This is something I hadn’t heard before, and it makes very good sense.
Doughboys needed a good shave.
As we know, the fashion for American and European men in the 19th century and before was to wear a full beard. By the mid-20th century, the clean-shaven look was in. What caused the transition?
According to How Stuff Works, the answer is World War 1.
To make a gas mask fit properly, you need a shave. A beard would let gas in. When the conquering heroes returned home, they were clean-shaven and voila, an enduring fashion trend was born.
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1 Beards to Clean-Shaven II: the Rise of King Gillette | Wet Shavers Blog // Mar 3, 2009 at 17:05
[...] here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!In the previous post about the change in fashion from beards to a clean-shaven look I mentioned World War I as the catalyst. Gas masks required a smooth surface to seal and the [...]