Last weekend, I arrived in Kalamazoo, Michigan for a few days’ visit with my boyfriend’s family, and immediately discovered I was completely unprepared for the weather. (Have you ever been to Michigan? I hadn’t. It’s cold.) Early November there felt like New York does before it gets truly frigid, those few weeks of in-between temperatures when something like a fur coat is too bulky, yet a leather jacket will leave you freezing. My thin knitwear was not going to do the trick. But all around me, I discovered a town mostly filled with layered-up students and members of a hunting culture that drifts in from rural parts of the state. (Think gruff-looking men clad in Carhartt overalls and heavy-duty nubuck boots, all rugged, utilitarian details designed to help them stay dry and warm for hours in the woods.) I was instantly charmed.

I had my boyfriend, a Michigan native, help me on my own hunt: for woodsman-inspired clothes. We headed over to Gander Mountain, a large department store specializing in hunting, fishing, and outdoor gear. Surrounded by a bevy of fishing rods, firearms, and crossbows, while wearing my drafty leather jacket, I found my answer to the cooler climate: insulated flannels, beanies in highlighter orange and yellow, and thick gloves. I tried on plenty of things, including Carhartt overalls (too full-on for the city), a lumberjack hat (on me, too Elmer Fudd), and finally settled on a parka in a forest camouflage print. And funnily enough, paired with my skinny jeans and motorcycle boots, it easily transitioned to something more asphalt-friendly.[#image: /photos/5891f245dec09b1841454fd4]|||Woodsman Jacket||| From there, we went to a Louie’s Trophy House, a local bar dotted with taxidermied animals on the walls. While wearing the jacket, I ran into two hunters (brothers!) wearing similar pieces. And lest you think those mossy patterns depicted on sleeves and vests and pants are arbitrary, au contraire. “The backdrop of where you are hunting is what the camo is based off of,” said duck hunter Josh Beeke, “If you are hunting in a cornfield, you wear Max-4, which looks like cornfield, but if you are hunting in the deep woods, you wear something with branches, leaves, moss, and twigs.” (And hey, I may not have been planning on any Bambi stakeouts any time soon, but it was nice to know the origins of the jacket from someone who actually wore it for a practical purpose.)[#image: /photos/5891f24623f9887c0e0e49bc]|||||| Usually, the translation of utilitarian-wear is seen in brands like Belstaff, which has taken the protective features of motorcycle riding gear and transformed them into a contemporary empire of leather jackets, while on the Marc Jacobs spring 2015 runway, army camouflage had a definitive twist in the form of jumpsuits. Off the runway, there is a resurgence of people finding the “beauty in the everyday uniform,” like Instagram’s @MisterMort, who pays special attention to details like unintentional Canadian tuxedos or orange vests on construction workers. In other words, people who just wear these clothes as part of their job or everyday life.

As for me, recently returned to New York, my decidedly woodsy gear is blending in quite nicely with the urban scene—where there’s hardly a leaf or twig in sight. Should you be interested in similarly gearing up for a long winter ahead, here’s the best ways to get the look—it’s easier than shooting fish in a barrel.





1 / 6 Chevron Chevron Photo: Courtesy of orvis.com Orvis canvas Uplander hat, $39 orvis.com

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