair from just below the cheekbone into the neckline, and each still looks groomed.
Here is the trick: With beards of any kind, the best looks begin below the cheekbone and grow to the jawline. Patchy hair on the cheeks or on the neck ruin the look. Everything has to be tidy if you're going to wear a beard. Otherwise, it just goes wrong. Too little attention, and you begin to stray into my wife kicked me out and I'm sleeping on my best friend's sofa territory. Beards must be well trimmed. Beards must be clean. And do not ever use your daughter's Barbie hairbrushes to groom your mustache, or she will cry and never forgive you.
The most famous mustache in television history belongs to Tom Selleck. Since Magnum P.I. was shot in the 80s, even his arm hair was fluffy. I do not recommend this look, mainly because of all the Magnum jokes you'll get, but also because it is very hard to take this mustache seriously. When you see this face, all you look at is the mustache. It is mesmerizing and makes it impossible to hear what is being said over the voice in your head shouting, "Mustache!" Honestly, do you even know what Magnum P.I. was about? It was about Tom Selleck's mustache, that's what. His guest spot on Friends? That was about Monica's love for his mustache. His appearance on Rosie O'Donnell? That was about how Rosie thought Tom might be smuggling guns in his mustache. It's big enough! He could!
This post is rapidly turning into a space for me to post pictures of men I find attractive. Sean Connery, though not a television star, has made a career of being a man in charge.
When he's not in charge of world safety as James Bond, he is in charge of artifact safety as Indiana Jones' father, or in charge of keeping Chicago safe from Al Capone. In many cases, you find Connery growling his orders from under the canopy of a well trimmed mustache.
Entirely unlike Jason Lee's alter-ego Earl's similarly shaped scraggle. Earl will never manage anything. Not even the Quick-E Mart. Why? Because his facial hair says, "Robbing the Quick-E Mart."
Comparing the two 'staches here, you see that the difference in in the trim, and that Connery's chin and cheeks are free of stubble, where Lee just looks like an unkempt mess. Lee's fell-out-of-bed 'do matches his facial hair, simply adding to the messy effect.
Omar Epps as Dr. Eric Foreman, as mentioned above on House, is a droolworthy great example of seriously trimmed facial hair.
It takes a steady hand and a true commitment to maintenance to make this look work. Two days of growth and this could easily be a straggly mess. Kept up properly, this is a very nice look.
In most dress codes, the phrase use good judgment appears. Good judgment in facial hair means knowing that ZZ Top Videos, Grizzly Adams, and Geraldo are not television shows to watch for ideas on grooming your beard or mustache.
Use good judgment, and happy shaving.
Lane Buckman has been in love with fashion since she realized that her first Easter dress came with matching gloves, shoes, and purse. Growing up in the entertainment industry this former beauty queen, model and actress turned corporate career woman understands that dressing for success is just another form of costuming. And, since she has run the size gamut from 2 to 18, Lane understands dressing a variety of shapes. She has written dress codes and conducted Business Style and How to Dress seminars for Fortune 500 and finance companies, boutique agencies, and an international non-profit organization. She gives her stylish Southern mother credit for teaching her everything she knows.
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