Oscars 2011: Suits, Tuxes, and Scuff – Is it acceptable?
Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Wahlberg. Those are just a few of the men who sported at least 5 o’clock shadows to the 2011 Academy Awards. Even Hugh Jackman had his beard trimmer set to modern bristle, and the guy still went old school with a double-breasted tux.
The juxtaposition between black tie and weekend-in-the-woods face is at the very least intriguing.
Many tried to peg the scuff/5 o’clock shadow look as a trend. But by the looks of some serious heavy hitters in the entertainment industry, sandpaper cheeks and chins aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. And for those of us who prefer a bit of a follicle barrier between our mugs and the rest of the world, this is a good thing.
If your scruff is well maintained, even in length, and doesn’t trickle down your neck, then can’t it be considered just a really short beard?
No one would question a bearded man’s decision to attend a formal event, such as an awards ceremony or a wedding, with his usual choice of facial hair. Right? Besides. Women really seem to dig stubble.
Suits & scruff. Do the two mix? Or does dressing up for a big event demand you reach for the Mach 3? Leave your vote in the comments section below.
Well maintained scruff can be hot on some people, It’s not for everyone. Also, I guess it depends on who you’re kissing, and their preference 🙂
I think that it looks a little contrived. Trying too hard to look rugged. They’ve taken all this time to get done up in other ways, but they can’t take a quick razor to their face? I don’t know.
I’m sure a lot of women find this attractive. My wife can’t stand the slightest bit of scruff. It has to be clean shaven or full beard, no in between. That’s fine with me because I am a shave geek and it gives me more time with my straight razors.
I think both work perfectly fine. I love a little scruff and I usually shave it for weddings and when I know I’ll see my grandma. If I was going to the oscars, though, I think I might keep it.
I think if you are going to go with the suit your scruff should be well maintained and groomed.
I, for one, prefer scruff as I have ridiculously sensitive skin on my face and shaving can irritate the heck out of it regardless of what razor or shaving product I use. Setting my trimmer to stubble does not hurt it at all.
It’s a case by case basis. Times when suit scruff is ok – you live in California, a wedding rehearsal dinner, the (3rd) dinner date, Vegas or any other activity that may result in the presence of strippers, your Oscar acceptance speech. Times when suit scruff is not appropriate – Your job interview, a first date, your court hearing, a funeral, a wedding if you’re in the wedding party, an evening wedding regardless, any activity or event with the possibility of shaking the President’s hand.
See, I like where this is going. But on a first date I’d totally have stubble. It’s who I am, and if it’s neat, clean, trimmed, etc… and she has a problem with that… we’re probably not a good match (mind you, this is all hypothetical because I’m married.) For the President: Yes. Lose the stubble. But for the wedding if you’re in the wedding party? That’s a tough one.
Clean shaven. A man can have his 5 o’clock shadow when he wears suits, sport coats, blazers. A tuxedo, on the other hand, requires a man who showered, shaved and dabbed on a drop of cologne. Scruff is counterintuitive to the put-togthered tuxedo look.
This depends on facial structure and appearance. I’m fairly young for my position in industry and have always been known as a bit of a baby-face. As such, I always shave in the evenings. This gives a more mature appearance to my face the next day without looking like I forgot to shave. I, like another commenter, also have sensitives skin so I can get a bit of redness and razor burn. Evening shaving allows that to fade by morning.
Aside from aesthetics, I’ve also found that a nice hot shave at the end of my day is quite relaxing.
I mostly agree with Anotherjames. I wear trimmed stubble with pretty much everything, but I’d shave for any event that put me in a tux, for court, or for meeting the President (which is going to happen any day now, I’m sure). A black tie event is your chance to really put on the old school grooming, so definitely complete it with a good shave – preferably from a skilled barber.
I’m glad you wrote this, Joe! I was thinking the same thing last night as I was watching the Oscars. Men in formal wear but with stubble?? It wasn’t so much a shock and disapproval, it was more so envious. I’m Asian so even if I wanted to grow stubble out I couldn’t. Mine just grows in patches and makes me look very dirty and gruffly. I guess the main takeaway I got was, if you can pull it off…why not? None of the men last night, aside from maybe Christian Bale, looked horrendous with their stubble, so if you’ve got it, flaunt it!
Whatever looks best. Have the nerve to follow through with confidence.
If you can pull off a decent scruff while looking suave, then don’t bottle out and shave it off before a big event. Show some nerve/pride and go for it. Scruff with a suit can be a great look. I’m talking a short beard here though btw, not just having not shaved for a day or so.
Also if that’s the way you always dress, then why shave it off all of a sudden because of some event?
The scruff is an attempt to give off the “I don’t give a sh*t” look, but a black tie event should be about giving a sh*t.
Q: “can’t it be considered just a really short beard?”
A: sure it can, just a thin scraggly beard.
I see it as being neither here nor there, but if you want to look like a vagrant that’s stolen someone’s tux than more power to you.
No to scruff with a tux I’m afraid. I like the look for day to day casual, but, it’s attraction lies in it’s contrived ‘I look this hot when I get out of bed’ style. When you’re in a tux it should be an understated compliment to your host of how much effort you have put into presentation for them and, of course, you’re partner. Horses for courses.
Scruff is good and looks good. However, if you plan to have your face on any part (ANY!) part of a woman’s body, that bad boy better be shaved, or else she better be into getting ‘sandpapered’ during those passionate times…
Scruff is good and looks good. However, if you plan to have your face on any part (ANY!) part of a woman’s body, that bad boy better be shaved, or else she better be into getting ‘sandpapered’ during those passionate times…
If Hugh Jackman et al. look like vagrants who have stolen someone’s tux? Then I’d love to be mistaken for a hobo. More often than is normally the case of course.
If it looks as good as it did on Gylenhal, I’d do it. Nothing wrong with breaking tradition once in a while. Only, if you do break tradition it had better look great. Or at least natural.
I think it can work, but it’s not a free pass to be lazy about grooming your face. It will still need to be groomed to look clean and presentable. The same is true with any length of facial hair. Other than that, I would say if you’re going to have scruff with a suit or tuxedo, don’t skimp on the haircut.
Does somebody not need to shower to wear suits, sport coats, blazers?
> They’ve taken all this time to get done up in other ways, but they can’t take a quick razor to their face? I don’t know.
I can’t imagine any other “doing up”. How much time could it possibly take you to shower and put on nice clothing? I could do it in 5 minutes. Shaving, on the other hand, takes much more time than that.
Maybe it’s because I hardly ever wear them, but it takes me longer than 5 minutes to put on a tux. I doubt most of these guys are into the whole traditional wet shave method, so a regular shave would probably only take 5 minutes or so.
Plus, do you really think these guys are picking these tuxedos out on their own? Probably not, they have stylists. They have people that come in and consult on how which tux they should wear, which shoes, and how they should style their hair. I’m sure somewhere in there they could find time to shave.
Without going into ungentlemanly detail, I must retort, “your mileage may vary”.
There is a difference between an entertainer and the average Joe (no pun intended). What Joseph Gordon-Levitt can get away with is much more than what I can.
It looks like the Men’s Health Style Gal (Sandra Nygaard) doesn’t quite agree with you.
http://blogs.menshealth.com/style-gal/oscar-style-how-even-winners-lost/2011/03/03/