NOT since Walt Whitman edited The Brooklyn Daily Eagle has the borough’s beard-to-man ratio been this high.

Whether it’s the artisanal food movement, which has young men looking like turn-of-the-last-century farmers, or the heritage fashion look, which has them dressing like they’re on a deer hunt, the common signifier is a mountain-man beard. Soon men won’t be allowed into the Brooklyn Flea or on the L train without at least three days’ stubble.

So imagine my frustration in living in this land of urban Grizzly Adamses, unable to grow a beard. My beard envy isn’t new, but lately it’s become a full-fledged itch as I encounter bearded men everywhere from my backyard to the wider culture. Hollywood is full of designer stubble (see: Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal). The fashion world has embraced the hirsute look, too. Do designers think guys with beards have more fun (the male follicle version of blondes, perhaps)?

Tom Bull, a 22-year-old model, was on the cover of Ralph Lauren’s look book for the Purple Label this spring with a full chestnut thatch. Since growing the beard last January, Mr. Bull said he has booked more jobs and with higher-end labels like Armani and Brioni. “The money jobs come to you when you have the beard,” he said. “You look older.” That was certainly the case at the Ralph Lauren casting. “On the spot they said: ‘Yes, we love him for Purple Label. Don’t shave the beard.’ ”