For years, the clean-cut man-boy was ruling the runway. Parted hair, waifish waist, skin smooth as a Botoxed three-year-old. Then a gritty crew in the late 90′s and into the 2000 rolled in and changed the game. With it, the beard invasion began. Whether we’re talking about a thick, irreverent Galifianakis or a jawline-amping mown lawn, a beard is just about the most on-trend accessory you can pull on this season. And while they look great on a beanie-and-cardigan-wearing gang like Fleet Foxes, they’re not just for dudes who dress down. “When a guy wears one with a suit, it’s just like, whoa is that sexy,” GQ fashion director Madeleine Weeks explains. “They give you this handsome, don’t-mess-with-me appeal. Just look at Jeff Bridges, Paul Newman, and Cat Stevens (pictured above). All icons who wore them well.” The key is not overanalyzing it. Nothing too manicured or manscaped. Nothing too wild and overgrown. You want to look like you’ve let go. A little, at least.—Andrew Richdale

However, wearing a beard wrong can be a terrible thing and send just about everyone the wrong message.  Think George Michael or Tom Ford for example.  The trend he started carried a powerful message but it confused the style for quite some time.  Their beards are perfect and they’ve become trade mark looks- and they have the looks and the facial features to pull it off.

“Beards show that you’re the independent type and possibly self-employed, seeing as how facial hair is frowned upon in certain uptight conformist corporations: the New York Yankees, for example. Consider Ben Roethlisberger. He made the mistake that many beard wearers commit: He shaved his neck almost up to the chin. Men think this always sharpens the outline of their face and even makes them look thinner. Wrong! This is the worst thing a guy with the slightest weight issue can do. The shaved neck makes you look like you have a double chin.”  ~The Style Guy

Wearing a mustache only is a bit risky.  You have a tendency to look like an 80′s porn star and carrying the look into a goatee helps the but we believe if you’re going to wear facial hair go the extra mile and do it right.   Yes, you can use your beard trimmer to get a perfect fade. Dzenad “Geno” Bicic of Geno’s Barberia, in New York’s West Village, breaks it down.

• Step one: Buzz it. ”Set guard to 3 and buzz your whole beard.”

• Step two:

Clean lower neck.  ”Switch guard to 1 and buzz from your Adam’s apple to two inches below your jaw.”

• Step three

: Fade it.  ”Switch guard to 2 and buzz that remaining two-inch area, finessing and fading the 1 zone into the 3 zone.”

• Step four: Remove strays.  ”Remove guard (the 0 setting) and buzz below your Adam’s apple and any strays on the sides of your neck.”

In the market for a solid, no-mess trimmer? The built-in vacuum in this Norelco ($60, phillips.com) swallows clipped hairs before they fly all over your bathroom floor. One quirk: This guard operates in millimeters rather than traditional barbershop guard numbers. (Start at 9mm for No. 3.)  But in all seriousness my friends, who pulls off a beard and classy style better than Tom Ford?

Talent can pull off any look it seems and one of our favorite musicians is Ray LaMontagne.  His voice and his look is retro 60′s but he oozes confidence and talent.

I can listen to his music all day long and it seems that the more I listen the better I like his beard.  Now it fits him and his personality perfectly.  I didn’t like it at first but he now reminds me of a younger Paul McCartney when he was wearing a beard after the Beatles broke up.

New York dermatologist Dr. David Colbert sets us straight on three common beard misconceptions—including that Seinfeld thing about shaving. No, razors don’t turn you into a were-man

Myth #1: Certain foods make your beard grow quicker. “No food or vitamin makes the beard grow faster. However, we do need amino acids or protein in our diet to grow hair. For instance, guys who are anemic often experience beard thinning.”

Myth #2: If you shave more often, your facial hair will get fuller. “Shaving absolutely does not make your hair grow at any different rate. One reason it might seem that way? If you shave often, you’re feeling the prickly sensation of hair growing back more frequently.”

Myth #3: Gray beards are coarser. “If anything, our follicles become smaller as we age. Gray beards are not much different than regular ones, structurally speaking. If a Santa-like beard seems coarse, it’s just because it hasn’t been conditioned properly or is full of split ends. (Yep, you can get those with facial hair, too.)”

When wearing a beard just remember a few things.  Wear it right and keep it neat.

Chris