Customs: Handsome Is

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Above it is a ladies' beauty salon called "Joyce Christopher." The owner of both is Joyce herself. Says she: "It all started by my female customers' saying 'The one thing my husband wants is a good haircut—could you take him after hours?' " The result is the Christopher Joyce part of the business. The three barber chairs are the old-fashioned kind, upholstered in black leather. Antlers spring out between the mirrors. The door is guarded by a stuffed grizzly bear, in need of a trim. The staff consists of two barbers, one male, one female (an Austrian woman named Charlotte), a manicurist, a receptionist, and a Mr. Chandra, who does nothing but make and fit toupees.

Not so quaint as Christopher Joyce, but even busier, is Eddie's Barber Shop, also on Madison Avenue. Says Proprietor Eddie Pulaski: "The hair-coloring field hasn't even been touched. I get about 15 to 20 requests a day. But men are like women were 20 years ago; they sneak in to have it done." Eddie's tint jobs cost from $7.50 to $25, and he claims that his coloring is done "not just on theatrical types, but about 85% on men in the business world." Another of Eddie's specialties: a facial called "Sudden Youth," for $6.50. It takes half an hour, lasts for two days, and "is great for someone going to a big event. It pulls all the wrinkles up and clears the bags." Eddie's former partner, Jerry Spallina, is now ensconced in a parlor of his own, also on Madison Avenue, and also on the second floor of an office building. It is businesslike in decor; the New York Stock Exchange reports are piped in over FM for the benefit of edgy customers, and the shop provides French manicurists to hold their hands when the news gets too bad. Like most male beauticians, Jerry scorns scissors, favors the "razor cut," using only a straight razor and comb.

Among Jerry's regulars: CBS Chairman William S. Paley, Revlon President Charles H. Revson, Industrial Designer Raymond Loewy, Pat Boone, Arthur Godfrey—and Eddie Fisher and Sir Laurence Olivier, when they are in town.