Photo courtesy of findingjackie.com
Heading back to College Park for my junior year, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Catching up with friends, making long visits to McKeldin Library and braving the extreme heat during football games were a few of the things that two years at the University of Maryland has prepared me for.
What I didn’t foresee, however, was the explosion of male students on the campus who would rock the latest trend to grip the fashion world — man buns.
Man buns — when a guy pulls his hair back from his forehead and ties it up in the center of his head — have permeated through nearly every facet of our culture. The Instagram “Manbuns of Disneyland“ recently went viral, a dude flaunted a monstrous man bun and beard as long as his body during New York Fashion Week, and there’s even the puzzling movement to place a tiny fedora on top of the hairdo you’re inevitably going to encounter going from class to class.
If you’re wondering what’s the inspiration behind the ‘do that everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to David Beckham has fashioned, it’s your lucky day. Guided by a burning passion to get to the bottom of this mystery, coupled with a keen lack of self-awareness, I traveled out onto this university’s campus to ask the bun-clad men about their attention-grabbing hair.
What I first learned is that some places on this campus are optimal for man-bun hunting. Locations like The Maryland Food Co-op, the Art-Sociology Building and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center seemed to be magnets for the type of guys willing to try out the latest hairstyles.
I also learned those with man buns are almost too excited to talk about their lengthy hair that they’ve knotted in a neat technique.
Sporting the mystifying hairstyle I was seeking, junior Andrew Lohr was the first person to explain his man bun. Lohr, who has been growing out his hair for the past three years, said he opted for the new cut because he was inspired by movie stars and wanted to keep his long locks under control.
“When I’m driving with the window down, it keeps the hair out of my face so I can still see,” the sociology major said. “I’ve seen celebrities have it, and I’ve always aspired to be one of those guys.”
For sophomore Harsh Atit, his induction to the prestigious club of man buns began as an accident when a hairstylist shaved the sides of his hair too short. Atit soon realized, however, that he sported protracted hair with relish.
He didn’t think of channeling his hair into a bun, however, until his girlfriend suggested the change to him.
“My girlfriend said I should try putting it up in a bun at some point, because she noticed that it had been getting longer when I went up to visit her,” the psychology major said.
It’s the opposite experience for Lohr, who tied his hair up, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend. While skeptical at first, she changed her tune after a few weeks, he said.
My girlfriend “definitely has been the biggest turnaround,” he said. “She was absolutely, 100 percent against it, and now she’s like, ‘Well, it looks good.’”
Junior Daniel Mehmedovich received the motivation to don fashion’s latest movement about a year ago when he was admiring his sister’s haircut — short sides and a longer top sometimes knotted up — and realized he, too, could have the same look.
But Mehmedovich, who was unaware that man buns were becoming a burgeoning trend until he arrived to this university this semester, said he prefers the style when complemented with a bushy beard.
“I’ve decided actually to grow out the beard, because I felt it would fit a little better, and so far, I’ve been getting a lot more compliments with the mix,” the kinesiology major said. “It makes me look more exotic in a way, more ethnic.”
It’s a choice that sophomore Shanshan Jin wholeheartedly supports, as she said that a guy with a man bun who lacks a suitable beard is “missing something.” Jin was unable to pinpoint exactly why the hairdo has caught on lately, but suggested it might stem from past trends.
“It kind of fits with the hipster vibe that was more in sometime ago,” the chemistry major said.
Despite a mixed bag of responses, junior Conor McDonald said he will continue to brandish the topknot proudly.
“I’ve gotten compliments. I’ve gotten people saying, ‘You’re a slave to trends’ and all kind of insults but I don’t really care,” the computer science major said. “I just do it for myself.”
