Back To The Barber Shop!

The barber shop is back and the men's retro hair styles of the 50's and 60's are new again. There's a resurgence for the clean cut and men of all ages are flocking to barber shops all over the city to attain the new/retro look.

With celebrities like George Clooney and fictional characters like Don Draper - Jon Hamm of Mad Men - sporting the clean cut, there's been a return to the old school barber shop look. Barber shops that a couple of years ago were just sleepy establishments are booming with business today. I decided to go around town and check out a couple of shops to see for myself what the experience - not just the haircut - of returning to a barber shop was like.

Throughout the months I visited a couple of different shops in various pats of Los Angeles. At some of the shops I had a shave, at others I had my hair trimmed and although I had nothing but perfectly fine service, it was at Sweeney Todd's Barbershop where I finally had the complete experience and the perfect haircut and shave. 

From the moment you walk in to Sweeney Todd's Barber Shop, you are transported back in time to the 1950's. From the linoleum tile floor to the vintage barber chairs and the cool air conditioned temperature. Black and white photographs of Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum and Edward G. Robinson adorn the walls. A magazine rack filled with vintage Playboys, Cavalcade and Sir are available to you as Mancini plays in the background while you sit on a retro vinyl banquette waiting for your turn. No food allowed inside the shop and no cell phones either. The only phone available is a rotary dial

Todd "Sweeney" Lahman started barbering at this very same shop back in 1998 when it was still called Andy's Barber Shop. In 2007 he bought it and restored back to its former state back in 1951. He changed the name to Sweeney Todd's Barber Shop. Sweeney - as he is best known - heads a team of two other barbers - Omar and Almon - with at least ten years of experience each. With their hair slicked back, tattoos and white uniform barber shirts all three of these gentlemen feel as if  they were plucked out of central casting for a 1950's Billy Wilder film.

So the place looks great, the barbers look the part, but are they any good?

The answer is a resounding yes! They are not just good they are the best in town. Apparently I am not the only one who thinks so, GQ proclaimed it in their Best Of LA feature of 2010.

Originally I just wanted a shave and so Sweeney did his thing with the straight edge razor like an artist with a paint brush. There was a confidence about him and his hand moved with such ease that I almost wished he wouldn't stop. The conversation was flowing between barbers and clients and barbers and barbers and clients and clients, topics range from Perez Prado Cuban music to a fist fight at a restaurant the night before, to the new hot club in Echo Park. I even learned a new term; "cholobilly" referring to a Mexican hillbilly. 

I was having so much fun, I was not ready to go, so I asked Sweeney to give me a haircut. So he did. His scissors were like music around my ears as he clipped away. Again his confidence and years of experience were crystal clear.  It is undeniable that Sweeney was born to barber and we are the better for it. Eventually I was all done and it was time for the next customer to take his turn in the chair.
I realized that coming to Sweeney Todd's Barber Shop is not just about the haircut, it is a place where men can gather without any preoccupations, get pampered and express themselves with abandon. I was leaving the place with a smile on my freshly shaved face, a new clean cut and smelling like Pinaud Clubman aftershave lotion. My experience was complete.
Well at least for now, cause I am coming back next month!

Sweeney Todds Barber Shop is located at:

4639 Hollywood Blvd

Los Angeles CA 90027

323-667-9690

Cash only. No Credit Cards

You can visit their website by clicking the Sweeney Todd's Barber Shop link on the Vincent Recommends column on this blog

Photos courtesy of David Arenas