From Top Knots to Pineapples: An Unofficial Guide to the 'Man Bun'

Once the customary hairstyle of ballerinas and librarians, the bun has been making a comeback - this time on the heads of lads. Man buns have even topped the heads of Hollywood stars like Jared Leto, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Chris Hemsworth, and have trickled down to the streets of Brooklyn, LA, Portland, and even into Middle America. 

But not everyone covets the Man Bun. Many people, including Brian Moylan of TIME and James Corden, host of the Late Late Show, have been ready to end the trend – but as anyone walking through Williamsburg or Bushwick can see, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. 

Phil Edwards is a writer at Vox where he covers all manner of ephemera and he gave us a primer on the Man Bun. 

If you want to study up on man buns before going out and looking for them in the wild, we've put together this handy guide: 

To better understand the men underneath all of that hair, the New York Times thoughtfully compiled a selection of man-bun-bearing-men across the nation and had them explain their hairstyle choice. One particular entry seems to sum up a popular sentiment: 

As the name suggests, this Instagram account has taken it upon itself to record sightings of man buns at Disneyland. According to the account profile, "We love man buns. And Disneyland." We here at Word of Mouth can get behind that. 

Just one of the many blogs devoted to the phenomena, "Guys With Tops Knots" focuses on one particular style closely related to the man bun, though if this blog is to be believed, top knots connote a different level of style. Producer Logan Shannon pointed out that they all pretty much look like the same guy, but maybe that's the look they're going for. 

Credit guyswithtopknots.tumblr.com/

If you need a musical aid, here's a Man Bun Song that came out last spring, at the peak of man bun controversy. 

A final note, be careful not to "bunsplain." As Phil Edwards discovered after his article was published, you run the risk of insulting the man bun community when you confuse man buns and top knots - or worse yet, lump them all together. 

Have you seen any man buns out on the street? Do you even sport one yourself? Let us know, below or on our Facebook and Twitter!