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Steve Carell and the dilemma of the ‘hot dad’

Steve Carell's salt-and-pepper hair and dapper dressing sent the internet into a frenzy.

Steve Carell's salt-and-pepper hair and dapper dressing sent the internet into a frenzy. Photo: Getty

So apparently actor Steve Carell became something of a fashion sensation last week, sending the Internet into meltdown due to his incredible “silver fox” style.

The outfit that apparently had everyone weeping with appreciation was a navy sweater worn over a chambray shirt, with cream chinos and leather lace ups. Oh, and a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses. Combine this with a decent haircut and apparently you have Adonis.

Well, I hate to be the one to break it, but every gay male friend I have dresses like this for a quick trip to the shops. In my head, it’s regulation autumn dressing.

Is the bar for what we consider stylish for a middle-aged man so low, that we consider neat trousers and a sweater a sartorial highpoint?

We’ve all (including me) been checking out post-White House Obama looking pretty damn hot in his unbuttoned white shirts and black blazers, but I can’t give him a pass for the high waisted Dad jeans with the tucked-in polo shirt he wore in Indonesia last week.

I’m going to throw out there that Jeff Goldblum looks a little silly in the stovepipes.

The various incarnations of the silver fox (from left) Steve Carell, Barack Obama and Jeff Goldblum. Photo: Getty

Add that to the infuriating ‘Dad Bod’ trend that’s been around for while, the celebration of “dad bods rather than biceps”, a good-natured nod to the soft and slightly out of shape bodies displayed by stars such as Leonardo di Caprio and Johnny Depp.

I have no issue if these guys choose to carry a few kilos around their middle, and neither it seems do the taut, nubile young women in thong bikinis they tend to have on their arms.

But women are not really granted the same easy pass. are we? I have yet to see the acceptance a rounded female belly, that isn’t referred to as “shock pregnancy!”

The Kardashian/Jenner clan may have elevated the idea of exaggerated curves, but it’s all about being an impossible hourglass shape, a la Jessica Rabbit.

Let’s introduce the “mum bods’ homage too, appreciating women who have a couple of extra rolls due to childbirth and chardonnay as opposed to, “Look at Gillian Anderson’s washboard abs in a bikini”.

Australian actor and Instagram sensation Celeste Barber (1.8 million followers and counting) does a wonderful job of poking fun of the tiresome promotion of the perfect body, mimicking the ridiculous contortions of models on social media.

While she asserts that she never intended to make a political statement about body positivity, her hilarious, un-self conscious parody is a welcome relief.

But back to Steve Carell. I would suggest that a sweater, clean, pressed chinos and a good haircut are the least you can do, guys.

In fact, the whole outfit is just as applicable to, and appropriate for, a middle-aged woman. But somehow I don’t think you’ll see us getting any kudos and breaking the Internet for it any time soon.

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