Denim has become one of the most popular materials for clothes out there, not only is it a durable and practical material, which can be very high quality when done right, but it is also non animal skin based and has become popular in the US as well as globally.
Yet, many fear making perhaps the most classic fashion faux pas: double denim, or as they call it in Canada, a Canadian Tuxedo.
We hope to show you some interesting ways to style your denim, particularly the softer shades of denim that have emerged as the material has grown and changed as its popularity increased historically.
This demonstrates that pairing denim can often rely on the actual garment itself too, beyond simply the color.
Both color, texture, and garment shape need to be considered in order to have success.
Keep reading to learn more about how to style denim without getting into a fashion faux pas.
Denim Jackets
The denim jacket is one of the most classic jackets you can get, alongside a leather jacket they are the classic rocker garment that can really ascribe some edge to your outfit generally.
The right denim jacket can often last you years and years.
More importantly, the classic denim jacket is often in a lighter shade of blue, although they can get much darker.
Lighter colored denim jackets have many more options to match colors with, and one reason why people enjoy denim jackets so much is that they often go with lots of stuff, especially this classic light blue color.
This is where the concept of double denim comes into play, we say double denim can be totally fine but you want to make sure the colors are different.
For example, the right pair of black denim pants could be the perfect way to roll out that rugged biker or rocker style perfectly.
Styling a light denim jacket with a light pair of pants isn’t recommended when the pants are also denim, but pants of another material which are light can be really good matches.
Layering dark colors and light colors underneath a denim jacket can also be effective.
Your choice of light or dark colors doesn’t change too much but we suggest going for a classic garment to round out a classic look.
A classic well fitting white tee could be the only garment you need, or a patterned dark shirt could also look great.
Yet, this can also depend on your pants.
Denim Trousers
With denim pants, you can definitely have more freedom when it comes to styling other colors.
Light colored Levi’s jeans became the thing of dreams in the US, mainly because of how easy it is to pair light blue jeans with basically anything.
A classic white tee, a graphic tee, a checkered shirt, a western shirt, your possibilities are endless.
Yet, we would suggest more often than not that dark colors work best with light colored denim jeans.
Yet, denim can often come in many other colors that simply the classic blue, many of which are light.
We would suggest that denim jeans are more likely to be in other light colors than most denim jackets.
You can get denim jeans in many light colors, many of which suit dark colors on top instead.
Your jacket or sweater choice can be more color specific when wearing light colored denim jeans.
We suggest if you are layering wear a light color underneath but a darker jacket on top.
As mentioned, double denim often looks weird when they are the same color and this applies to other materials too.
Try not to pair the jeans color with the jacket color, no matter the material.
Green denim can look great with neutral bright colors on top and a darker jacket to layer on top of that, the same applies for most of these soft denim jean colors.
Materials Which Go Well With Soft Denim Shades
Of course, color isn’t always the choice worth worrying about, sometimes material choice can be just as important as color matching.
Light colored denim jeans can go really well with wool.
If denim is a very fine thread, then wool is a much thicker thread so they naturally pair well together – again darker colors are best.
Suede can often go well with denim, a tan suede jacket or a tan cotton thread jacket can be a winner with denim, both have that rugged lumberjack vibe or 60s rocker look.
Or even something like a suede waistcoat could look great.
In the same vein as wool, corduroy can also be a great shout to pair with denim.
A dark corduroy shirt can be a perfect material to compliment denim and adds a lot of texture to denim which can be very fine and un-textured in certain circumstances.
A leather jacket with blue denim is one of the most classic looks you can get, and if you want that rocker edge this can certainly bring it.
Similarly, a denim jacket with leather pants can work the same way.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, denim is one of the more classic materials we have to choose from.
As a result denim can often benefit from other classic garments and materials such as suede, leather, and classic garments like checkered shirts and white tees.
Denim, light or otherwise, has been around for a long time so there are many looks out there, as well as different takes on the classic materials.
Our general recommendation is to pair light denim with another dark material or material with a lot of texture, double denim is only a fashion faux pas when they are the same light colors.
You can go crazy with denim since it has been around for so long, it’s worth looking at some of the more fashion forward outfits that are clever as well as looking at the classics.
You can almost never go wrong with a nice pair of denim jeans, or a denim jacket.
Hi, my name is Jenna Reign and I have teamed up with my best friend, Sam, to deliver you all of the style secrets to help you stay ahead of the trends. We both met in fashion school and have been inseparable ever since!
Despite our deep love for fashion, even we found it difficult navigating our closets when trying to leave the house for the first time since the pandemic was announced. Were the trends still evolving, or did they get put on hold like the rest of the world?
