Who or what is a metrosexual? Metrosexuals lift weights-and exfoliate. One role model: David Beckham, the tough soccer player who isn't afraid to wear sarongs and nail polish (off the field). David Bowie and Mick Jagger, with their gender-bending Pop personalities, also come to mind.

Fad or not, the segment has marketers in a tizzy. L'Oreal recently signed up manly heartthrob Ben Affleck to pitch its hair products. Levi's is marketing low-cut jeans for dudes who want to look hip-and de-emphasize their love handles. Cosmetics companies are cranking out all types of men's hair goo and body spray. The Body Shop, a women's retailer, has launched a line called For Men. Even home appliance makers are jumping on the trend. Whirlpool and Maytag are designing appliances (like Personal Valet, a home dry cleaning gadget) for fastidious male homeowners.

Metrosexuals aren't exactly new-think of all those ancient Greek discus throwers wearing togas. The term itself was supposedly coined by a British writer in 1994 and copped by ad agency Euro RSCG Worldwide in a recent report on men. From there it was only a matter of time before someone, namely Jane Buckingham, head of New York consultancy Youth Intelligence, would, with a straight face, say: "In a few years all guys will be metrosexuals."