Lazy Days and Barber Shops

Comments: Barbershops have been long associated with gentlemen and the barbershop fragrance is the most familiar aroma with most people. Gentlemen should capture this aroma as the essence of the modern gentlemen's caricature.

Lazy Days and Barber Shops

The Gentlemen Series

By

James T. Bogden, PMP

As a young man, I recall those wonderfully sunny days when there was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was just right. We lived out from the city and there was not much to do except go on adventures with the boy's club. I loved living there because the spring bloom would linger into the early summer. Everything was so alive and vibrant against blue skies. A breeze would slowly meander through the woods collecting aromas then wisp around me to deliver those fresh aromas of summer. This was an exhilarating time for me.

Our early summer ritual would begin with putting on nice clothes then climbing into a 1965 Buick Skylark for the ride into town. We only had an AM radio that cracked and hissed to mostly country tunes my mom would play. The ride would take about 6 or 7 songs. There was no air conditioner so the windows were down almost all the time. All the aromas would tingle in our noses all along the way.

One-stop my mom would make was at the barbershop. I loved getting the first summer haircut because they would cut my hair shorter and the barber would change from the heavy winter musk to the traditional barbershop aroma that has that light summery experience. The short hair and summery barbershop aroma always made me a little restless, if not frisky.

Pinaud-Clubman is the quintessential manly fragrance and reflects those lazy summer days with the classic barber shop aroma. The summer aromas of orange, lemon, jasmine, and lavender with a warm musk hint that delightfully arouses the senses as you maunder through crowds.  Pinaud-Clubman is some potent stuff that gets the pleasant attention of everyone. Women love the aroma and want to stay in the presence of it.

The fresh aromatic scent is found in a variety of authentic Pinaud-Clubman products. Two products include the shave soap to the left above and the aftershave to the right above. These two products make for a refreshing start each day for the classic gentleman. 

The shave soap can be dispensed directly from the container. Just remove the screw top, wet the brush, then swirl the brush around in the container before applying to your face. The screw-top assures that the soap does not lose the aroma potency. More important is the action the soap performs on the facial skin. The shave soap not only cleanses pores and sets the beard up for the shave but also contributes to the fragrance while moisturizing the skin to reduce nicks and yield a soft-to-the-touch experience that women will enjoy.

Proper storage of the brush is important to assure longevity and performance. After completing your shave the brush needs to be hung bristles down to dry. This keeps the brush from spreading apart. Keeping the bristles together helps hold the soap for the lather up. The shave stand above is one stylish solution for proper hanging.

The brush bristle material is critical as this determines comfort, the ability to hold lathered soap, and durability. If the brush is too stiff then the feel against the skin is sharp and rough. If the brush is too soft then the brush cannot hold the lathered soap or support the necessary massaging action to the face and beard for the best shave. Badger hair is the preferred bristle material providing the correct massaging action and an excellent ability to hold the lathered soap. 

The items selected in this post were intend for the average Gentlemen. More experienced Gentlemen may want to purchase a more exclusive brush or a shaving stand of another style. At any rate, the classic Gentlemen's morning routine should include a quality shave and manly fragrance.

The Gentlemen Series

Comment: This series was born out of an awareness that modern society is falling short of males who possess the qualities of a gentlemen. The modern gentlemen is not some boorish image of chivalry out of cultural lore. Instead, the modern gentlemen is quite unassuming in many ways. Let us explore the idea of the gentlemen and arrive at a notion within reach of the ordinary man. 

The Gentlemen Series

By

James T. Bogden, PMP

Modern pop culture idolizes the rough and ready underdog rebel who is brash, tattooed, straight talking, and a bit on the psychotic-side. In The Lethal Weapon movie franchise Mel Gibson was always toying with suicide while helping society rid itself of villains. Sylvester Stallone often is portrayed as a renegade loner and hero driven by purpose or mission. Vin Diesel is likewise cast as a underhanded, self-driven, and self-centered maverick. The more recent 007 movie franchise cast James Bond as a ruthless killer-spy and significantly less dapper than previous Bond caricatures. The demise of the gentlemen has the US Congress removing the title 'Gentlemen' from the military commissioning ceremonies in which the phrase "An Officer and A Gentlemen" was recited. Many politicians felt the term "Gentlemen" was sexist. The essence of the gentlemen persona in modern culture is vanishing. We have to look to the past in order to understand the persona of a Gentlemen before developing the modern notion of a Gentlemen reviving the noble character. 

Gentlemen of Nostalgia

The concept of the gentlemen seems to be something in the eye of the beholder as there is a wide swath of gentlemen historical examples in both pop culture and history. Nostalgic pop culture reveals characters like Sean Connery, Pierce Bronson, and Roger Moore who were all cast as the dapper James Bond. The suavé caricature of the 1950's and 1960's Las Vegas nightclub scene was defined around the Rat Pack allure and presented another image of the gentlemen caricature.   Alternative caricature of the gentlemen image is vintage Manhattan wrapped up in mahogany, brown leather, and cigars. Hugh Hefner created and marketed the gentlemen lifestyle for his Playboy empire. GQ magazine successfully markets a cultured gentlemanly image for people in their 20's to late 30's. Nearly all images of a gentlemen tend to hover around decadence and debauchery wrapped up in a stylish facade. Living life large seems to be the gentlemanly mantra. Which one of the gentleman caricatures stand out as attainable and practical is personal choice. Aside from the fictional character of James Bond, most males can relate to the Rat Pack. 

The Rat Pack

Image 1: The Rat Pack; Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, and Frank Sinatra.

The Rat Pack began with Humphrey Bogart and membership varied with mainstays like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Joey Bishop, Buddy Greco, and Peter Lawford. Let's look closer at the Rat Pack which emerged out of their character. Bogart's wife, Lauren Becall, tagged the group with the name, 'The Rat Pack', when Bogart and his buddies straggled in the wee hours of the morning after a long night of partying. The Rat Pack, Image 1, had two versions and several members that intermittently were in the group. Three members were mainstays after Bogart died in 1957; Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.   The Group had some interesting qualities. Outwardly, they were stylish often wearing black suits, thin black ties, and fedoras. These were also a close knit group of men who were good friends having known each other for a long time. The group's persona emerged out of the members on and off stage friendly bantering. The 1960's version of the group called themselves 'The Summit' and 'The Clan'. Although, the media clung onto the name Rat Pack. Sinatra was the Chairman of the Board and also called the pack master. Becall was the Den-Mother.  Pet names were also tagged to the other members and close associations. Judy Garland was the First Vice-President.  Marilyn Monroe was the Mascot long with others. Audiences were attracted to this lively and charismatic group.

The Modern Gentleman

Numerous books have been written on the gentlemen aura. The Gentlemen's Guide to Life by Steve Friedman categorizes gentlemanly conduct into four general discussions: Living large, Looking Good, Feeling Strong, and Loving Well. The book Essential Manners for Men by Peter Post breaks the discussion into three generalized categories: Daily Life, Social Life, and Work Life. How the caricature of the Gentleman is parsed is unimportant. What is important is that a Gentleman is balanced, fit, and well mannered. The decadence and debauchery of the past is no longer part of the caricature. Nonetheless, the modern Gentlemen is no less adept with women than the earlier predecessors. 

This series will explore the Modern Gentlemen in a litany of posts that will appear below. 

1. Lazy Days and Barber Shops: This is a flashback to an earlier more simple life and era. The aroma of early Summer and freshness of the first Summer hair cut combine to produce one of the most signature Gentlemen fragrances, the Barber Shop aroma.

2. 

References:

Friedman, S. (1999). Gentlemen's Guide to Life. (1st ed.). Three Rivers Press: NY.

Johnson-Gross, K. and Stone, J. (2002). Dress smart men: wardrobes that win in the new workplace. Warner Books: NY.

Johnson-Gross, K. and Stone, J. (2002). Men's wardrobe. Random House Publishers: NY.

Post, P. (2003). Essential manners for men. (1st ed.). HarperCollins Publishers, Inc: NY.