The Comb
10 years ago by
In honor of our men’s week, I asked Scott to send me something he noticed this week, and this morning he sent me a picture of his new comb, with a few words…
“No one seems to carry combs anymore. My dad always had a comb, and a hankerchief on him at all times. This comb is simple in design but made beautiful in horn which is flexible but still more fragile than plastic. You have to give a little care to it for it to care for you. In this day of a million photos of people on their phone and the gesture of phone and smoking culture it would be so refreshing to take more photos of guys or girls in the simple act of combing their hair…”
It’s funny because with my short hair, I’ve been using combs instead of brushes lately, and I was looking for a cute one. Another thing to steal from Scott !
PS: The comb is from G Lorenzi, an old school store in Milan.
You may also like
Features
From the Archives: Tonal Dressing
Beauty
Letting it All Air Dry
Beauty
Why You Need a Scalp Detox
Beauty
Braided: A Visual Journey
Style
Finishing Touches
Moi j’en ai toujours un, de peigne, mais je ne le dégaine pas en public!
Bises,
F de http://luckasetmoi.blogspot.fr/
i don’t like brushes: i have always used combs! :)
http://littleaesthete.com
Ohlala les peignes ouiiii! c’est tellement démodé que ça en est culte!
J’ai acheté il y a 3 ans un peigne chez un antiquaire, fait a la main, en France, il est magnifique, je le trimballe partout, surtout quand je voyage, ça tient moins de place dans la trousse de toilette, et mes copines me disent: Oh un peigne! j’en ai pas vu depuis des millénaires!
mais mon peigne made in France j’y tiens beaucoup, il faut que je me souvienne du nom…. attends… OYONNAX!
Il y a même un musée et ils font des peignes depuis la nuit des temps (littéralement) sous Clovis en 639! petit lien: http://www.amppo.fr/index.asp?ID=348
Merci Garance!
I know a guy who carries around a comb to keep his moustache in check :)
He kinda grooms it sneakily though.
Regarding more photos of people combing/brushing hair vs. smoking/using phones–while I religiously brush my hair, it feels too private a ritual to perform in public. Grooming in general usually happens behind the scenes, right? No one would dare cut their nails in public, for example..
But it does make for a delicate and graceful gesture, like putting in an earring or applying makeup.
Guess Scott’s mom never told him ladies dont do grooming in public–that’s what the lady’s room is for. Smoking and yakking on the phone–public. Adjusting your tights, any grooming other than lipstick, private.
Je suis très émue par ce post, il me fait penser à mon grand-père qui avait toujours un peigne dans sa veste qu’il sortait pour se repeigner avant d’aller à la messe par exemple… Il avait ce geste très assuré qu’avec mes cousines, on admirait…
Bref, thank you for your words, Scott :)
MJ
oh Lauren c´est vrai, moi que mes parents ont toujours trainés à la messe, je revois les hommes se repeigner en montant les marches de l´église, deux coups de peigne, après avoir enlevés leur casquette, mes oncles le font toujours à la campagne…
Oh ça me rappelle mon grand-père. Il ne sort jamais sans son mouchoir en tissu et il a un peigne exactement comme celui-ci que j’aimais toujours lui emprunter quand j’étais gamine.
Même si je n’ai pas beaucoup commenté sur cette semaine par faute de temps (dissertation d’université, je te hais), j’adore cette semaine consacré aux hommes. En effet le blog avait besoin d’un peu de testostérone, les hommes ont vraiment ce charme brut et ses habitudes si différentes des nôtres.
Scott a toujours ce respect du passé et ses manières de gentleman d’avant qui sont vraiment charmantes (je suis sûr que cela doit te faire craquer et je te comprend). Et tu as raison, je lui piquerais trop si j’étais toi. ^^
Gros Bisous à toi et au studio.
Totally agree, No one uses combs anymore!
They should though! hah!
http://thehauterebel.blogspot.com
The comb I use never ventures north of my belly button…but er, don’t tell my husband that.
Haha that’s the fun of having a boyfriend. Slowly stealing their stuff *peace sign*
http://newbornfanatic.wordpress.com
My dad had a man bag and a comb now you come to mention it! :-)
Kiri
http://www.fashionblender.com.au
http://www.facebook.com/FashionBlender
My dad, who was born before the war in Yugoslavia, always says that a gentleman never leaves the house without a comb. So as a true gentleman from Belgrade, the first thing he does when he comes out of the ocean from swimming, for example, is to slick his hair back with his trusty comb. He carries it everywhere and our family usually mocks him about it. But this post is like a validation of his timeless gentlemanliness and makes me love his comb quirk even more !
I so imagine this scene, as if I’ve seen it couple of times in my life already… Probably did, spending so many summers on the croatian coast. :) Who said Balkan men weren’t gentlemen?
My dad still uses his comb and I think that really distinguishes the different age groups.
We love teasing him about it especially because he doesn’t have his thick hair anymore.
He’s still a gentlemen and it’s so sad we don’t see men doing the same anymore.
xx
Giana.LDS
http://www.ledesociale.com
Un geste plein de grâce le peigne ! Les vieux italiens très chics le sortent encore le dimanche à Florence.. Un petit coup de peigne avant le déjeuner chez Cammillo en famille. So Chic.
Baci,
Ali
http://www.alidifirenze.fr
Simple but soooo delicate
xx
nAiLee
http://www.naileechic.com
Actually the first time I was snapped by a street photographer I was trimming my nails, http://portraitcafeblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/camilla-st-andrews/. I just had to do I totally agree with Scott, its nice to see people caring for themselves for one thing but for another there is something seductive about the mask of perfection we usually try to keep in place slipping just a little. It makes us more approachable I think and also a little beguiling like when a little lace peeks out from a shirt line, it suggests something personal.
Il faut toujours avoir un peigne, car il faut toujours peigner ses cheveux avant de les brosser. Et en corne, mais ça, je ne sais pas pourquoi …
j’ai les cheveux mi-long et le peigne c’est mon arme secrète pour maîtriser ma crinière! Une fois, lors d’un séjour à Paris, je l’avais oublié et comme mon hôtel était juste en face d’un Sephora, j’y ai accouru, j’ai cherché et ne trouvant rien, j’ai demandé à la vendeuse: ‘alors NON chez Sephora on ne vend PAS de PEIGNE’… c’était un peu comme si j’avais demandé si ils vendaient les bigoudis de ma grand-mère…ça m’a fait tout drôle!
Bonjour Garance,
Je rebondis sur le sujet peigne et l’élargis aux brosses avec cette incroyable adresse à Bordeaux: http://www.ausanglierderussie.com/
J’y achète des blaireaux à barbe de qualité pour mon père (pas toujours facile à trouver!). Ils proposent des brosses, des peignes, des pinceaux pour tout sorte d’usage et ce depuis 1814 (!).
Le nom de la boutique est assez drôle, mais quand tu en sors, ton petit paquet sous le bras, tu as un peu l’impression de détenir un secret…vieux de 200 ans!
Bises
Oh oui ce geste tellement classe, à l’ancienne des hommes qui se repeignent.
Comme toi je n’ai plus de brosse depuis des années, quand j’avais encore de la longueur, ça me rendait les cheveux électriques, et comme je les ai majoritairement eu courts voire très courts depuis des années…
Ah ! Si la tangle teezer de ma fille je la pique parfois.
Funny how a comb can bear so much meaning…
My father passed away three months ago, and after that, last time I met my sister for a coffee I asked her: “Do you remember that comb Dad had, it was a black and white striped one… have you seen it?”
I remember that comb being around forever, at home and in his car, since I was a small child. That and the retro sunglasses that I used to put on, although they were too big for me then.
My sister just answered: “I’ve been looking for that very comb too…”.
Il est très old style raffiné, il a sûrement des bretelles !!!???
Yes, it is true the act of combing ones hair in public is not so common. I like to carry a small comb in my handbag instead of a brush. So much lighter and easier to use when in a rush. xx
My boyfriend carries a comb up his sleeve and brushes his beard whenever he’s deep in thought. I always thought it was bit quirky / endearing, but reading that paragraph makes it seem far more beautiful than that.
http://www.girlinmenswear.com
Moi j’ai toujours un peigne sur moi. J’ai grandi en Afrique, je ne dirais pas que c’est courant, mais ce n’est pas bizarre de voir une fille (ou un mec d’ailleurs) dégainer son peigne et se recoiffer, comme ça en public. C’est assez drôle de voir la tête de mes amis français quand je me recoiffe, sans gène, en pleine conversation lol. Ca doit être culturel tout ça :)
Ça fait tellement vintage des hommes qui se peigne, j’adore!
I read once that it’s better for your hair to use a comb-I switched to combs and I’ve never looked back. I now dislike brushes (I cannot afford a Mason Pearson) and I only use one to dry my hair about twice a week. It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten what was supposed to be bad about brushes-maybe you’re more prone stretch your hair with a brush? But whatever, combs totally appeal to my minimalist sensibilities!
I love this! My father has always carried a comb, always. It never occurred to me that other men didn’t do the same, but as I grew up, I realized that to be true. Now, I look back and see that having a comb always was (and is) such a lovely mannerism of his.
Today would have been my dear nana’s 91st birthday. She always taught me that I should have my hair brushed. She would let me know if it needed brushing by saying ‘Sarah, would you like to borrow my brush?’ which actually meant ‘Sarah, your hair needs brushing.’ However, she always told me that it was rude to brush your hair in public and even now I will not do so.
J’aime beaucoup cette semaine consacree aux hommes.
Je suis assez old fashion quant aux accessoires que j’ai toujours preferes masculins et que je trouve elegants, raffines et discrets. (Ah ! les italiens…….)
I also love a good comb – and am constantly stealing my boyfriend’s comb! I’m totally into the go-combs (http://go-comb.com/home) they are the size of a credit card and thus fit perfectly into your wallet. Yet another thing men can carry in their perfectly compact little wallets whilst we ladies lug giant purses around;)
ça c’est joli))
Je remarque que le post sur les mecs qui passent leur temps à “zapper, écarter les jambes assis dans le métro et ne rien comprendre” a disparu… Bon choix))
When growing up, we were told that it’s impolite to do your hair or makeup in public .. and those statements, they stick to you.. But i can see how it’s different in different cultures (I come from Belarus)
j’en voit encore des hommes se peigner dans la rue à Paris, genre mafiosos italiens d’un certain âge!
I’ve definitely seen this trend of carrying combs coming back. Since everything is getting smaller, it seems that folding combs are more in vogue because of their compatibility like the one seen here: http://www.beardcareproducts.com/trim.html
I’ve also stolen a comb from A Scott recently. Recommend.