The question
Should I cut my hair short?
The answer
Male runway models don't have very short hair any more. It's not shoulder length either – it's cut above the ears but very full on top – full and thick and puffy and tousled, and it needs a lot of product to stay in place. Hair is in – on the face and on the body and on the head.
Thing is, those models are 22 years old, so they have lots of hair on their heads. Thinning hair cannot be grown long or it will make you look like a hotel-lobby jazz guitarist. If your hair is at all receding or thinning, crop it close to the head. Please don't try to make up for it with a giant mammalian beard or a collection of clever trucker caps. Own it.
If you are one of the lucky ones with a bushy crown, let it flow, and indulge in as much variety of styling as you like. It may be swept back or it may hang over the face. (See Canadian superstar DJ Richie Hawtin for an example of how to work this.) Don't let it get so long that it can be tied into a ponytail – then you'll be back into full jazz guitarist territory (or worse: jazz sound-recording engineer). The full Jesus look is not in fashion. Keep it above the neck. If you grow it long and put it up in a man bun, people will always be asking you for gluten-free recipes or to make them a macchiato, so by all means do it if that's the conversation you desire.
Novelist Russell Smith's memoir, Blindsided, is available as a Kobo e-book. Have a style question? E-mail style@globeandmail.com.