Mark Veltman for The New York Times
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ON a recent night at Hotel Delmano, a stylish speakeasy in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the heavily tattooed head bartender, Sam Anderson, and his colleague, Michaelangelo Davis III, were shaking up cocktails with manly vigor.
And each had his hair done up in a bun.
In certain arty neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Bushwick, some men
are twisting their long hair into a form more famously worn by
librarians, schoolmarms and Katharine Hepburn. But don’t call the male
version an up-do or a chignon. Call it a man bun.
The line between utilitarian convenience and fashion statement can be
hard to draw with the man bun. On the tennis court, players like
Alexandr Dolgopolov and Xavier Malisse have been known to wear them.
Certainly, there and in the food and beverage industry, keeping hair
away from the face is important. And at Hotel Delmano, Mr. Davis, 26,
sometimes uses his abundant bun as a pen holder.
But he and Mr. Anderson could not hold up their heads wearing hairnets.
As for ponytails, to Mr. Anderson, 30, they evoke “Steven Seagal, hippie
uncles and the like,” and would not be a good fit in this neighborhood.
A hat is an option, but a bun is less sweaty.
The man bun is similar in form to the topknot worn by many women — which
is going through its own fashion resurgence — but it is often worn
slightly lower on the head.
Once you’ve committed to a man bun, how do you create one? Alexander Kellum, 31, a fine-arts painter and yoga
teacher who lives in Williamsburg, bends forward and pulls his long
chestnut hair in front of him; then he performs a twisting and wrapping
motion until his hair is firmly tucked into a knot at the back of his
head. Sometimes he’ll let a little hair poke out for an “abstract
expressionist” flourish, he said. A rubber band, a hair band or even a
piece of string holds his bun in place.
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Davis use plain rubber bands to anchor theirs. “I
bought one of those scrunchy things, but it just didn’t work,” said Mr.
Anderson, who also plays bass guitar for a gothic rock band called River
Wild.
Those seeking help with their own hair can find an instructional video on YouTube.
Chris Jones,
a contestant this season on the “Top Chef” cooking show, uses elastic
hair bands swiped from his wife to tie up his bun. The first time she
noticed one missing, he said, he told her the cat must have taken it.
Mr. Jones, who lives in Chicago, is fully aware that some people
consider his floppy bun to be ridiculous, but said: “I’m very secure in
myself. I’ve actually worn my hair in pigtails once or twice.”
You could theorize that a man who wears a bun is in touch with his
feminine side, but the form also has a masculine tradition. Sikh men
have long tied their hair in a bun, covered by a turban. And centuries
ago, the samurai wore a topknot.
Mr. Jones, 31, draws inspiration from that association. “Who doesn’t
love the samurai?” he said. “They’re committed to their ways and devoted
to their passions.”
Mr. Jones is committed to growing his hair long so he can donate it to Locks of Love,
which provides hairpieces to disadvantaged children with hair loss. In a
few months, his (only very occasional) hairstylist, Andreas Hogue, will
give him a marine cut, to harvest the most hair possible. Then Mr.
Jones will start over until, once again, his hair is long enough for a
man bun.
Hair News Network
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