Is the weather in your area chilly on Halloween? Wearing a lumberjack costume guarantees you'll be warm and comfortable all night. Lumberjacks cut down trees by hand, so they were plentiful in North America during the 1800s and early 1900s. Today, people are probably more likely to dress like a lumberjack for Halloween than to work as one since logging is now primarily done with machinery. Compared to actually chopping down a tree with an axe or saw, putting together a lumberjack costume couldn't be easier.
History of the Lumberjack Look
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Having an extremely physically demanding job, lumberjacks naturally had to dress for function rather than fashion. They had to be comfortable in harsh weather conditions, be able to swing their tools freely and protect themselves from injury as much as possible. Early photos of 19th-century lumberjacks generally show them wearing dark work pants and long-sleeved shirts and suspenders, sometimes with brimmed hats or thick coats during winter.
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The stereotypical image of a lumberjack outfit came later with the popularity of Paul Bunyan. The fictional lumberjack was a fixture in tall tales told primarily throughout the American West in the early 1900s. As the folklore went, Paul Bunyan was a giant lumberjack who stood 7 feet tall, had nearly superhuman strength and was accompanied by an equally giant blue ox named Babe.
In illustrations, the character was often shown carrying an axe and wearing a red plaid shirt, blue or black pants, suspenders, boots and a cap. Because he was supposed to be the embodiment of a "manly man," Paul Bunyan was often drawn with a dark, bushy beard and sometimes with chest hair visible at the top of his shirt.
Dress Like a Lumberjack
The best and easiest way to pull together a recognizable lumberjack costume is to emulate Paul Bunyan. You have a lot of flexibility in what pants you wear. Historically, many lumberjacks worked through the autumn and winter months in cold parts of the western U.S. and Canada, so shorts definitely weren't part of the uniform for these men. Wear utility pants with lots of pockets, cargo pants, a pair of straight-legged dark blue jeans or really any pair of pants that look like you could do a hard day's work in them.
Wear a long-sleeve T-shirt or long underwear shirt topped with a plaid, button-down shirt. Red might be most associated with lumberjacks, but any color or pattern of plaid or any flannel shirt is fine for your costume. Unbutton the first few buttons of the top shirt and roll up the sleeves a few inches. Optionally, add a pair of suspenders and a wool cap. Finish the look with a pair of sturdy work boots or hiking boots.
Accessorizing the Lumberjack Costume
Without a few accessories, your lumberjack costume will just look like a "regular person in fall" costume. If you don't already have a beard and prolific chest hair, adding fake hair will help you create the burly outdoorsman look. Use eyebrow pencil to make your eyebrows extra bushy and maybe even to draw some pretend arm hair on your forearms.
Carrying an axe will make it clear that you decided to dress like a lumberjack, but it probably goes without saying that safety is more important than authenticity for this part of your costume. Carry a plastic toy axe or make one yourself. The simplest way to make your own pretend axe is to cut one out of cardboard. Wrap the head of the axe in foil or paint it with silver paint.
One final way to sell your lumberjack costume is to keep a stuffed blue ox toy with you at all times or carry around a box labeled "flapjack mix" in reference to the food most associated with Paul Bunyan. Anyone who knows about his legend will immediately recognize the costume.