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A moustache (sometimes spelled mustache in the United States) is an outgrowth of hair above the upper lip.
 Charlie Chaplin, with his namesake type of moustache Most men with a normal or strong beard growth must tend it daily, by shaving the hair of the chin and cheeks, to prevent it from soon reverting to a full beard. This necessity has engendered the invention of quite a wide variety of accoutrements designed for the care of a gentleman's moustache, including moustache wax, moustache nets (snoods), moustache brushes, moustache combs and moustache scissors.
Historically, moustaches have been worn by military men and the number of nations, regiments and ranks were equalled only by the number of styles and variations. Generally, the younger men and lower ranks wore the smaller and less elaborate moustaches. As a man advanced in rank, so did his moustache become thicker and bushier, until he ultimately was permitted to wear an ever fuller beard. For a glimpse into this colourful and noble past, refer to the works of famous military artists.
An English moustache was formerly used in melodramas, movies and comic books as a shorthand indication of villainny. Snidely Whiplash, for example, was characterized by his moustache, his cape, and his habit of kidnapping women and then tying them to train tracks, in order to foreclose on their mortgages.
Men known for their moustaches
A gallery of pictures is at Pictures of famous men with moustaches.
Moustache styles
- Dali - narrow, with long, steeply upward pointing ends
- English - narrow, with long, slightly curled, sideward pointing ends, stiffly waxed and tightly twirled, like feline whiskers
- Fu Manchu - long, downward pointing ends, generally beyond the chin
- Handlebar - bushy, with small upward pointing ends
- Imperial - whiskers growing from both the upper lip and cheeks, curled upward (distinct from the royale, or impériale)
- Pencil- narrow, closely clipped, outlining the upper lip, with a wide shaven gap between the nose and moustache
- Walrus - bushy, hanging down over the lips, often entirely covering the mouth
See also
External links
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