Witty Jessi Klein, one of our favorite stand-ups, takes on male chest hair (we know, we added "male" there, but we just wanted to make that perfectly clear) on The Daily Beast. (Kudos to Andrew Sullivan for shining the light, or, um, unbuttoning the button, on the piece.) The sexy upshot? Klein thinks the Burt-Reynolds-circa-1977 look is making a splash, like so much locker room cologne on freshly showered skin, once more.
Perhaps it is for most of the nation, although maybe not this week, what with the bundle-up temps. Wait, we take that back. We all know guys who will work the barely-buttoned look, even if they're driving a sled of dogs to the South Pole. Klein cites several Hollywood-based actors and shows -- like "Mad Men" -- paving the way for this trend, which recalls the whole "manscaping" thing a few years back, which was something we hoped wouldn't cross our minds for at least another decade.
So would Steve Carrell film his infamous waxing scene in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" today? Or is everywhere hair just back in general? Mustaches and beards are getting play, and during the economically trying times of the late '70s, men were letting everything they had go long. Can we look forward to half of the population forgoing trimmings and embracing the shaggy as we weather what's ahead?
Oh right. It's not the hair, but the short skirts, that predict the stock market...
