Another Young Professional Haircut Thread

[LeMat]

Hi everyone,

Longtime lurker, and I've just now signed up. Looking forward to getting involved in the community --- I've always really enjoyed the debates, especially in the Men's Wear section.

So here's the situation; I'm set on clothes (I think --- I'm sure the tearing-apart will soon follow), but I'm having a really hard time fixing on a hair style.

Why? Because I have terrible bone structure. I'm fit, but I have no chin whatsoever. The tooth fairy must have gotten confused or greedy. Thus, I have to wear a beard. I shaved it off recently to double-check that this is, in fact, the case. It is. I look like a fat kid that just got turned down for his junior prom without it. Now it's job-hunting season, and I'm going to be a constitutional litigator, so I have to look like someone who you can trust to take on the feds and win.

Problem #1: It's almost impossible to find a model wearing a conservative (yet youthful) haircut AND a beard. I've only been able to find help in the recent Zegna collection, and he favours that really ascetic German, high-cheekboned look. I have a head like a bowling ball, so none of his flat side-parts will work on me (I think). I'm pretty sure I need a medium-to-long cut and either a full beard or chin strap (much as I hate the terminology).

Problem #2: I've educated myself about clothes, shoes, fragrances, and exercise, but hair is still a huge gap. Any advice you could shuttle this way about styles, product or care for a cut would be very much appreciated.

Here are the most helpful pictures I can find:
- Luca's got kind of the same head shape I do, and the same blue eyes. Unfortunately, we don't share the kickass coat. (Picture from the Sartorialist.) If he were a law-talkin' guy, what hairstyle would you recommend?

- I guess my head is kind of shaped like Daniel Craig's, except for all the fancy stuff on the front part of it. He can get away with having hair that short; he's got a face like Daniel Craig. My head looks a lot more like a bowling ball with short hair.

- There's a picture of me with a beard, in the suit I'll probably wear on interview day (maybe minus the waistcoat, depending on the weather), and me currently. I've grown out my hair and am growing back the beard. Not sure what to do with either.

- I managed to find just a few pictures of something kind of close to what I'm thinking, but the sepia-toned fella's hair is much too long, and the black-and-white Zegna model has a completely different facial structure (but would the cut still work?).

So, any advice or ideas? Models or designers I should look into? Can you point me towards an appropriate cut?

Thanks a million, folks. I'll see you around soon!


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[LeMat]

--Delete--

 

[LeMat]

EDIT: Never mind; didn't know the pictures were thumbnails.

 

[oroy38]

People are probably going to jump on me for saying this over and over again, but here it goes.

Go to a hair stylist and ask them what would fit your face shape the best and work with them from there. A lot of it depends on the texture and thickness of your hair and your growth pattern.

 

[Big Pun]

Luca Rubinacci's eyes pierce my soul.

no ****

 

[Gutman]

What about a collegiate/flat-top type of numbers cut, with a trim #2 length 1960s style goatee and mo. You'll have to play around with the goatee shape (low and wide or tall and narrow depending what suits you), but since it's short this only involves a few days work.

If you are not suffering from receding hair lines, you could go more collegiate and maybe some bangs, but generally I like the no-nonense numbers cut (#1 on side, fade to a flat-top #3 on top). High and tight like the marines, but not too agressive looking. Adds a lot of shape.

 

[JonHecht]

The only thing that you're missing in picture number 1 is a kippah and you'll look exactly like my Rabbi.

 

[Sesame Seed]

You have blue eyes? I see Elijah Wood. Wait, wait... James McAvoy. There's nothing wrong with that. What does he do up top?

 

[TylerDurden]

You look like Elijan Wood.



I dunno, I think the beard looks bad. Post a photo of you clean shaven.

 

[TylerDurden]

Looking at the photos, I think longer hair works better for you. If you loose the beard you might kinda look like Jude Law then E. Wood. As E. Wood always sports that beard you have.

 

[LeMat]

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Trust me, the lack of beard is bad. My chin is so weak and bowed that my lips just kind of blend gradually into my neck like one of those "yep yep yep" aliens from Sesame Street. My profile looks really bloated around the base of my jaw, and I lose five years on my face. The beard in the non-suit picture is me this week, after growing it back in in a hurry. I normally look more like I do in the suit. No one had anything nice to say about me while clean-shaven. While I agree that typically it's better to go clean-shaven with a more conservative look, it was a catastrophe on me. Hence my hirsute quandary.

I was unfamiliar with James McAvoy --- thanks a lot for the reference; we do have kind of similar features. Unfortunately, he's kinda got that Scottish rogue thing going on. I can't find him in anything lawyerish. Mostly greasy, long, chin-length bangs that really work well for his jeans-and-blazer image but not so well for a courtroom. He tends to look like he doesn't really belong in a suit, which is actually a really good look for him. I'll bring a picture of one of his shorter cuts in with me to the salon today, but I'm not sure how it will go down.

I'll have a quick run at some Wood pictures before I head out; I didn't know he was bearded so much of the time. Makes sense, though --- I think he might have the same bullfrog problem I do.

Gutman's idea is pretty close to what I'm thinking of pitching in non-pictorial terms.

 

[LeMat]

Ugh, I hate to inflict this on the world, but it turns out I do have some recent unbearded pictures.

Here's one:

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Not so bad, right?

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Wrong.

I've got that crappy British chin dilapidation going on. Beard it is.

 

[Notreknip]

This may seem like a really odd question, but...

How are your teeth?

Have you ever had braces?

Have you ever seen an orthodontist or plastic surgeon?


...it just seems to me that you're more upset with your retrognathism than anything. I mean, I'm in the profession, so I'm a bit biased, but why not address the problem as opposed to trying to "hide" it for life?

 

[Synthese]

I would stay clean shaven. The beard takes you from looking like a professional to looking sort of like an overweight collegiate WOW-player (I say this with love). As far as the hair goes, I too immediately thought "Jude Law" (well, in a vague way). I think if you took a lot of weight out of the sides (try a razor cut instead of shears), you could probably have a pretty decent part going on, despite what you think - especially if you keep it longer in the front and on top than on the back and sides. Get some texture in there, though, and maybe some product as well, so that you don't have the frat-boy nappy hair helmet.

So: Thinning, texture, trim back and sides.

 

[Sesame Seed]

There you go. I think you can carry a lighter beard (I do prefer beard over nude), and then just get some product in your hair. It shouldn't be hard to work it out with your hairdresser.