Lumberjack Chic
So lumberjack style has been around for a minute, having taken off in the late 2000s in street style and (to a lesser degree) runway fashion. The appeal of lumberjack/woodsman style is largely that it makes manliness fashionable, and, on the flipside of that, makes fashion manlier. The lumberjack movement demonstrated that being a rugged, traditionally masculine dude was not incompatible with having recognizably good style. As well, it was at the forefront of the return to affordable, long-lasting, wearable materials and the valourization of Americana and workwear that coincided with the economic downturn several years ago. Lumberjack-inspired style usually takes the form of Red Wing-esque boots, durable trousers like heavy jeans or Carhartts, toques, thick knits, and obviously plaid and beards. While we didn't have time to grow full beards for the shoot, we did go all in on the plaid and combined it with other outdoor-inspired elements to put our own spin on the theme.
That said, this wasn't the easiest shoot to style. Pretty much nobody except me (Cam) had much lumberjack-y stuff in their closets other than the odd plaid shirt, so I had to lend the others half of the stuff they're wearing. I think Liam's second look is head-to-toe identical to what I wore one day about a year ago. However, the distance between our everyday style and this week's theme was in a way good, because it allowed us to put a realistic spin on the trend rather than dressing up in lumberjack costumes and taking pictures. Yaw has a formal, village-thanksgiving-in-the-woods style going, while Tori has a very doable, clean, kind of prairie-ish look while still incorporating her own ladylike style. Liam has a simple, solid, put-together vibe that's cohesive and logger-inspired but still comes across as a normal wearable outfit that doesn't scream "look at me, I'm a lumberjack!"
While our looks were meant to be clean and effortless, the process of taking the actual pictures for this shoot was anything but (boom, segue). We're talking about two hours clambering around the woods with the self-described "least outdoorsy people you will ever find". Yaw and Tori almost slid down an icy hill because they were wearing inadequate footwear. Liam and I were supposed to throw pinecones in one of the pictures but we had to wait for like five minutes with half a dozen cones stabbing our freezing hands.
Then Liam said we should get some pictures sitting in the tall grass but needed rocks to sit on so we wouldn't get our pants wet. There was a large pile of rocks just down in a large pit so we spent five minutes inching down the dangerous incline to get to them. Liam picked up a large rock but then was too overburdened to get back up the hill, so we convinced him that none of us were going to need a foot-and-a-half-wide rock to sit on. He gathered some smaller rocks but was still unable to climb back up, probably because he was trying to re-ascend at literally the steepest part of the pit. About fifteen minutes had passed by now. I told him to just throw his rock and clamber up the easy part some twenty feet away. Liam's wild throw somehow managed to heave the rock in the one exact direction that Tori and I were standing, but luckily it fell short of actually clobbering us. I picked it up and took it over to the tall grass.
"It's too wet to sit on," Tori said.
"It still has one dry side, Tori," I responded.
I dropped the rock into place to punctuate my point, and it hit the ground and rolled over twice, soaking both sides with snow.
We ended up standing for most of the pictures.
Anyways, as for wearing lumberjack stuff, the main thing is to pair statement pieces like buffalo plaid with strong, solid pieces that can stand up to a distinctive rugged look, but don't overdo the theme. You're not a real lumberjack, because come on, you're reading a fashion blog. The point is that traditionally lumberjack-worn clothing, like a lot of workwear, can look good as part of your wardrobe if you're the kind of person that can rock it in an at least somewhat legit way. Generally, the ideal supporting pieces are updated/citified workwear like black denim, classy-material toques, and skinny khakis; things that go with the vibe but don't overemphasize it on the one hand or clash with it on the other hand.
- Cam
As for general wearability, lumberjack is an incredibly easy look to pull off (unless you're literally wearing head-to-toe plaid, in which case you would look more like Nardwaur, or Red green, or a walking advertisement for Scotch-Tape, rather than a lumberjack). That being said, like any trend, you don't want to take the lumberjack/woodsman theme too literally. Incorporate distinct pieces into an outfit you would ordinarily wear. Pairing pieces with classic denim jeans, casual ripped pants, oversized wool toques, tan leather boots, or distressed lace-up oxfords looks fantastic. Basically, just let your look speak for itself and rock it with confidence. Lumberjack is as much a mindset as an actual look. With that in mind, for this week's playlist we're gonna lumberjack to one song and one song only.
Protip: We don't want to see anyone carrying an ax or chain saw around campus. I know we have them in the pictures, but we're trained professionals who know what we're doing. Instead, use your laptops, tablets or phones as a means of making your woods-inspired look more street-appropriate (but on the other hand, keep in mind that if you're have lumberjack gear and very cosmopolitan stuff on at the same time it can look insincere and won't work together).
Protip: Avoid taking the lumberjack/woodsman trend to the extreme. Don't replicate styles because your look will appear forced. There is nothing forced about lumberjack; it is all about effortless comfortability mixed with a rugged textured look. You have to be the right kind of guy or gal to look like a real woodsperson, so the rest of us are best served by just adding a few foresty pieces like boots or buffalo-plaid jackets.
Protip: Plaid isn't a requirement for a lumberjack look. Tweed, wool or fur accessories can also easily turn a regular everyday look into a woodsman-inspired ensemble.
- Liam & Cam
Examples of Lumberjack style we found in and around fashion shows:
