Male Victorian Hair/Fashion

Male Victorian Hair 

After 1860, and until the end of the century, gentlemen’s hair was kept shorter, and beards and moustaches were considered very fashionable and some outrageous shapes and styles emerged. Shops and chemists sold different kinds of waxes and oils to keep moustaches in shape, some men even using wooden frames at the night to preserve the form of their moustaches. However at the end of the century many decided to use a clean shaven face and short hair. Amongst all the products used to conditioning or fix the hair, the most popular was the Macassar oil. Made with a mix of coconut oil, palm oil and oil from flowers called "ylang-ylang", advertisements promised "to strength and stimulate hair growth". Because of the popularity of this preparation housewives began to cover the arms and backs of their chairs with an "anti-macassar"  which was a cloth used to prevent soiling of the fabric.

At this time men were wearing the increasingly popular lounge suits. The jackets were often worn open to reveal a waistcoat and watch chain, and a centre crease down each leg started to become mainstream. Collars were starched stiff and worn highvwith their tips creased over to form wings. Ties were worn but in a version that looked more like a bow tie than the ties that are popular today. Hair was cut short and usually parted at the side. Heavy moustaches were common, and older men still sported beards, but some men now went clean-shaven.

There were several styles of moustaches with very descriptive names...the shaggy “walrus” style with the hair worn long and over the lip, the ‘Imperial’ favoured by European royalty at the end of the century – required men (and their barbers) to shave and brush the hair up the cheek. Then there was the “Handlebar” .This style took its name from the handlebars of bicycles, and to get that same look, men would trim and wax the moustache into shape.

Advances in technology nudged fashion towards the clean-cut look – from the 1880s men could use safety razors instead of strops and blades — but styles for facial hair also tell a story of changing ideas about men and masculinity. Being without a beard gradually became seen as a sign of a civilised, modern man.

Photograph showing the wing tipped shirt, loose neck-tie and lounge suit. He has groomed hair greased and oiled in the fashionable way. You can see he is clean shaven except for his rather fancy moustache.