Here's a style trivia brain teaser: Which of-the-moment fashion serves as a sartorial link between Michael J. Fox and Jamie Foxx, Robin Williams (as Mork) and Pharrell Williams?

Consider this hint: This born-again winter staple, plucked straight from the shores of Lake Wobegon, has surged not just in Milan and Hollywood, but also New York and other chilly U.S. cities, where it is a brisk seller for retailers as diverse as Gap and Barneys.

If you guessed the puffer vest, you deserve a free copy of "Back to the Future," perhaps in era-appropriate Laserdisc.

The puffer vest — an afterthought outerwear accessory that could never quite shake its dork-chic associations from the stonewash epoch — has risen from the purgatory of '80s style. As heritage-chic labels, outdoors-wear giants and major European fashion houses all churn out next-generation designs featuring sleeker cuts and high-tech materials to reduce bulk, this unloved staple of the hiking trail has been revived as a trendy men's fashion item, appropriate for the office or the first date.

Men are wearing puffer vests from workout to workplace, often layered with blazers and under coats.

The retro-Americana revival of recent years also fueled interest in classic technical clothing, said Jesse Thorn, the NPR host and menswear blogger who runs the site Put This On, as bearded young tastemakers developed a new appreciation for rugged outdoors apparel, including vests, from heritage brands like Crescent Down Works and L.L. Bean.

In fashion, envelope-pushing creations like Thom Browne's Moncler Gamme Bleu line, Yosuke Aizawa's White Mountaineering and Daiki Suzuki's Engineered Garments helped rebrand the vest as an upscale item in the eyes of a new generation, said Jian DeLeon, the deputy style editor for Complex magazine.

Even so, the puffer-vest revival likely could not have happened if the vests themselves had not been transformed via trim, contemporary contours. Today's fashion vest bears little resemblance to the '80s puffer, which boasted a silhouette only the Michelin Man could love.

"Despite the name, today's puffer vests are downright slimming," said Megan Collins, who writes Style Girlfriend, a popular men's style site. Thanks to high-tech materials like those in North Face's Thermoball and Patagonia's Nano Puff vests, each containing featherweight synthetic alternatives to goose down, many contemporary vests are as light as windbreakers, making them easy for men to pair with a tailored jacket without feeling as if they are shoplifting beach balls.

The allure is more than just practical warmth. For guys who feel too self-conscious to try, say, jewelry, vests are a great way to "mix and match, fun to play with different textures, patterns and colors," Collins said.

"It's accessorizing with a purpose, which makes it that much more attainable than wearing a bracelet, necklace or crazy pocket square," she added. "Vests are actually something you can defend to your bro-y friends: 'Hey, it's cold outside.' "