The Urban Lumberjack Look -- YEA or NAY?

Friends, I know that for many of you -- particularly you Pacific Northwesterners -- the urban lumberjack look isn't really a look at all; it's just the normal way men dress.

Let me assure you that from an Eastern perspective (as in, New York City, not Tokyo), the urban lumberjack is a look: a way of dressing that is definitely from someplace else.  I mean, how many lumberjacks reside in a city with as few trees as New York?  (And the trees we have we're not looking to chop down anytime soon.)

You know a particular look has reached its saturation point when you can buy a Halloween costume version.

 

Naturally, there's a sexy female lumberjack too!



I'm not sure when this Paul Bunyan-inspired aesthetic first laid down roots in the big cities.  Maybe in the early 90's and grunge?  It's not like nobody wore buffalo plaid flannel before the 1990's, it's just you wouldn't see it paired with a watch cap, work boots, suspenders, a scruffy beard and "ironic" vintage eyeglass frames.



 
Designer labels like Burberry offer upscale versions of the lumberjack.  H&M offers fast-fashion versions.  Your local army navy probably sells a lot of this stuff too.







I must admit that I'm partial to the urban lumberjack look, primarily because it requires very little in the way of personal grooming and it's a good silhouette for a short man: high water jeans, ankle boots, and A-line overcoats and jackets.

Plus who doesn't look good in plaid flannel?



Readers, what's your take?  Do you find the urban lumberjack look to be a little too twee for your taste, or does it look appealingly masculine even if it's a kind of cultural appropriation?

Are you offended when you see a man in work boots whose idea of physical labor is hailing a cab to the office and perhaps picking up a latte-to-go? 

Should urban lumberjacks hang up the buffalo plaid and return to the gray flannel suit?

The urban lumberjack look -- YEA or NAY?

Junya Watanabe