How to Get that Lumbersexual Look (Hint: It’s Pricey)

There’s Lumbersexual gold in your closet

By Seattle Mag February 24, 2015

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In our bi-monthly Seattlemag.com column, Knute Berger–who writes regularly for Seattle Magazine and Crosscut.com and is a frequent pundit on KUOW–takes an in-depth look at some of the highly topical and sometimes polarizing issues in our city.

Last year saw the blossoming of the Lumbersexual, the urban hipster guy who dresses like Paul Bunyan. Seattle, Portland and Brooklyn are where the style has taken root.

A robust argument broke out over its origins. Was Lumbersexuality an outgrowth of grunge nostalgia with its flannel fetish? Was it a co-option of gay culture? Was it simply that the beards, boots and plaid make for good urban outfitting, a mashup of tech informality with common sense clothes?

While the look is associated with the young and hip, its roots are much older. It harkens back even earlier than grunge, before The North Face or REI. It carries a touch of the original Eddie Bauer, but less patrician. Think more of Northwest brands like Filson, Pendleton, Hudson’s Bay. Wool, twill and plaids.

But stocking your johnny-come-Lumbersexual’s closet can be pricey. A Filson wool and lined Seattle cruiser jacket is $440. A new Pendleton wool blanket can easily set you back more than $200. Where do you turn if you can’t afford the real stuff?

You can head to eBay and look for Lumbersexy bargains, and what you find is stuff that still costs a lot, even if it looks like you’ve been wiping your garage floors with it for years like this tin cloth jacket looking for a starting bid at $158, or if you’re selling a garment that looks like it was run over by a steam roller, like this field jacket at $123.50.  Or this grunge-y tin cloth cruiser vest complete with oil stains on the back, “buy it now” at $65. Clearly, Filsons keep their value like used Toyotas.

Old Filsons, often coated in old-school wax for waterproofing, gain a certain patina with use over time. With used—excuse me, “pre-owned”—goods like these you can easily fake a kind of blue-collar-I’ve-worn-this-shit-all-my-life look, even if you just flew in for your job in South Lake Union last week. The toughest thing you’ll ever have to do for your instant Lumber-cred is put up with a few strange stains. But apparently, that’s worth a lot to some people.

And for those of you who want to move beyond the Lumbersexual look, well, there’s vintage gold hanging in your closet or garage. Sell, sell, sell! It might help you cover your rising rent.

 

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