Thread: Isn't this all a bit foppish?

Originally Posted by JMS

Also are their any men left with simple tastes and simple wants anymore or are we all so self obsessed these days?

(I'm editing myself - was going off on a rant about self-obsession and egoism in society today but that's a subject for a different thread.)
On topic, I have a puck of VDH soap, a couple of Collleen's sample pucks, a tube of Proraso and a tube of Musgo Real, Afta after shave, Mennen after shave, and 6 colognes I've collected from b'days and Christmasses. I like to look good and smell good but the "metrosexual" thing leaves me decidedly cold. Manicures, pedicures, facials and the like are for women. The most thought I give to my appearance (aside from the inevitable when I look in the mirror first thing in the morning ) is to "look respectable". Can't really define that but I know what it is and it doesn't have anything to do with skin food, buffing or butters.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Aging gracefully eh? I'm old enough to tell you there isn't anything graceful about it. Its like rolling a boulder down a steep long hill. Its just accelerates at an exponential level as time goes on.

Here's my Forest Gump moment:

My mom always says that life is like a roll of toilet paper. the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.

Matt

I've gotta say that, personally, my money goes into the blades. I had been using Proraso exclusively until I was generously given some homemade soap by a good friend (now I combine the two for an almost uberlather). I have a single brush, my Semogue 730 silvertip (though I still have the $5 boar that I started out with). Post shave, I used to use just Nivea, but then I was given some Witch Hazel and Bay Rum by another good friend.

My barebones approach extends to my other gear too. For hones, I've got a 1K, a BBW/Coticule, and a Swaty. I still have the pocket med/fine Spyderco's (the medium is useful as a slurry stone, the fine just sits around). I have single TM strop; I don't even know what kind it is. It's black and has no hardware (like a travel strop). I also have a 4 sided, pasted paddle strop that I won an the NY get together, and that gets some use when I don't feel like pulling out stones for a touchup.

The only thing I have a variety of is razors. And the only real reason I have more than one razor is because I really like razors and would never be satisfied with just one. Well, that and they have become a hobby.

No foppishness for me.

Fop? Definitely! But not until I leave the bathroom

Shampoo, conditioner & soap on the edge of the bath. Six, no, seven pucks of shave soap, a bottle of GFT Limes Skin Food & two different colognes. Oh & let us not forget the alum block. Not worn anything approaching make up in years!

Originally Posted by clrobert60

(I'm editing myself - was going off on a rant about self-obsession and egoism in society today but that's a subject for a different thread.)
On topic, I have a puck of VDH soap, a couple of Collleen's sample pucks, a tube of Proraso and a tube of Musgo Real, Afta after shave, Mennen after shave, and 6 colognes I've collected from b'days and Christmasses. I like to look good and smell good but the "metrosexual" thing leaves me decidedly cold. Manicures, pedicures, facials and the like are for women. The most thought I give to my appearance (aside from the inevitable when I look in the mirror first thing in the morning ) is to "look respectable". Can't really define that but I know what it is and it doesn't have anything to do with skin food, buffing or butters.

Have you ever had a pedicure or a facial? Obviously you don't get it for beauty purposes, but it makes your feet and face feel pretty damn good. The added bonus is that if you do it with your significant other, she'll brag about you to her friends. This helps immensely in times of need (see Ray G's thread about Old Spice).

LOL! What a topic! I used to be "a bit" too concerned about my hair in high school probably wasted about an hour each day getting it just perfect.... I don't know what the hell was up with that either. Perhaps I knew some day it would leave me and I just wanted to spend all the time I could with it?

Now, I just shave!

Personally I don't believe in drawing a line for others, well, at least not a absolute line. I need to draw a different line for different folks.

That being said, that wasn't the question asked in this thread was it? Where do I draw the line for me? Moisturizer. I can use different products that dry my skin like crazy, alcohol aftershave, soap, so long as it's hard on my skin, it's still manly.

Oh, as a side note, dressing fancily and stylishly is alright too, so long as it's done in harsh shades. Different greys, blacks, whites. Even navy blue and brown are acceptable, and they are colours!

Originally Posted by Cobo

Personally I don't believe in drawing a line for others, well, at least not a absolute line. I need to draw a different line for different folks.

That being said, that wasn't the question asked in this thread was it? Where do I draw the line for me? Moisturizer. I can use different products that dry my skin like crazy, alcohol aftershave, soap, so long as it's hard on my skin, it's still manly.

Oh, as a side note, dressing fancily and stylishly is alright too, so long as it's done in harsh shades. Different greys, blacks, whites. Even navy blue and brown are acceptable, and they are colours!

I'd rather a dandy be open about his foppishness rather than a fop finding ways to convince himself of his manliness.

I have more creams and lotions and accessories than anyone in my family. They all laugh when they see my stuff. What can I say I like to look good and want to age well. Down here where I live the sun does a job on your skin and it has to be maintained or you'll prune up and wither away.

Isn't the right to deceive yourself one of those inalienable human rights we hear about all the time? :P

Besides, a fop or dandy can be awefully manly. I was actually just thinking about that after posting. I have a friend who literally owns more hair and skin products than my fiance, dresses only in the modern metro stylish clothes. More than one person has questioned his heterosexuality.

He's also the hardest working, most honest and morally upright people I know. I think so highly of him he's an usher at my wedding, and was very close to being best man, before I would up choosing a friend who I felt was closer to me.

Anyways, long story short, would I ever accuse him of being less than a man? Not a chance in hell, if I pushed him beyond his agreeable nature, he'd break my spine. Earlier in life, I took boxing lessons and wound up feeling pretty confident in my abilities with my hands, but he'd drop me like a bad transmission. Strong as an ox and twice as hard to hurt, I wouldn't have a hope in hell against him. That being said, he frequently wears pink dress shirts.

So just because someone's hair smells like jasmine, don't assume he couldn't break you in half. :P