Wearing a moustache helps to hide your emotions as it covers that very expressive part of your face, your mouth – so even if you are really frightened or feeling a bit teary, nobody needs to know. It disguises the position of the corners of your mouth and covers giveaway cheek wrinkles in a similar way to a half-mask or veil. The moustache known as the “split spike” can convey the idea of a faint smile, making a real one unnecessary. A droopy handlebar moustache can convey the impression of melancholia. Maybe this tendency towards hiding your true feelings is why a law was passed in England in 1447 making moustaches illegal!

A moustache is a stand-out facial feature, something that can instantly define you. If you see a Clark Gable pencil-line moustache what do you think: hero, lothario or dodgy car salesman? The “droop” style: rugged outback pioneer, biker bar regular or “trailer trash”? 

Costume designer Jacki Cottom says that she would think very carefully before choosing a moustache for a character in a play or film. “They are a very potent piece of design and strongly suggest certain types of characters. They often lend authority or evoke 'times gone by'. How you keep it also says a lot about you. A well-kept moustache suggests a man with money, someone who has the help of a valet to keep him looking his best.”

For the Victorians each new invention or fashion was an excuse for another gadget. Moustaches were no exception. During the 1800s a wide range of hardware and cosmetics were developed to help a gentleman keep his moustache in perfect order. Everything from moustache curlers to wax to snoods (that kept your moustache safe during the night) to modified mugs with a special pierced rim or little bars across known as “moustache lifters” became available. Nowadays these items can mainly be found in antique shops or on eBay, but there is still a roaring trade in moustache wax for that all-important stiffness!

Miltary connections

One common association people make with moustaches is the military and it may be from this association that the phrase “stiff upper lip” originates. In French the expression: “vieille moustache” means an old soldier. Moustache popularity was at an all-time high in the 19th century when the British Army actually prohibited soldiers from shaving their upper lips. This love of moustaches was picked by the French military and Prussian Guard (think of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s impressive display). Lord Kitchener’s moustache, as featured in the first world war recruitment poster “Your Country Needs You”, is surely one of the most famous political moustaches of the 20th century and represents the well-kept military moustache at its zenith.  As the approval rating of the Army declined after the first world war, so did the approval rating for the moustache. Hitler and Stalin’s trademark facial hair cannot have helped the moustache’s public image.

Making a comeback?

The sporting of a moustache is a bold fashion choice in this day and age. In 2004, an American filmmaker challenged a group of 18 to 30-year-olds to grow a moustache for one month and report their experiences. A number of the men could not stand the public ridicule and gave up after one week! But a quick look round the hippest hang-outs in 2006 confirms the rumour that moustaches are on their way back – you have been warned.