Boys Night Out: Mustache Wax and Lots of Flannel
Photo: Richard Perez
While the beauty routines of women are relatively well-documented, the way that men approach self-presentation remains somewhat more mysterious. What do men really think about when they’re getting ready to go out?
The Cut sent photographer Richard Perez to bars around the city to capture the way that men from all walks of life dress (and groom their facial hair) for a night on the town. Unsurprisingly, he found a little bit of everything, from side-shaves and carefully manicured mustaches to shiny comb-backs and the longest dreads you’ve ever seen. Outerwear preferences ranged from brightly colored flannel and superstitious sports-fan paraphernalia to fur coats, and self-described styles were as far reaching as “gay Jedi” to “wearing the same clothes as much as I can until someone notices.”
Click through the slideshow for a look at how men around New York style themselves, from artfully shaped beards to tweed sport coats — as well as some insight into what they thought about when crafting their outfits.
Ashok Pai, 45 I got this coat made in Shanghai. It was like $150, made in 24 hours. My late father had a very beautiful coat and it died because ...
Ashok Pai, 45 I got this coat made in Shanghai. It was like $150, made in 24 hours. My late father had a very beautiful coat and it died because I wore it so many times. This shirt is also made in Shanghai — it's a Vivienne Westwood knockoff. It's my signature shirt, and it was like $30 or $40. The pocket square is an old tie that I cut up. I want to be coiffed with no product in my hair. I used to shave with a blade, which I don’t anymore. I have a friend who worked at Donna Karan, and we have gone through my closet and we have spent hours thinking about this stuff. I’ve had training, if you will. It is a learned thing. I used to be a short-haired frat boy.
Photographed on Grand Street in Brooklyn. Photo: Richard Perez
Eugene Choi, 30 I don’t like everyone’s clean-cut shit. You don’t have to be super-business. People look at me weird, and that’s fine, but it’s l...
Eugene Choi, 30 I don’t like everyone’s clean-cut shit. You don’t have to be super-business. People look at me weird, and that’s fine, but it’s like a filter for me. If you don’t give a shit about how I look, I like you. It’s a nice filter for kindred spirits, and people you want to associate with and people you get bored with.
How often do you trim your facial hair? The facial hair is a shitshow. This was advised against, and I was like, "I just want to be as ugly as possible." It’s a whim.
Tell me about the compass. I just moved to the city a little less than two years ago and I’m lost all the time, whether it is figuratively or literally.
Photographed at 4th Down Brooklyn in Williamsburg. Photo: Richard Perez
Andrew Rubets, 32 Photographed on Berry Street in Williamsburg.
Photo: Richard Perez
Cameron Smith, 25 How do you make your hair look like that? Get a haircut every couple of weeks; slick it back. I use Fat Boy. It’s sold at Odin ...
Cameron Smith, 25 How do you make your hair look like that? Get a haircut every couple of weeks; slick it back. I use Fat Boy. It’s sold at Odin — it’s just like a putty. I’m not blessed with the best facial hair, so I don’t have to shave that often.
How do you describe your style? I mostly wear black. I work at Theory, so I get a bunch of free clothes. My scarf is Theory, sweater is Helmut Lang, shoes are Marc Jacobs, blazer is Marc Jacobs, pants are Theory.
Photographed on Grand Street in Williamsburg. Photo: Richard Perez
Filip Tufvesson, 40 What do you do before you leave the house? Not much. I like to keep it low-key and simple. I don’t want to put any time and e...
Filip Tufvesson, 40 What do you do before you leave the house? Not much. I like to keep it low-key and simple. I don’t want to put any time and effort into it. I tend to dress down when I go out, rather than dress up.
How long have you been growing your beard? For about two years. I keep trimming it down so it doesn’t get too unruly. Some people don’t agree, like my dad. He thinks it’s too unruly.
Photographed on Grand Street in Williamsburg. Photo: Richard Perez
Jonathan Newhall, 26 What were you thinking when you got dressed tonight? I was thinking Meryl Streep — circa The Hours — visits Burundi.
W...
Jonathan Newhall, 26 What were you thinking when you got dressed tonight? I was thinking Meryl Streep — circa The Hours — visits Burundi.
What’s your routine for getting ready? I’m usually very gay Jedi, that’s my general style. I don’t have a full-length mirror, I just have a big mirror that I have to stand up on my couch to see myself. I don’t coif my hair at all. I just washed my hair today, and I blow-dried it.
Photographed at Don Pedro in Brooklyn. Photo: Richard Perez
Photographed on West 33rd Street in Manhattan.
Photo: Richard Perez
Sean Martin, 36 What’s your beard maintenance like? This is my first time ever wearing a full beard. I started with a company called Beard Brand....
Sean Martin, 36 What’s your beard maintenance like? This is my first time ever wearing a full beard. I started with a company called Beard Brand. I bought some essential oils, some mustache wax. I try to condition my beard twice a week. I’m trying to keep the split ends away.
What made you want to do a beard? I was like, Let me grow a beard while it would still be black, before it gets gray. Is working out a part of self-presentation?
What sort of workouts do you do? If I didn’t work out, I’d go crazy. I don’t do a full CrossFit workout, but I mix in a couple of different CrossFit moves and I do a lot of pull-ups — for health, to look good, and for sanity.
Photographed at 4th Down Brooklyn in Williamsburg. Photo: Richard Perez
Philip Marken, 30 Tell me about your mustache. It is just Firehouse mustache wax, I’ve had it for a while. If you wax, it stays out of your mouth...
Philip Marken, 30 Tell me about your mustache. It is just Firehouse mustache wax, I’ve had it for a while. If you wax, it stays out of your mouth. I trim it once every two weeks or so. The waxing is the most maintaining I do.
How would you describe your style? Wearing the same clothes as much as I can until someone notices it. Photo: Richard Perez
Photographed at the Whiskey Brooklyn.
Photo: Richard Perez
Ben Wright, 24 What were you thinking when you got dressed to come out tonight? I was thinking I’ve been at this bar for the last two games since...
Ben Wright, 24 What were you thinking when you got dressed to come out tonight? I was thinking I’ve been at this bar for the last two games since I moved to New York and I’m two-and-zero in what I’m wearing right now, so I figured I’d keep the streak alive. I love this jacket and I’ve had an undefeated record since I owned it. The shirt below is a gift my parents got me two weeks ago when we won the Sugar Bowl.
What is your routine when you get up in the morning? Just in general or on Buckeyes game days?
Game days. Well, this morning I was extremely jittery and shaky because we haven’t been in a championship since the 2007–2008 season, so I needed this. But I always shower. Trimming my beard happens every three or four days. I trimmed it yesterday and didn’t even think about it, because I kind of should have kept the playoff beard, but it is working out well so far.
Photographed at 4th Down Brooklyn in Williamsburg. Photo: Richard Perez
Photographed on West 26th Street in Manhattan.
Photo: Richard Perez
Photographed at the Whiskey Brooklyn in Williamsburg.
Photo: Richard Perez
Photographed on Berry Street in Williamsburg.
Photo: Richard Perez
Peter Fitzgerald, 33 What were you thinking about when you left the house? I just left work, so I came directly here and I was thinking about wha...
Peter Fitzgerald, 33 What were you thinking about when you left the house? I just left work, so I came directly here and I was thinking about what I had in the shop that didn’t look weird.
How often do you wash your hair? I never wash my hair. If I use soap, it gets frizzy, it gets puffy. My wife braids it for me every once in a while, and I brush it every couple of days.
Photographed on Grand Street in Williamsburg. Photo: Richard Perez
Brandon Walsh, 28 Photographed outside TNT in Williamsburg. Photo: Richard Perez
Photographed at the Ainsworth in Manhattan.
Photo: Richard Perez
Photographed at Little West 12th Street in the Meatpacking District. Photo: Richard Perez
Chris Williams, 35 How long have you had dreads? Fifteen years. In the winter I wash my hair every three days. It stays wet for probably 24 hours...
Chris Williams, 35 How long have you had dreads? Fifteen years. In the winter I wash my hair every three days. It stays wet for probably 24 hours, so it is a little tough when it gets really cold. I just wrap it up in a towel for a half-hour and it dries when it dries.
Why haven’t you ever cut them? In the beginning, they were only around seven or eight inches; then it became a thing where, six years in, I was like, I’m just not going to cut them.
What about your beard? Basically, I just comb it out. I recently got some beard oil, which I like and put in every two days or so. It keeps me from being scratchy.
Photographed on Grand Street in Williamsburg. Photo: Richard Perez
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