Saturday Morning Beard Fact

By the beginning of the new millennium, facial hair had been passé for so long that it had gained an almost iconic status – something unique and admired for being unusual. The minority group that now wore facial hair became a proud clique of those willing to be out of the ordinary. Men who were brave enough to sport full beards or waxed moustaches set up their own groups, and membership of organisations such as the Handlebar Club was booming. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, non religious facial hair was worn almost exclusively by those who chose to be different.

Moustaches, Whiskers & Beards by Lucinda Hawksley, National Portrait Gallery