Nobody Asked Me About The 1890s, But...

Barbering chair I sat in today in the not-so-fashionable barber shop I frequent in the fashionable Pearl District.

Thanks to the TV series Portlandia the 1890s are more alive and well in Portland than they would otherwise be. So much so that there are now new businesses sprouting up taking advantage of this extremely retro trend.

In the Hawthorne district I've passed The Modern Man Barber Shop a few times. This is a place where the barbers wear a starched collared shirt, sleeve garters and a vest or apron. Patrons can drink whiskey while having a hot towel shave, apparently free to rant about the Harrison Administration and the Pan American Union.

Both times I've passed this place, admittedly during non-peak hours, I've seen the employees conversing with one another with nary a customer in sight.

I don't think locals will stop crafting beer or making artisanal bread, but some shark has been jumped with the mustache wax.