A man's hairstyle says a lot about who he is. In the case of the popular high-and-tight side part, that message might be a problematic one.
Favoured by the likes of Macklemore, David Beckham and every white guy on the last season of the Bachelorette, this haircut has become to hip urban men of the 2010s what the MacGyver mullet was to the late 1980s. Better still, it's low-maintenance and looks good on pretty much everyone.
When the haircut in question, characterized by buzzed sides and extra length on top, became trendy in the early 2010s, commentators were quick to point out its similarity to a look favoured by 1930s fascists, particularly the Hitler Youth. Someone clever dubbed it the "Hippler," but despite both of these things, its popularity continued to grow (such is the power of a haircut that's both edgy and office appropriate). Lately, to the chagrin of stylish urban men, the hairstyle has apparently been adopted by the alt-right, a group whose visibility has recently grown thanks to the xenophobic rhetoric of the current American government.
Barbers, however, bristle at the association. "Neo-Nazis have always been cowards and tried to steal trendy or tough-looking styles," says Chris Hammell, the owner of Toronto's Town Barber. Hammell points out that the "classic" neo-Nazi look – shaved head, suspenders, jeans and Doc Martens – was, in fact, stolen from skinheads, 1960s working-class Brits united by their love of Jamaican music. Then, of course, there's the sad tale of the toothbrush moustache, favoured by Charlie Chaplin and Oliver Hardy, among others, before being ruined forever by a certain German dictator.
Just as not all moustaches call to mind the Great Dictator, not all high-and-tights deserve an association with right-wing nationalism. "The side-part tapered style predates the 1940s and – for most barbers and traditionalists – could be referred to as simply a 'regular haircut,'" says Brian Hurson, proprietor of the Nite Owl and Lakeview barbershops in Toronto's West End and an expert on vintage men's hairstyles. "In my opinion the Hitler Youth look is a much more extreme version where the transition point between the short sides and the top is dramatic, and the blending appears crude or almost non-existent." Even so, he goes on, context is just as important as the abruptness of your fade. "If it's a well-blended, parted hairstyle, even one that's worn very short on the sides, and the context isn't white supremacist, then it's a stretch that anyone could draw that conclusion." This is good news for trendy men everywhere, as well as a reminder of two very important lessons: Trust your barber and don't be a racist.