Getting That Gatsby Facial Hair Look for Halloween

A compendium of whisker wisdom on Flickr can help you find the look you're after for a perfect historic Halloween costume.

A compendium of whisker wisdom on Flickr can help you find the look you’re after for a perfect historic Halloween costume.

For those looking to dress up for Halloween, nothing says class like an old-time mustache, especially for historical costumes. The Internet is a trove of useful information on the subject, including tips for Gatsby-esque looks. Key: very well manicured hair, slicked back on top with pomade to the point of looking wet.

Handlebar mustaches were en vogue in the time of The Great Gatsby, the 1920s, curled at the ends like the classic villain, but even the protagonists were doing it then. Absolutely no stubble. As barber shops were starting to get professional and standardized in the ’20s, men frequently had their hair trimmed and beards professionally shaved with a straight razor — all except that classy ‘stache, of course.

Looking for some visual inspiration? Check out this great Flickr photo collection of facial hair from the 1840s to the 1920s, with styles from conservative to outlandish, even comical. You’re sure to find something to help you create the look you’re after.

 

Resolving the Ice-breaker Dilemma

Planning a wedding can be a daunting task — reason enough for the wedding planning industry’s very existence. The amount of details to handle, and associated options, is boggling. One item that might not come to mind immediately, if at all, but makes a huge difference in your wedding’s overall feel, is how well the guests interact with each other at the reception.

Just like with any good party — and this advice does apply to them as well — thinking ahead about who will naturally interact with whom is important, if not critical.  The social butterflies aren’t the issue; your challenge is to figure out how to make everyone else mingle and loosen up in unfamiliar company. Imagine the almost inherent awkwardness of introducing a bride and groom’s parents to each other for the first time. Now scale that up to entire extended families and circles of friends.

There are a few tricks of the trade that work wonders in encouraging intermingling of mixed groups — not the least of which is an open bar. In-person introductions by a common bond, such as the bride introducing her sister to the groom’s sister, are ideal, but when a wedding includes scores if not hundreds of guests, there’s no practical way that can happen with everyone.

You’ll notice that there are common wedding traditions that are handled by a wedding planner or DJ, such as announcing the wedding party at the reception, and announcing planned toasts. Breaking with tradition, though, can really spice things up in a memorable way that leaves your guests smiling days later.

A friend of mine who married recently got the guests out of their chairs quickly, dancing, chatting and laughing, with a gift basket of glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets, along with an assortment of feather boas and hats, delivered just as the music cranked up. Those party favors proved quite the ice-breaker. My own wedding to WhiskerWorks.com founder Amber also brings up fond memories.

Silly ideas can help loosen up even the stiffest guests!

An assortment of silly mustaches on sticks at our own wedding were a big hit — bringing guests together and breaking the ice. It also gave me and my beautiful bride Amber the gift of delightful photographs on old disposable cameras to keep as mementos!

Back then, before the “mustache factory” we report to every day was even a glimmer in our eyes, Amber used what was a simple idea, making a home-made mustache and putting it on a stick, as a fun way to get strangers to interact. She set up a display with an assortment of handmade clay mustaches in a vase near the entrance to our reception site, along with a few disposable cameras. People like playing with those old manual-winding cameras anyway, which when paired with the inherent silliness of a fake mustache, helped our guests loosen up, smile at total strangers and goof off.

More than three years later, that same simple ice-breaker idea has helped delight literally thousands of people at group gatherings of all types. Weddings, just like big parties, offer people, even when dressed to the nines, the opportunity to loosen up and have fun in good company. The more you treat it like a party and plan for breaking the ice between strangers, odds are, the more fun guests will have.

Lorax 6th Birthday Party

To celebrate her daughter’s sixth birthday, Rebecca, also known as the Left Coast Mama, created this whimsical and colorful Lorax themed party featuring many DIY touches. You can see the full post of images here, but below are the mustachioed highlights. Take note of the chocolate Lorax ‘staches on sticks!

Lovely! The only thing this party was missing is a photo booth and the Lorax Mustache on a Stick photo prop by Whisker Works. Of course, those chocolate ‘staches on sticks came pretty darn close!

Share your ‘stache bash! Click on the “Submit Photos” link above.

Pappa’s Pizzeria Mustache Pizza Party

From mustaches to mozzarella, this pizza party for kids has it all! Each kid was able to make their own pizza at the special pizza-making station. Each setting had a personalized chef hat, pie tin and a miniature rolling pin. In the center of the table there were the toppings: pizza sauce (in a squeeze bottle to make it super easy for the kids), mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, pineapple, and olives.


There was also a mini dessert bar, accented with a chef menu chalk board, mustaches galore and paper rosettes. Chocolate mustaches on sticks, mustache cupcakes, mustache push-pops and pizza slice sugar cookies were available for the kiddos.

The party invitations were pizza boxes that had a 5″ pizza cookie inside. Gift bags included a sheet of adhesive mustaches, a container of salt dough, a miniature mustache rolling pin and a thank you card receipt.

You, too, can make the chocolate mustaches on sticks! It’s simple, and the instructions can be found here. A tutorial for making the paper fan rosettes can be found here. Much thanks to Sweeten Your Day Events for sharing this fantastic party.

Mustache Bash Invitations

You can’t have a proper party without a proper invitation! If you’re planning on hosting a Mustache Bash and don’t know where to begin with the invitations, then look no further. Below, in no particular order, are my favorite marvelous mustache bash announcements.

To start, this option by Cio Prints is designed especially for a little one’s birthday party. It even includes crayons and a cute little “I Mustache You to Color” detail card. If this much thought goes into the invitation, then there’s no doubt your guests will be excited about what they’ll find at your party.

I absolutely adore the vintage illustrations on this whimsical invite from B. Nute Productions. Though this example shows party details for a first birthday, this would be perfect for an adult ‘Stache Bash.

Scraps of Life came up with this fancy three-dimensional invitation featuring a swivel design. It’s hard not to imagine the dapper whiskers and English accents that would highlight such a marvelously planned affair.

If simple-yet-playful is the mood of your furry-lipped fiesta, then Itsy Belle has a delightful invitation for you. Better yet, they have a whole party package to match! Party planning can’t get much easier than this.

Finally, you may recognize the following invitation from this post, featured last week. I couldn’t help but show it again! RVParties really did a great job with this lime-and-navy double-sided invite. They even made their own bow ties to match!

And of course, no ‘Stache Bash would be complete without a ‘stache on a stick. Whisker Works offers a great variety of them, so there’s bound to be something to suit your style 🙂

Please feel free to share photos of your Mustache Bash by clicking on the “Submit Photos” link above!

1st Birthday Party

What is a Mustache Bash? A party that revolves around a mustache theme, of course! Because after all, when you wear a mustache, you’ll never face the embarrassment of being underdressed.


This first featured ‘Stache Bash comes from Rachel of RVParties, celebrating the first birthday of her little boy, Braden. She made all of these coordinating party invites, snack labels and party decorations herself, including custom-designed bow ties.

The backdrop for the food table is handmade from hundreds of paper rectangles sewn together.

These chocolate lollipops were made using a mustache candy mold, which you can find here or perhaps at your local big-name craft store.

My favorite part of this ‘Stache Bash is the mustache and bow tie garland! Rachel made it (and her photo booth props) with a Silhouette Cameo electronic cutting machine. She’s happy to make one for you, too – it’s $20 for the first 10 feet, and $10 for any additional 10 feet.

Thank you for sharing these images, Rachel!
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