I am now well into my 2nd month of My Beard Journey, and the evidence is clear.  Table on Main is a cool dinner event that happens here in Georgetown where local business owners and other like-minded advocates of small business around our town square gather to enjoy a nice meal and music.  I was able to dress according to my beard for this, as you can see.  It is fun to dress up while you have a beard, because you sometimes get to experiment with attire that just presents itself different than if you were clean-shaven.  Some men decide to try wearing different styles of hats, and some try different kinds of suits.  It’s all part of the fun and the craft.

Attending the October 2016 Table On Main dinner with my date. I do not think I could’ve pulled off this outfit quite as well with a shaven face. Maybe the beer in hand also helps, though. 🙂

It’s a night and day difference! Also, my attire worn this evening attributes to the timelessness of this captured moment. That is, it could be difficult for anyone to guess the era when this photo was taken, and that was how I wanted to dress. Old timey, but is it?

By the way, because I was going for an old-timey feel for tonight, I wore a beard oil by Brewtastic Soaps that has a woodsy scent called Tree Feller.  It felt most appropriate for me, and I know that other people who appreciated my style enjoyed the extra effect as well.  If you haven’t heard about beard oil yet or how it enhances your beard experience for both you and others, be sure to read my blog from Week 1.

The important thing is that you enjoy your craft, because it is all yours – no one else’s.  From how you style your hair to how you dress to how you stroke your beard all plays into everything.  In fact, if you want a longer beard quick, have you tried getting a haircut?  It sounds funny, but shortening the hair on top of your head can give the illusion to having more facial hair.  It draws attention to it.  The inverse is also true.  Adding something to your heard such as a hat can attribute or compliment the shape of your beard.  I wore most of the time while growing my first beard, and I’ve never been one to wear hats – not even baseball caps.  However, it worked better for me while wearing a beard.  Not just any hat will do, though.  You’ll have to experiment to find what suits you, and that is heavily determined by you beard’s stage of growth as well as the shape it takes, whether that is natural or styled by you.  You may also have to change hats as your beard grows longer and/or fuller.  You don’t want a hat that is smaller than the gate of your beard, and you don’t want a hat so large that it takes away from your beard, either.

In the same vein, I never would have worn suspenders before.  My attire seen here is extremely simple and doesn’t require spending a lot of money, but it still looks classy in a simple way.  And a little arm candy can complement it all as well.

Oh, and as your beard gets longer, you might want to be cautious of any clothing that leads a zipper upward to your neck.  I have heard many bearded horror stories of men having to euthanize their beards because they weren’t paying attention and lost half of it in a terrible zipper accident.  Yes men, that means we have to be careful of zippers in yet another region of our bodies.

Just about every man is aware of the most popular evil of the zipper, but an equal number has never thought what horrors can occur for men with 6″ or longer beards.

However you decide to dress is completely up to you, but if you’re reading this far, it’s because you care about the art and craft of your beard.  So give it some actual thought and invest in your beard in a way that is heavily neglected by many.  Make your beard journey yours.  How do you like to dress?  I would love to hear and see in the comments below.