I stopped shaving during the holidays this year. Shaved up until Christmas, then let the whiskers sprout. Yesterday I was prepared to shave it back to the goatee (technically I think it’s a “manchu”- a goatee is without the moustache), but I stopped after shaving my neck up to the jawline. I thought, “Hey, that doesn’t look half bad. Maybe I’ll give a week or two and then decide whether to keep it or not.”
I got to work this morning and ran into a couple other people that did the exact same thing . They let the bristles grow while they were off and decided to keep it. Interesting…
Usually I’m behind the curve on trends or fads. I guess I avoid them so as not to be too “trendy”, and then after awhile realize that it’s something I’m actually interested in. But by the time I climb on the bandwagon, the rest of the passengers are already exiting at the rear.
Not this time. I can see the trend forming right now and I’m right on top of it.
I am officially declaring 2008 as the Year of the Beard.
My predictions for 2008:
- Anyone who already had a beard towards the end of 2007 will not shave it off during 2008
- We will start seeing more and more celebrities (I’m talking about the George Clooney types) sporting beards this year. Neatly trimmed beards will make some appearances at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, People’s Choice, and MTV VMAs .
- Television will be inundated with commercials for beard trimmers and assorted beard care products and services
- Just For Men stock will soar based on phenominal sales of their beard and moustache brush-in color gel
- Bank robbers will start wearing real beards as a disguise
When all or most of these come true during the course of this year, remember where you heard it- and that I was the first on board this time.
UPDATE (1/3/08) ————
Holy crap! It’s already starting! Check out the late night hosts below. Ignore Leno for a second (He probably would have a hard time holding up a beard with that enormous chin anyway) and check out Dave and Conan. They are sporting some serious beardage.
Looks like even the rich folks don’t shave when they’re off work.
