I’ve lived in this city for four years and I had never even heard of if until it was mentioned on Put This On, which is run by guys in LA. Its tucked away into a shopping/gallery strip on Thayer St. in the south end, so it’s easy to miss if you don’t get out that way very often.

The store is laid out like a cabinet of curiosities that specializes in vintage men’s clothes – more items are in display cases, or even in cabinets, than on sale racks. There is a whole case filled with straw boaters, a small chest filled with ascots and cravats, a display of 1900s grooming tools – pomade, shaving brushes, safety razors, even a few racks of celluloid collars. All this would be overwhelming without the rather large staff (during my visit, they outnumbered the customers 2 to 1) to help you navigate the collection.

If I have any concerns, it is that even though most of their product is a very good value, none of it is “cheap.” You could theoretically find many of their items at goodwill for a lower price; I suspect that much of their merchandise comes in from professional thrifters. That said, 99% of everything at goodwill is crap, and 99% of the merchandise here is wonderful – it works out in their favor if you value your time. While I likely won’t be buying my everyday clothes here, this is now my first stop for esoteric accessories and splurges.

Bobby from Boston
19 Thayer St
(between Harrison Ave & Albany St)
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 423-9299

Three weeks later my neck was covered in pubes. I had almost zero ’stache – it looked more like I had some hairy moles above the corners of my mouth.. It was quite long and quite dark, but sparse as an antarctic cornfield. My girlfriend came up to visit me that week and said she wouldnt kiss me until the neckbeard was gone, so I let it go.

About a year later, I tried again with similar results; the beard was no thicker on the 4th week than it was on the 4th day, just a bit longer. If you share my situation, this article is not for you. However, if you can make your facial hair work, I have determined

the three greatest beards and mustaches of all time.

1. The Handlebar Mustache.

Rollie Fingers Relief Pitcher	Greg Norton Rock Musician and Chef	Salvador Dali Surrealist Artist	Franz Ferdinand Archduke

What more can I say? Perfection. The handlebar mustache is the ultimate statement in freestanding mustaches. The nickname for staches — whiskers — is truest here. This is the primal link back to our rodent ancestors.

2. Mutton Chops

Issac Asimov Science Fiction Writer	Henrik Ibsen Playwright	Martin Van Buren President	Ambrose Burnside Civil War Genera

Though technically sideburns, these are more beard than lock. Calling what are now known as sideburns "chops" is tantamount to calling a comb-over a full head of hair. Of course, these are at their best when they are so overgrown they traverse right into mustache land. While they don’t have the cosmopolitan sophistication of the handlebar, they share in its timeless appeal while harkening back to bygone days.

3. The Walrus

Wilford Brimley Actor & Cockfighting Enthusiast	Friedrich Nietzsche German Philosopher	The Lorax Rhyming Environmentalist	Mark Twain Writer & Humorist

Goo-Goo-Ga-Joob indeed. One knows that their Walrus is fully formed when it sticks out further than the tip one of one’s nose. While popular with everyone from cranky UN ambassadors to cranky hippie musicians, this mustache says the same thing no matter who wears it: get of my lawn, you damn kids.

relevant links

World Beard and Moustache Championships

rules of competition

Better breakfasts – For much of 2008 I started my day with a snack cake and a mountain dew – something like 750 calories but no nutritional value. I realized I could pretty much eat a whole box of fiber cereal and come out ahead, calorie-wise, all while getting vitamins and blowing out my ass. I started strong, with fistfuls of Fiber One and a PB & J in the morning, but as time progresses lots of “just this once” snacks work their way in. Overall, I’m doing pretty well, but I need to keep up with this.

Better lunches – this I have done. While I occasionally eat out and snack between meals, I have generally stuck to sandwiches for my lunch; haven’t had a hot pocket all month!

Dental hygiene – from never brushing to twice a day. No longer do I have miscellaneous crud and a patina of plaque on my teeth every day. Gum bleeding during brushing under control. Need to keep up with the flossing – started strong but lapsed in second week.

Shave & a hairdo daily – halfway there. Still only shaving periodically; I blame the high cost of razor blades. I do the hair frequently enough that when I don’t do anything with it, its a change of style, not a lazy default. Discovering exciting world of hair tonic and pomade.

Wardrobe maintenance – did laundry for the first time in ages, but now it’s mostly dirty again, and none of it made it to the ironing board. Picked up some nice blazers and cowboy shirts at garment district, but haven’t had any opportunities to wear them. Need to take an inventory of my pants, cause I tend to wear the same pair day after day until i stumble upon a different pair in the morning. (Old habits die hard.) The closet is barricaded with dirty laundry, and my shoes are all wretched. At least I’ve finally got a nice pair of glasses.

Find a doctor – still haven’t seen one in five years; same goes for dentist. I’ve managed to do all the simple short-term health stuff that involves buying a few things in a place I spend 48 hours a week in anyways, yet I haven’t called any of the doctors offices on the list Allie gave me a few weeks ago.

Exercise for it’s own sake – nope. I own Wii Fit, which I would count for this, so there’s no excuse.

Bake – haven’t been cooking much of all, lately. A little bartending here and there, but the most complex thing I’ve done this year is a breaded chicken breast. I’ve instead been putting my food budget towards fancy dinners, which is unsustainable with school bills. I’m supposedly getting a stand mixer from my uncle, but that’s not going to make me want to make souffles all of a sudden. I should just start working through an episode of Good Eats every night.

Grow an herb garden – have all the materials but haven’t set it up.

Get meats from a butcher – every time I’m at the supermarket looking at sausages, I think, “I could get a better variety cheaper at sabor brasil.” I get a chuck steak instead.

Take dancing lessons – Plan on signing up after my soul quest, but no commitment yet.

Practice guitar & piano fundamentals – been playing a bit more since lessons started back up, but a lot of it is the procrastinators “cramming” style, which really doesn’t work for musical instruments. I’ve got a million different musical projects to work on, but none of them are at the point where I’m actually playing stuff.

Learn analog electronics / how to solder – sure wish I hadn’t skipped all those physics labs. (Could have done without the F in the class, too.) No progress.

Define personal space physically – this is a big thing from Pattern Language, which I was reading around the time of my two-hour breakup; couples need to have separate spaces aside from their common area. So I’ve got my keyboards all over half the apartment. Now all I need is a door so I can jerk off in peace.

Find a new job – shit economy on one side, promotion freeze on the other. I went around Cambridge a few weeks back and passed out resumes but have done no follow-up & haven’t tried again. Lost my steam pretty quickly, as I tend to do.

Post on Modern Serf – Well, here’s a start.