Eye Candy

15 Inspirational Mustaches from the Country That Made Them Cool

by Kevin Short and Katie Heller
Mustaches The 'stache has never gone out of style in India. All photos by Kevin Short.

While venturing through India, travel bloggers Kevin Short and Katie Heller were inspired by the variety and sheer volume of epic mustaches on display. As a nod to India's rich culture of spectacular facial hair, they began collecting street portraits of the best and bushiest for some Movember inspiration.

INDIA - Back in 2003, a couple of self-proclaimed bros from Australia decided to take on a courageous task — to bring the long-outdated mustache back into the mainstream. By then, the facial hairstyle so popular in the 1970s had all but disappeared from popular fashion trends, and the pair made it their mission to revive it.

What started as a joke — a dare — between friends to sport a taboo look for the month of November has since become a global phenomenon that supports research and awareness for prostate cancer. Movember, a beloved and altruistic tradition that has successfully raised millions of dollars for men's health, has undoubtedly been a catalyst in the actual mustache revival, a cornerstone of hipster style now seen in cities throughout the world.

But there was a time before Movember, before hipsters, and even before the '70s, when an entire country was perfecting a beloved and bold mustache. If you've ever visited India, you know just how amazing, how creative, how varied the facial hair can be. From the elongated curls of Rajasthan to the bushy handlebars of Utter Pradesh, the subcontinent is unequivocally the Mecca of Mustaches.

With a special nod to all the Movember participants out there, here's a look at 15 awesome mustaches from the country that made them cool.


MORE MUSTACHES

See more mustache street portraits at Postcards from Yonder.

MORE MOVEMBER

Get involved, donate, and learn more about the Movember Foundation.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE

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We make every effort to ensure the information in our articles is accurate at the time of publication. But the world moves fast, and even we double-check important details before hitting the road.