James lived in the city for nearly 15 years before returning to his South Shore suburban roots. While living in Charlestown and East Boston, his hair was butchered by barbers on Beacon Hill and East Cambridge. When I pleaded for him not to go back to these places, he began visiting a pseudo-gangsta barbershop in Orient Heights who shaved James' hair into a shape recalling the MC Hammer-era. Working in JP, he'd often go to Sebastian's barbershop in Roslindale Square where you get a "boy's regular" for $10 whether you're 10 or 80 years old. The "boy's regular," a style seen on less imaginative men and many, many Boston-area attorneys (except PM of course), is a style that is unnatural, unworthy and far too vanilla for James' thick Arab tresses. And it took awhile for James to come to terms with this. I was hoping he'd go to Maria or a salon with at least one gay man at the helm, but he said he refused to go to a "beauty shop" and pay $50 for a haircut. Down here, the salons have names like Hairway to Heaven and the Hairport, so I wasn't hopeful. However, after driving around Route 53 looking for a place to get his haircut, he happened on a salon, gave it a whirl, and got the best haircut of his life. While he was slightly traumatized from having his hair shampooed by a man, I could tell he was pleased with the results. Since then, he's found a few salons along 53 and in Boston where he can get his haircut for under $50 -- and the shampooing is optional.
Cream Shop Friday is a feature on this blog detailing the biggest distraction of the week.
4 comments:
James
The Jackson Square Sanitary Barbershop is only 8 dollars and they are less likely to clip your ears as Mary is prone to do , she's the Mike Tyson of barbers,
Rocco wants you back ...
A man's place is in the barber shop and not a "salon" or anything of the sort.
A GOOD barber can cut any man's hair and surely there are some hacks in the industry that have no talent and should not be cutting hair.
A barber shop is a man's world where talk of sports or local politics is all you hear along with the ribbing of all people who enter, regulars or not.
A Barber Shop could be considered a man's third home, right behind the bathroom of their own house.
At a Barber Shop, you show up with a Jackson and come home with change. At a salon, you show up with a Jackson as a tip and spend extra on "product".
A Barber Shop has stacks of old newspapers that hide the current edition Playboys and all the Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine one could want. A Salon has shi-shi magazines like Cosmo, Lucky and Vanity Fair that induce vomiting from the lethal fragrance samples they hold inside. There are no "guy's" magazines there.
Stick with the Barber Shop James, hair grows back even if they butcher it. Put the extra coin you save towards a beer tap and some power tools.
Although, you do look damn good lately....
SAC: We missed you last night? Are you sure you don't go to a salon? Your locks are always shorn quite fetchingly.
Amen SAC. and whenever you go to a new barber shop, the only direction you need to give is "I don't care what it looks like, just cut it short." Which takes my barber less and less time nowadays... yowza
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