Today is Barber Shop Quartet Day, and we’re ready to celebrate with some fun retro style. The barbershop quartet finds its roots in the salons of the early 1900s, where men would often whistle and sing as they waited for their turn in the barber’s chair. Gradually, multi-part harmonies developed, and groups that sang exclusively this type of music began to spring up, some later being recorded and their popular songs sold. This type of music is characterized in modern times primarily by what’s referred to as a “ringing chord.” There’s a lead singer, accompanied by two men who harmonize above and below, and a fourth voice that comes in through the lower notes, completing a simplified minor or major chord.
The look of barbershop groups both male and female is almost as famous as the music itself, and pop art never looked so good as when it hangs out in the stretched ears of a dapper chap or tattooed pinup. From simple graphics, to comic book styles, and old school kimono-reminiscent textile prints, get your fix any which way you can for some funky vintage fashion today and every day.
No stretching? No problem. Fake it barber shop style with cool candy-striped cheater tapers that are almost good enough to eat. Almost.
