Skip to content

I am suddenly at the forefront of men's fashion

I have never considered myself a fashionable guy. I wouldn't say I'm indifferent to the clothes I wear so much as I don't really pay much attention to trends, labels and that kind of thing.
GS201410311209994AR.jpg

I have never considered myself a fashionable guy. I wouldn't say I'm indifferent to the clothes I wear so much as I don't really pay much attention to trends, labels and that kind of thing. My hairstyle is generally low-maintenance, and then given even less maintenance than that as I tend to forget to actually get it cut for months. But somehow, in spite of not really paying attention to fashion or really caring, I'm now apparently part of a larger fashion movement.

Someone has coined the rather unfortunate term "lumbersexual," which sounds inappropriate but actually refers to men who have gone a more lumberjack route in personal appearance. That could mean lots of things, especially if you recall a certain Monty Python song, but in this case it means beards and flannel, occasionally with big boots to go with them. It doesn't mean the men in question actually do physical labor, but that they at least have a passing acquaintance with ruggedness. It's the same reason people drive their kids to school in a pickup truck, and probably the same reason a car salesman once said to me "you look like the kind of guy who would buy a truck" in spite of the fact I was asking about a compact sedan. The look is spreading so far that it's hitting trendy magazines.

As is probably obvious by now, my style is not at all determined by trends, and even if I'm now somehow part of a movement it still is not trend driven. The large amount of flannel in my wardrobe is purely practical, because I live in Canada where it gets cold and flannel is quite warm. The beard popped up because I wanted to see if I could get away with not shaving anymore, and it stayed because I decided I quite liked having it. Plus, since it gets cold, letting it go a bit out of hand in the winter means I have a scarf permanently attached to my face, which is cool. I have relatively bulky boots because it's much more practical to wear those when the snow flies. All of this is a matter of pure practicality.

That's why I've been dressing like this for years, long before trend pieces were dedicated to how now the big trend is to look like you fell trees for a living. It simply is the easiest way to stay warm and comfortable once the temperatures dip and everyone gets cold. It's not the only way of staying somewhat warm, I've got a certain fondness for argyle sweaters that doesn't really translate to anything lumber, and I'm sure it's not for everyone. It is, apparently, for enough people that a terrible word has been coined to describe it.

So it stands to reason that this has become a trend in the month of November, when the temperatures begin to dip and people find a way to stay warmer than they used to. Maybe this entire trend is just practically-minded men like myself who have discovered the best way to stay warm all winter is to put on the flannel and grow as much hair as they can. They have realized, like I did many years ago, that lumberjacks were smart guys and their style was just sensible decision-making.

Since this has effectively been my personal style for years, I can confidently say I have accidentally become a fashion trendsetter. If this continues, I hope everyone likes orange, because that's the other thing I wear all the time.