Even a stopped clock is right sometimes.

I am heartened by a nice, momentary convergence of the fates. Apparently, beards have become fashionable for men to wear. Like, big time fashionable. Ralph Lauren runway models, style editors and hipster New Yorkers are sporting beards now. The New York Times even had a style piece on how cool beards are now. Big, bushy ones too, not just some token George Michael stubble, either. As a man who hasn't shaved in almost ten years now, it's amusing to me that this momentary fashion trend has arrived. I'm in style again, randomly!
I suspect that it's a huge backlash from the not-so-subtle not-quite-homo metrosexual thing that has been afflicted on men over the last few years. Gentlemen under a certain age have been expected to look pretty girly of late, and, well while the ladies may really like their men pretty as girls with fashion labels and lots of cologne, men won't stand for that forever. "Look! I am a man! With a big manly beard. And a Prada shirt!" We're men after all. Hopefully. So, I suppose to re-assert their manliness, the metros are growing beards. It smacks a bit of desperation. "You can make us wear gay clothes, but you can't make us shave!" I can't remember who said it, but it was true - If women decided they like men who walked upside-down, within a week half the earth would be walking on their hands. Funny, but true. If you need any more proof that it's true, go to LoDo (Denver) on a friday night. The poor gentlemen of today have been quite emasculated, becuase metro is a style the young ladies prefer. We'll see if beards are here to stay, but if not, look for this fashion trend to be short-lived. The chicks will have what they want in the end. Funny thing is I grew my beard years ago at the request of a girl I was dating. Men were still allowed to be men back then I guess. And women hadn't invented metrosexuality to doll up the young men yet. Here's to hippie beards (like mine) on fashion models :-)