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Meet The Lumbersexual

March 15, 2021 by John Warren 3 Comments

Paul Bunyan at Enchanted Forest in Old ForgeIt’s fitting that I just finished bringing in a load of firewood and had plopped into my old wooden chair when I learned I was well attired for the latest fashion craze.

Apparently, according to Gear Junkie, your standard Adirondack men’s wear – work pants, a flannel, an unkept beard – is a thing. Like a cool thing. With fashionistas and all.

Move on metrosexual, clear the way for the lumbersexual:

Today, the metrosexual is a disappearing breed being quickly replaced by men more concerned with existing in the outdoors, or the pseudo-outdoors, than meticulous grooming habits.

He is bar-hopping, but he looks like he could fell a Norway Pine.

Looking like you could fell a big pine has pretty much always been a thing here in the Adirondacks, where floating logs down rivers was invented and people still own axes. But now, as it often does, urban culture is taking a cue from their backwoods brethren:

Seen in New York, LA and everywhere in between, the Lumbersexual is bringing the outdoor industry’s clothing and accessories into the mainstream.

Whether the roots of the lumbersexual are a cultural shift toward environmentalism, rebellion against the grind of 9-5 office jobs, or simply recognition that outdoor gear is just more comfortable, functional and durable, the Lumbersexual is on the rise.

“Hey, we’ve seen this before!” you say. “What about grunge?”

lumbersexualThe early 90s grunge scene was more punk, less bumpkin. The lumbersexual exudes heteronormative manliness – he drinks craft beer, not pennyroyal tea. He’s more beard, less bald-a-face. Though they both share a love of the flannel, the lumbersexual “will open your beer with an omni-present Buck knife.” The lumbersexual is “a master of the retro Instagram filter.”

And in case you were wondering, here’s Cosmopolitan magazine’s take on what it means to date a lumbersexual:

Whenever you suggest a quick Ikea trip for a new dresser, he jumps in and volunteers to build you one and next thing you know, nine months later, you have a new dresser. You go to the grocery store to pick up basil and he says, “No need. I’m growing my own.” You go hiking and try to pack Power Bars but he tells you he already knows where the nearest patch of wild blackberries is. His beard looks long, bushy, and unkempt because he hasn’t looked in a mirror in months. You know why? Because mirrors aren’t found in nature.

One reader comment probably sums the whole phenomenon for most Adirondack men:

“What really sucks is that now the clothes you need for work shoots up in price since somebody thinks its cool.”

Photos: Above, Paul Bunyan at Enchanted Forest in Old Forge (from an old postcard); and below from beardrevered.tumblr.com.

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Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Adirondacks, Fashion History

About John Warren

John Warren is founder and editor of the New York Almanack. He's been a media professional for more than 35 years with a focus on history, journalism and documentary production. He has a master's degree in Public History and is on the staff of the New York State Writers Institute, a center for literary arts based at the University at Albany. John lives in the Adirondack Park. His weekly Adirondack Outdoors Conditions Report airs across Northern New York on the North Country Public Radio network.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Olivia Twine says

    March 16, 2021 at 12:38 PM

    When lumbersexuals are style-setters, you know New York State has approached its build-out level. Entertaining observations, John!

    Reply
    • John Warren says

      March 16, 2021 at 3:40 PM

      Thank you Olivia!

      Reply
  2. Bob Meyer says

    March 17, 2021 at 4:31 PM

    Those false lumbersexual turkeys from Brooklyn et al would kill them selves if they ever handled an axe, saw or any other implement of a real woodsman or woman.

    I’d like to see what would happen if I took any of them into the middle of the woods in say Newcomb and said OK now find your way out. Does rescue or recovery ring a bell? 🤣
    Oh man, Im having too much fun with this.

    Reply

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