As a follow up to our primer on beard styles for tall skinny guys, we’re now talking about the infamous mustache. To grow or not to grow…that is the question.
For tall skinny guys, what’s the right call? Well, as usual, it depends on a few things.
First of all, if you’re a tall slim man then you most likely have the oblong face shape, meaning your face is long and thin or narrow. This isn’t always the case of course, as tall thin guys can have a variety of face shapes. But the most common is the oblong.
With that in mind, you have to ask yourself the question…do I want to look taller and thinner? If you shave the sides of your head and grow it long on top, then your haircut is giving the impression of greater height and slimness. It’s amazing the effect hair, both on your head and face, can have on the illusion of length and width.
So what effect does a mustache have? I took one for the team for the last three weeks to show you. Behold, with and without the stache.
As you can clearly see, my face doesn’t look as long when wearing the mustache. It breaks up the vertical space. This is also a recommendation from Men’s Journal for those with a long face shape.
So when it comes to balancing your face, going with a mustache is an excellent way to break up the vertical space and give you the appearance of not being so tall/long in the face. That may or may not be a plus depending on your goals and your style, but there you go.
Now, I should report that growing a mustache isn’t very comfortable. It has some itch to it and the mrs. was no fan. Also, for those of you who also grew up in the 80’s, the term “molestache” might be familiar. You definitely don’t want to go for the mustache if yours comes in thin, scraggly or otherwise unkempt looking. Or if you drive one of those vans without windows.
One other consideration- the mustache is hallowed Tom Selleck ground. This of course may increase your desire to grow a mustache or have the opposite effect, depending on your perspective.
You shouldn’t be deciding on whether or not you should be growing a mustache- you should be deciding on whether or not you should be keeping your mustache. Just go for it man. If you don’t like it, you can always shave it off, so might as well see how it looks on you!
