A Van Dyke is a style of facial hair

Facial hair

Facial hair is a secondary sex characteristic of human males. Men often start developing facial hair in the later years of puberty or adolescence, approximately between 17–20 years of age, and most do not finish developing a fully adult beard until their early 20s or even later...

 named after 17th century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck

Anthony van Dyck

Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...

. A Van Dyke specifically consists of any growth of both a moustache

Moustache

A moustache is facial hair grown on the outer surface of the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a type of beard, a facial hair style grown and cropped to cover most of the lower half of the face.-Etymology:...

 and goatee

Goatee

Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...

 with all hair on the cheeks shaven. Even this particular style, though, has many variants, which range from a curled moustache versus a non-curled one and a soul patch

Soul patch

The soul patch is a small patch of facial hair just below the lower lip and above the chin. It came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was a style of facial hair common among African American men, most notably jazzmen. It became popular with beatniks, artists, and those who frequented...

 versus none.

This style of beard was popular in Europe in the 17th century. It died out in Britain with the Restoration

Restoration (1660)

The term Restoration in reference to the year 1660 refers to the restoration of Charles II to his realms across the British Empire at that time.-England:...

, when French styles and wigs became popular. For some time after, however, some men, called "vow-beards", continued to wear them, vowing to wear them until the King did so again. It became popular in the United States in the 19th century. Chicago Chronicle columnist Edith Sessions Tupper condemned this style, along with the goatee

Goatee

Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...

, as indicative of a man "who was selfish, sinister, and pompous as a peacock." Nevertheless, the style became symbolic of the United States government.

The style is sometimes called a "Charlie" after King Charles I of England

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

, who was painted by Van Dyck with this type of beard.

Van Dykes in history

The style was worn by Van Dyck himself, and by many of the sitters for his portraits, including King Charles I of England

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

. The Russian Marxist revolutionary, Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...

 also wore a Van Dyke. The Van Dyke had a revival in the 19th century and was worn by several well-known figures including General Custer

George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...

 (among other styles) and the actor Monty Woolley

Monty Woolley

Monty Woolley was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor. At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his best-known role in the stage play and 1942 film The Man Who Came to Dinner...

. Colonel Sanders would also qualify as having a Van Dyke.