Celebrities, like Jared Leto and Bradley Cooper, have embraced the man bun.

The man bun is hard to define, being somewhere between hyper-masculine in its low-maintenance nature and feminine in its length. Add a flannel, Timberlands and khakis and the “lumbersexual” look is complete. Mysterious, sexy and grungy, the trend has some women swooning at its sight, while others would prefer men chop off their locks.

The Daily Orange talked to four Syracuse University students sporting the man bun: Josh Tuthill, a graduate student studying film; Zach Keller, senior entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises and marketing dual major; Pat Munnia, a junior television, radio and film and applied mathematics dual major; and Forrest Vreeland, a sophomore film major.

 

 

The Daily Orange: Why did you decide to grow out your hair?

Josh Tuthill: I’ve had long hair since I was 14, and I just never cut it short. I’ll get a trim once in a while, but it’s easier to not bother. My hair grows really quick, so it would be expensive to keep going.

The D.O.: What are some of the reactions you get when you’re wearing your bun?

J.T.: People love it. I get a lot of good comments. But I mean in Utah, I got people telling me to cut my hair yelling at me “Hippie.” Other than that, the reactions are very positive.

 

 

The D.O.: Why did you decide to grow out your hair?

Zak Keller: One of my close friends and I (during) freshman year had a bet to see who could grow their hair out longer. He cut his hair after about a year, and I’ve been growing mine for three. I won the bet.

The D.O.: What do you like about wearing your hair in a bun?

Z.K.: I like wearing it in a bun because it keeps it out of my face, but I also like to use it when I am active or working out. Or, when I am trying to dress up and look nice.

The D.O.: Do you ever get any comments about your hair?

Z.K.: A lot of people are curious about how long it took to grow out. Girls are either really into it or not at all.

 

The D.O.: What do you like and dislike about long hair?

Pat Munnia: It’s different from every other haircut that I see so often and I don’t like. I don’t like that I have bad hair days that I have to deal with.

The D.O.: How often do you wear it in a bun?

P.M.: Like always. Probably five days a week. I only wear it down after I wash it.

The D.O: What inspired you to grow your hair?

P.M.: I was inspired to grow my hair from watching “Lord of the Rings” for the first time last Christmas break. I saw Aragorn and said: “I want to have that.”

 

 

The D.O.: Why did you decide to grow out your hair?

Forrest Vreeland: I really just wanted to try it out. I had buzzed my hair down during my childhood years, so my expanding adventurous side apparently got the best of me by the time I had reached college. A smaller reason of mine would be that my hairline will be thinning sooner than I would like it to, so I might as well experiment with it while I still can. Once I started growing my hair out to the point that it was considered long, I became extremely superstitious about cutting it.

The D.O.: What are the reactions from women?

F.V: The only girl that has ever really said anything to me that wasn’t my grandma, my mom or my girlfriend was an anonymous person screaming at me from a window in Lawrinson saying, “I like your ponytail!” Other than that, my girlfriend disliked it at first, but she recently admitted that she doesn’t mind the way it looks.

 

Published on February 11, 2015 at 12:43 am

Contact Eliza: etweinre@syr.edu