Adulting in the 90s by CleanCutTieGuy

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Adulting in the early 90s.

It was 1992, and I had just finished college. I was eager to get a job and start a life on my own. I came from a financially strapped family and struggled just to pay for school. Luxuries were something I was not familiar with at all. I finally received a good job offer, but it required me to relocate a few hundred miles from home, and I did not hesitate to take it. I was eager for a fresh start. I was able to find an apartment in a town near my new job, so I packed up my few possessions and headed off to my new life. I moved into the apartment a week before I started my job so I could get settled.

At my new job the office dress code required that men wore ties, so I used some of my savings to purchase some new dress shirts, dress pants and ties. I also bought a new pair of leather dress shoes. The salesperson at the men’s clothing store was an older gentleman and he was very helpful when it came to picking out the items I would need to get started. One pair of dress pants needed to be tailored, so he told me to come back tomorrow and they would be ready. He also reminded me to make sure I wear the shoes as they would be more comfortable as I break them in. I paid and left with my new work wardrobe.

The next morning, I was trying on some of the new clothes I bought. I wasn’t used to knotting a tie, but eventually I figured out how to get it the correct length. The shoes were a little stiff. I looked at myself in the mirror, and realized I looked a lot less like a student and more like an adult. I could get used to this. That was when I also noticed my hair.

As a college student, I did not get my hair cut often as it was an expense I could eliminate from my meager budget. I had trimmed it up myself before my interview, but that was eight weeks ago. I decided I should get a haircut in an actual barbershop. I had messy hair with no definitive style to it, so I was not even sure as to how I wanted to get it cut.

I had spotted a couple barbershops when I had been out exploring the area. Remembering that I was supposed to wear my new shoes to break them in a bit, I did not bother to change out of my work clothes. I got in my car and headed out to find a barbershop. The first two were one man shops, but the barbers looked ancient and for some reason that scared me. I decided I liked one I found on a side street in the downtown area. From outside, it looked decent and there were two barbers that looked like they were in the 30s-40s. Both barbers had a customer in their chair, but no one else was waiting. I found a parking spot and walked back to the barbershop. It wasn’t long before one of the barbers, a friendly guy in his 40s said, "I’m ready for you" while tapping his chair.

He asked, "I did not recognize you. Is this your first time in the shop?"
As I got into his chair I said, "Yes, I just moved to the area."

"Oh. Well welcome to town. Can you just loosen your tie a bit so I can secure the cape. I don’t want to get any stray hairs on your nice shirt."

After fastening the cape, he took out a comb and started combing out my hair. He was a relaxed guy and not in any particular hurry. While he was combing he asked, "So, are we just trimming the hair up a bit today?"

I explained that I had been trimming it myself throughout school, and he nodded as it was quite obvious to him. My hair was very wavy, covering my ears and hanging below my collar. I said that I needed something appropriate for my new job, obviously shorter. I explained that I was hoping for a style short enough so that my hair looked less wavy.

The other, younger barber who had finished his customer chimed in, "He wants a buzz cut."

"Ignore him. He is just trying to be funny, and failing miserably at it."

I laughed.

My barber followed up with, "So, were you thinking of something like a businessman cut?"

"To be honest, I am not sure what that is."

"The hair would be cut short enough to be off the ears and off the collar. The top would be cut and parted to the side."

Seeing that I looked unsure, he followed up with, "Another style I get a lot of requests for is a modern, ivy league style. The hair on the back and sides would be cut short. The hair on the top is short at the crown and then gets progressively longer toward the front. You can either comb the front to one side or add some gel for a spiky look. It would be a big change from what you have now, but a lot of young professionals are coming in asking for short business cuts and ivy leagues lately. "

I thought that he must know how people my age are wearing their hair and I definitely wanted to fit in at work, so I said, "I’m ready for a change. Let’s go with the ivy-league."

The barber grinned, turned the chair away from the mirror.

"You do have a lot of wave in your hair", he said as he was combing it out, "but we will get you straightened out and looking sharp."

He then picked up a pair of clippers, paused and said, "Are you ready?"

I nodded, and he snapped the clippers on, and started moving them up the side of my head. I could see lengths of wavy hair falling onto the cape.

"When you came in, I did not think you had ears, but it looks like I found one."

He bent my ear over, and slowly moved the clippers around them.

As he made his way to the back of my head, the other barber said, "Someone going for a big change?"

I nervously said, "For my new job. I decided to try a short ivy-league."

"I think you will agree that it was a good choice when it is done.", said the barber cutting my hair.

On the back of my head it felt like he was pushing the clippers from the bottom to almost the top of my head and then on to the other side. He didn’t hurry and I watched more wavy hair fall on to the cape.

When he was done with those clippers, he picked up another pair and cut more off the back and sides. This time it wasn’t long chunks of hair, but shorter pieces covering the cape. When he was done, he sprayed down the hair on top, and started cutting with scissors. Now I could see a lot of hair falling on the cape. The top was always longer because it was the most difficult for me to trim. He continued to pick up sections of it and snip them off. I watched as long pieces of hair fell in front of me. He worked on the top for a while and smaller lengths of hair cascading on the cape around me.

Because the barber turned the chair away from the mirror, I could not see the cut in progress, which made me a little nervous. The other barber noticed and said, "Don’t worry, he’s a pro. When he is done, you might even get a promotion for looking so sharp."

The barber combed my bangs down which completely covered my eyes. That when I heard the snip, snip, snip as he cut my bangs short above my eyes. He then picked up sections of hair in the front and cut them. When he combed it, I could tell there was going to be a whole lot less hair. My head already felt lighter.

After finishing with the scissors, he took some time to brush all the stray hair out of the way with a small soft brush that felt really good.

He then picked up another set of clippers and said, "Now that we have this under control, I just need to blend everything in."

He used a comb to pick up the hair on the crown of my head and cut it with clippers. He repeated this all around the crown. He did the same thing around the sides and back, only higher on my head. When he was done he used the soft brush to clear any stray hair off.

He took out a small set of clippers and said, "Now we cut a nice taper in the back. It will grow in neater like that and it looks much better.."
When that was done, he then put some product in his hands and worked it into my hair. Then he took out a comb and meticulously brushed up the front while also combing the top forward.

The other barber who was now cutting an older guy’s hair said, "Excellent work on that guy. What a change."

After setting down his tools, the barber picked up a square mirror and said, "Ok young man, let’s show you your new ivy league." He turned the chair to face the mirror and I barely recognized myself.

The hair on the sides was short to the point where I could see my scalp through the hair. The top was combed forward with the front brushed up. He held up the smaller square mirror to show what was left in the back. It was just as short as the sides.

"You have a cowlick up at the crown, so I had to cut it a bit shorter around that area. I was able to eliminate the wavy hair you said you did not like."

I agreed, and sheepishly smiled.

He finished the cut with a straight edge on my neck and around my ears. He removed the cape and I got out of the chair. Looking in the mirror, I rebuttoned the top button and tightened the knot on my tie so it did not look sloppy.

The older guy getting his hair cut even chimed in saying, "It’s nice to see the younger guys like yourself going back to the clean-cut look. Back in the early 1960s, it was common to see most men with short haircuts and wearing ties."

I grinned and paid the barber, tipping him well.

When I got in my car, I used the rearview mirror to inspect the new cut. It was short, but it added a few years to my appearance. I was used to hair long enough to reach my shirt collar, and now it was cut well off the collar.

I remembered I was supposed to pick the dress pants that needed to be tailored at the clothing store. The same salesperson was there and said, "You remembered to wear the shoes to break them in."

"Yes, they were a little stiff when I put them on this morning. Remembering what you said, I decided it was a good day to get some in them."

"You won’t regret that. By the way, the new haircut suits you. I almost did not recognize you at first."

Reflexively reaching for the back of my head, I said, "Just came from the barbershop. It’s shorter than I expected, but I was overdue and I wanted to look decent for the new job."

"You look like a proper young professional. You’ll be fine."

This really boosted my confidence and I accepted that this haircut was what I needed.

…

Eight weeks later, I am back at the same barbershop on a Saturday morning, except the barber who cut my hair the last time was not there. The other barber was cutting another guy, so I sat down waiting for the barber who cut my hair the last time.

After he finished up with the other guy, he called me up to his chair. I asked, "Is the barber who cut my hair before working today?"

"No, Bill had a prior commitment and is off today. I can take care of you though."

Nervously, I got up and sat in his chair while he proceeded to put the cape around me.

"Looks like you are heading into work.", asked the barber casually.

I was just wearing a pair of tan chinos and a light blue button-down oxford shirt. I had made a habit of trying to dress better when I am out.

To be conversational, I responded, "Yes, I have a couple of things I need to check on for a project I am working on."

After fastening the cape, the barber looked at me in the mirror and asked, "What are we looking to do with the hair today?"

"Last time I got a short ivy-league style, so I would like to stick to that."

He looked at my hair and asked ,"How long since I last got it cut?"

"It’s been a couple of months."

"Definitely overdue for a cut. I can take care of that."

He took out a comb and started to comb out the hair on top and on the sides. He pointed at the sides and asked, "Do you want skin showing?"
Remembering my last cut, I could see the skin through the short hair so I assumed that is what he meant. So I replied, "Yes".

It was a similar routine with the clippers, except this younger guy worked much faster. The hair was clipped off the back and sides. He was friendly and talkative as he was cutting.

"Now that the warmer weather is here, a lot of guys are requesting shorter cuts like this"

"The last time I was in, the other barber did a great job. It took me a couple days to get used to having shorter hair, and now I prefer it."

"I suspect if it is a hot summer like they predict, a lot more guys will be getting haircuts like this."

This barber used more clippers blades as compared to the previous barber. He would quickly change out the blades and quickly go back to cutting. Unlike my last haircut, there were no long clumps of wavy hair falling down the cape. As always, I enjoyed when he took out the soft brush to clear off all the stray hairs before he would resume cutting.
When he took out a large set of clippers that sounded much louder than the others, I asked him what they were. He looked surprised and said, "Foil shavers. They cut the hair closest to the skin.". He continued with these all around my ears and in the lower back of my head. This barber had a different style of cutting as compared to the other barber.

He quickly cut the top, brushed off the stray hairs, shaved with the straight razor and then grabbed some pomade and applied it into the hair on top of my head.

He combed it forward and then brushed it up similar to what the other barber did. He stepped back and looked at it for a time and then shook his head and combed it forward and then to one side.

"Ok, almost done. I just need to shave the edges, and you’ll be ready for the weekend."

Once he was done and all of the stray hair was brushed away, he then turned the chair to show me the finished cut. As he turned the chair he said, "As requested, one ivy league faded down to skin".

This was much shorter than my last cut. Apparently, skin showing meant buzzing the hair down to the skin. I had no hair half way up the back and sides of my head. He blended in the top but even that was much shorter. My ears stuck out more with no hair anywhere around them. That explained why he was using the foil shavers. They cut the hair down to the skin like an electric razor for your face. The short sideburns I came in with were completely gone.

As he was removing the cape, he explained "Since you said you were heading into work, I styled it more conservatively. Brushing it to one side gives this cut more of a professional appearance."

I reached up to feel the back of my head. The lower part was completely smooth and the upper part got slightly longer toward the crown. The sides around my ears looked bald because it was bald. I said, "Wow, this is shorter than expected. I thought "skin showing" meant the hair was short enough to see skin under it and not down to the skin."

Nervously, the barber said, "Well that explains why you did not know what the foil shavers were. I am so sorry, man."

"No worries. Besides, I was already used to short hair. This is just the next level. Definitely perfect for the warm summer months. I could definitely get used to this style."

The barber said, "I know it is short, but this cut really suits you. He quickly grabbed a small mirror and showed me the back. Look how sharp the faded back looks when you are wearing a collared shirt like this."

I laughed, "You are right. Besides, I wear collared shirts like this all the time. I wore jeans and t-shirts in college and got tired of it. So now I changed the game and weekends are mostly chinos and a collared button-down. One of my friends says I always look like I am heading to church.

Jokingly he followed up with, "Now they might ask you if you joined the National Guard. Some of the officers that come in get the same haircut every month. If you are going to keep that style, you should get it cut every four weeks instead of waiting so long between cuts."

I agreed and told him I would see him in four weeks.

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