{"id":29982,"date":"2023-11-02T13:36:36","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T12:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=248475"},"modified":"2023-11-02T15:11:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T14:11:40","slug":"a-hairy-history-of-the-moustache","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/a-hairy-history-of-the-moustache\/","title":{"rendered":"A hairy history of the moustache"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s autumn and that means it\u2019s \u2018Movember\u2019, the time of year when many men stop shaving and let their moustaches grow free. But what\u2019s the history of the moustache? Dr Alun Withey explores <\/p>

By Rachel Dinning\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 02 November 2023 at 12:36 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Like many other facial hair styles, the moustache has a long and complicated history. In some periods it has symbolised manly strength, modernity and bravery; in others it was decried as an affectation of fey young men. It\u2019s easy to write facial hair off as something that is quirky or irrelevant, but it often tells us a very great deal about individual men across time, as well as shifting attitudes towards masculinity and the male body.<\/p>\n

Each period of history often has its own facial hair style. In Tudor Britain, the \u2018spade beard\u2019 \u2013 characteristic of men in many portraits by Hans Holbein the Younger<\/a> \u2013 was popular, along with the pointy \u2018stiletto\u2019 beard. But moustaches were also in. One popular style associated with wealthy elites was a very thin, slight moustache that required constant work to keep it looking trim. During the 17th century, the \u2018Van Dyke\u2019 style of pointy beard was replaced by a fashion for moustaches, most notably modelled by Charles II.<\/p>\n

\"A\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
During the 17th century, the \u2018Van Dyke\u2019 style of pointy beard was replaced by a fashion for moustaches, most notably modelled by Charles II. (Photo by Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

In the 18th century, however, moustaches, along with facial hair more generally, were frowned upon across Europe. They became associated with a rougher form of manliness, more suited to the rural labourer than the society beau. Apart from a few sporadic outbreaks of lip hair around 1800, the Georgian man was generally smooth-faced.<\/p>\n

Just before the \u2018beard movement\u2019 of the early 1850s there was a mini \u2018moustache movement’ <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>

When we think of the 19th century, it is perhaps the huge beard that we most associate with the face of the Victorian gentlemen. It\u2019s sometimes forgotten that, just before the \u2018beard movement\u2019 of the early 1850s there was a mini \u2018moustache movement\u2019. By the mid-19th century British men had been largely beardless for around 150 years. Suddenly though, facial hair made a remarkable comeback, and the moustache was held up as a badge of manliness.<\/p>\n

And the importance of the moustache stretched beyond aesthetics \u2013\u00a0it was even ascribed health benefits. A slew of books and articles emerged, extolling the healthiness of moustaches (and indeed beards) as a natural filter or \u2018respirator\u2019, catching dust and germs before they could get up the nose and into the bodily system, and warming incoming cold air before it could damage the lungs. One article even described the moustache as nothing less than \u201cnature\u2019s vigilant sentinel around the mouth\u201d!<\/p>\n

\"Three\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Victorian gentlemen sporting moustaches. Facial hair made a remarkable comeback in the mid-19th century. (Photo by Edie Adams and Ernie Kovacs Estate\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The early decades of the 20th century brought another volte face<\/em>, as moustaches came back into fashion as a symbol of modernity and youth, and they remained popular in most decades throughout, with significant moustache trends in the 1940s, 60s, 70s and 80s. The turn of the 21st century has seen them fall from favour, although there are recent signs of a resurgence in popularity, with celebrities and sports stars seen wearing them.<\/p>\n

So why have men constantly returned to the moustache \u2013 and indeed facial hair more generally? One reason is simply changing ideas about masculinity and what constitutes an ideal or acceptable male appearance. Fashions change \u2013 for many reasons, one of which is a reaction to what has gone before. Concerns about the male body are also often in the mix. As an innate and timeless feature of the male body, facial hair is sometimes a touchstone that men unconsciously turn to at times when masculinity or gender are in flux.<\/p>\n

\"Albert\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Actor Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, the world-famous Belgian detective whose lines include \u201cIf you must have a moustache, let it be a real moustache\u2013 a thing of beauty such as mine.\u201d (Photo by Arthur Sidey\/Mirrorpix\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Another constant motivation for men throughout history has been the emulation of a role model or hero. For example, copying the facial hair style of a male monarch was an obvious way for courtiers, elites and even \u2018ordinary\u2019 subjects to show loyalty.<\/p>\n

Also, moustaches have long been associated with the military and had been a feature of some French and German regiments since the 18th century. Facial hair was considered an outward sign of inner strength, and a symbol of martial manliness. It was even supposed that putting your most hirsute recruits at the head of a marching column would make enemies quail.<\/p>\n

In Britain, part of the reason for the resurgence of moustaches among civilian men around the mid-19th century was in imitation of the fine pairs of moustaches adorning the faces of returning troops from the Crimean War<\/a>. Any man wishing to mimic the ultra-masculine look of a soldier had only to stop shaving! So important was the moustache as a military symbol that atom 1860 it was a standing order in the British Army that soldiers had to wear one. This was only repealed in 1916 by General Sir Nevil Macready, who came to hate them. In the 1940s, the \u2018fighter pilot\u2019 moustache brought another aspirational military style to emulate.<\/p>\n

From the 20th century, moustachioed heroes began to emerge in other forms, most notably film stars. In the 1920s and 1930s the moustache was a key feature among the new breed of swashbuckling heroes such as Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable and others, often well-groomed, thin and waxed. Even the \u2018toothbrush\u2019 moustache made famous by Charlie Chaplin<\/a> and Oliver Hardy had its place!<\/p>\n

\"American\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
American actor Tom Selleck is well-known for his thick, distinctive moustache. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

In the 1970s and 1980s, movie stars such as Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck, musicians from Lionel Richie to Lemmy, and sportsmen including Hulk Hogan and Nigel Mansell (with an honourable mention to Merv Hughes) have all made the moustache an essential part of their \u2018look\u2019.<\/p>\n

Moustaches, then, have a long history, one that is intrinsically bound to prevailing ideas about manliness, the male body and appearance. Whatever the motivations of individual men are for growing a moustache or a beard, they are seldom neutral, and involve multiple decisions, time, and often effort in the form of styling and grooming.<\/p>\n

So, to all those about to embark on their Movember journey, perhaps it is fitting to leave the last word to the most famous of moustache wearers, Hercule Poirot: \u201cIf you must<\/em>\u00a0have a moustache, let it be a real moustache\u2013 a thing of beauty such as mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Famous moustaches from history<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vlad the Impaler<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\"Portrait\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
(Photo by Universal History Archive\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Portraits of Vlad the Impaler<\/a> \u2013 the original inspiration for Dracula \u2013 show him with a magnificent specimen of a moustache, thick and straight, giving him a formidable appearance<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kaiser Wilhelm II<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\"German\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
(Photo by Estate of Emil Bieber\/Klaus Niermann\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Kaiser Wilhelm II<\/a> was notable for his large and elaborately styled moustaches, curled up at the ends. Apocryphal stories claim that he deliberately styled it in the shape of a \u2018W\u2019 but what is certain is that it would certainly have taken effort to maintain<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Charlie Chaplin<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\"Film\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
(Photo by Witzel\/Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Charlie Chaplain\u2019s famous \u2018toothbrush\u2019 moustache is often regarded as inspiring Adolf Hitler<\/a> to grow a similar example<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wyatt Earp<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\"Portrait\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
(Photo by Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The famous American lawman Wyatt Earp was perhaps less well known for his facial hair than he was for his abilities in gunfights. But images of Earp show him with a fine style of moustache known as a \u2018handlebar\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Salvador Dali<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\"Spanish\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
(Photo by George Konig\/Keystone Features\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

As might be expected from a surrealist, Salvador Dali\u2019s thin, waxed and upturned moustache was itself a work of art. In a 2010 survey for a British newspaper, Dali\u2019s moustache was voted the most famous of all time<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Freddie Mercury<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\"British\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
(Photo by Keystone\/Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Although clean-shaven when he was younger, Queen\u2019s frontman is often most readily associated with his moustache, a style called the \u2018chevron\u2019 \u2013 a key part of the gay \u2018Castro clone\u2019 look of the 1970s and 1980s<\/p>\n

Dr Alun Withey is a senior lecturer in History at the University of Exeter, specialising in the history of medicine and the body<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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