Three weeks ago, my wife told me my hair looked ridiculous and I needed a haircut. I agreed. But I still haven’t booked one.
This is not new behavior. The time between haircuts keeps stretching. Six weeks becomes eight. Eight becomes “when I get around to it.” My wife and sons mention it. But my hair routine is simple. However I wake up is how it looks. I haven’t stopped caring — style has just slid down the priority list.
It’s common once men reach middle age. There comes a point where keeping up just stops feeling worth the effort. The stomach doesn’t get sucked in at the beach, and the gray doesn’t get touched up. Phrases that kids call “such a boomer thing to say” get used without shame.
“Almost as if I was given a magic spell, somewhere just after my 50th birthday, I stopped pretending to care whether my shoes matched my outfit,” said Nathan Rice, 53. “Pre-50 me would’ve judged Crocs like they were a moral failing.” Now he owns multiple pairs. Fuzzy for winter, breezy for summer. “It’s full-time comfort mode, and honestly, I know it’s not anyone’s idea of cool, and don’t care.”
And it goes well past wardrobe.
