Ever the lightning rod, denim is crackling like it did at the dawn of $200 jeans.
For guys, fashion changes at a plate-tectonics pace. So going from a pair of jeans to jeans, a jean jacket and a denim shirt — all in one wearing — can look drastic.
The authors of the new book “Undateable: 311 Things Guys Do That Guarantee They Won’t Be Dating or Having Sex” say they know the trick to double denim: Don’t do it. Ever.
Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle rank “double denim” No. 20 on their list of deal-breakers, right up there with tube socks, Transitions sunglasses and owning a cat.
They define double denim as a denim shirt or denim jacket worn with jeans, “which gives the illusion that you’re wearing a denim jumpsuit.”
Proceed with caution
“The trick is you don’t want to look like you’re wearing the same denim on top as on the bottom,” said the Gap’s creative director, Patrick Robinson. Pair a darker and lighter wash, said Robinson, who often wears a white T-shirt with dark blue jeans, black motorcycle boots and a “really, holey, distressed (lighter blue) old denim jacket.”
Nick Sullivan, fashion director for Esquire magazine, agrees on the need for contrast — and caution. “There’s a very famous picture of Steve McQueen shot by William Claxton of him wearing a denim shirt and denim jeans that match,” Sullivan said.
“That was the ’70s. And that was Steve McQueen, more importantly. The problem is, when everyone else does it, it can be a bit John Denver.”
If you’re going to double up on denim, it’s safest to keep the color of your top half lighter than the bottom, Sullivan said. “A darker shirt on lighter jeans doesn’t work. It has something to do with the visual center of gravity.”
Pull it off
Designers at Gap-owned Banana Republic advise the all-denim wearer to consider the cut of their jeans. To keep it modern, steer clear of a relaxed fit.
“We’re talking a slimmer fit or vintage fit that has a skinny-leg look,” said Banana Republic creative director Simon Kneen. Limit the distress of the jeans; lean toward the “just worn-in with a tiny hole here and there.”
Kneen prefers cognac or soft-colored leather accessories to blacks.
“Black can harden it,” he said. Belts and shoes should be modern and metropolitan, “not western in any way.”
Chambray ties can dress up a denim shirt, Kneen said, but don’t try it at a business meeting.
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
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