In case you haven’t noticed, something momentous has been happening in men aesthetics: body hair, and more specifically facial hair, is making a big comeback. It might be a physiological reaction to decades of clean-shaved men models, but for some time now, beards have been the quintessential accessory of the (male) hipster. Make no mistake: it is not the wild beard of hippies, but a remarkable groomed mane, grown to impress. Put those beards with indigo designer jeans, hand sewn work boots and the evergreen flannel checkered shirts and you get the perfectly rugged-groomed look of the urban lumberjack. The media have recently coined just the term for this trend: lumbersexual. So is it goodbye Metrosexual and hello Lumbersexual? No so fast, Lumbers seem to have inherited a sense of style, with a casual retro flavor in this case, and the taste for grooming of their Metro predecessors. Around Manhattan, I’ve been experiencing increasingly frequent sightings, but their true homeland is definitely Brooklyn, and that’s exactly, where last weekend I found what that can be easily dubbed as Lumbersexual Wonderland. It really gave me the opportunity to discover the different aspects and manifestations of this trend, and here is my portrait of the Lumbersexual in a few photos.
GROOMING:
When you are greeted by these guys a few stands down the entrance, you understand why I get this trend.
Beard grooming products by Brothers Artisan Oil
No spray perfumes for him, get the solid cologne:
STYLE:
Of course jeans, for that authentic American worker flavor.
but those guys like to dress up too:
Nice floral ties
PLAY
Fine Toys for Boys
Leather baseballs by Leather Head Sports
… and fine tools for real work
Fine carpentry galore with Tools for Working Wood, Brooklyn
A workshop kit for future generations …
And to finish my little gallery of bearded characters:
Mangiafuoco & the Cat
Mr Geppetto
Barbebleu