The classic ’50s beatnik had exactly one mode of appearance — (a) a trim Van Dyke beard or chin whiskers, (b) shortish hair, (c) sandals or lace-up construction boots, (d) baggy chinos, and (e) a loose-fitting sweater, sweatshirt or flannel shirt. Famed drawing instructor Jon Gnagy, Bob Denver‘s Maynard G. Krebs and “Irving Mallion” (the Frank Sinatra-resembling character in the MAD magazine parody “My Fair Ad-Man“) were interchangeable in this respect.

Then that whole appearance went away for…what, a half century or so? And then it returned, starting around 2010, among urban Millennials. Not across the board but to some extent.

Gnagy’s open-collared lumberjack shirt is what triggered this observation. That and the fact that Millennial males (a) worship ugly, big-collared shirts but (b) have never heard of Gnagy (and why should they?).