OK. It’s safe to wear denim with denim

Published 10:51 pm Monday, September 13, 2010

The rules for wearing denim with denim are about to be broken.

Though it was a major no-no in the 1990s (think Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake in their bedazzled denim ensembles complete with denim hats and accessories), today the combination of jeans with a chambray shirt or a denim vest is not only acceptable, it’s current.

Celebrity stylist Nicole Chavez recently wore a light-colored chambray button-down shirt with a pair of medium-blue skinny jeans and Celine’s tan wedge clogs to brunch, a sure sign that denim on denim really works.

“It’s a fresh twist on a classic,” says Chavez. “It’s been such a faux pas since the early ’90s, so now it feels like a rebellious and modern way to wear” it.

The denim on denim look is very much part of this season’s “work wear” styles such as overalls, button-down shirts and vests, patchwork detail on jeans, and the use of washes that add a slight variance in color as well as texture to the fabric, providing a distressed, almost vintage look.

Walk into any number of stores and you might see jeans that look as though they’ve been worn every day for the last five years, with abrasions on the thighs and seats, and denim vests with frayed arm holes that appear to be the result of someone ripping the sleeves off a jacket whose owner has endured a long day of manual labor outdoors.

In a way, wearing denim has gone back to basics, when people wore the sturdy fabric for practical purposes and an all-blue outfit wasn’t a bad thing.