There’s a fine line between wearing a chambray or denim shirt & jeans, and going full Canadian Tuxedo. And it’s not so easy to figure out. Follow the five suggestions below, and you’ll minimize your risk of looking like Chuck Norris in Invasion USA, or worse. For the sake of simplicity, & since they look similar (they are different), we might use the terms “Chambray” & “Denim” interchangeably.
1. Keep it dark
Seems like lighter washes of blue jeans made a bit of a comeback last year, but for a double denim look, keep it dark. Don’t even come close to crossing the border into Stonewashistan.
2. But still have contrast
It’s very similar to mixing patterns. You want a noticeable, visual break between pants & shirt, or pants & jacket. And that means either different shades, noticeably different textures (such as a lighter weight chambray fabric w/ heavier denim) or both.
3. Layer
Jeans + denim shirt = tough to pull off. Jeans + denim shirt + v-neck sweater? Absolutely. This is also a great place to bring in an affordable tweed or chino blazer. The great ocean of denim you’re awash in gets broken up by a continent or two of other items.
4. Work in unusual or bright colors
Now’s the time to use that brighter summer belt, colored shoe laces, or a pocket square that’s got too much personality for the office. You’re throwing out a visual flare which should balance the attention of an observer.
5. Wear an interesting or bold accessory
Could be a larger chronograph, a different style of glasses than your every day pair, or a belt with a different buckle. Similar to #3 in the fact that you’re drawing a little attention away from the almost uniformity of fabrics on your torso and legs.
Your turn guys. Have you tried the denim on denim thing? What seems to be successful for you? Leave it all in the comments below…
Top Photo: Shirt by Banana Republic (unavailable), Levis 505 in Tumbled Rigid, Belt by Brooks Brothers (unavailable), Joseph Abboud Made in the USA Soft Construction Wool/Silk Blazer
6. Have the body of a Greek god.
7. Mustache
Okay, I’ll bite. Is anything known about that BR shirt?
It’s technically chambray (see italics at top of post), but it was much thicker than I had expected so it looked/felt awfully close to denim.
Just one of their soft wash trim fits that’s now out of stock.
Thanks, my apologies, it was early. I missed the italics.
I think as long as the colors are clearly different, I would wear it. Adding a sweater/cardigan or a blazer definitely makes it a lot easier though!
Okay, so I’ll ask the question. Why…?
Three words: Be. Sam. Elliott.
How to pull off denim-on-denim: Do everything possible to distract from the fact that you’re wearing denim-on-denim.
I do chambray with denim all the time, but I usually don’t do blue-on-blue. I actually wear my blue chambray the least, and usually go for the dark grey or red the most. I think the most important thing, like you mentioned above, is to make sure there is contrast, either in color or texture.
Can I buy you a drink?
Red chambray. What a great idea. Is the effect muted, almost making it pinkish? If so, I might need one. That’s a game changer.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christians in Corinth, advising them that they shouldn’t abuse their freedom to do what is possible, since not all that is possible is beneficial. A little known fact: according to Josephus, these wise words also apply directly to denim-on-denim as worn by the liberal Sadducees in the first century AD.
Yep, it comes across much softer if you ask me. I actually almost never wear red, except for red chambray, which I wear all the time, haha.
J.Crew has some really nice looking red chambray, but the one I have is from Frank & Oak (I know, their rep is pretty hit or miss, but I’ve had a lot of luck with their chambray in general, and they do tend to offer more color variety).
My grey chambray button down might be the most versatile shirt I own.
There’s a good chance I’ll be picking one of those up real soon. I’m surprised I’d never considered it before.
I’m wearing Denim-on-Denim right now; a lighter wash chambray shirt with jeans that are slightly darker. Sometimes I wear this outfit with Denim Ontisuka Tiger or Diesel Shoes too.
Kinda. Yeah. But then it works. Wore the combo at the top of the page and had a few people ask if I was wearing a new blazer. Far from it. Just different textures and contrast.
The Apostle Joe Willie says… I wanna kiss you.
http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/218/456/0/S2184560/slug/l/466626695-1.jpg
Strangely enough, more Sam Elliott tomorrow.
I think maybe everyone is thinking a little too hard about this.
There’s nothing strange about more Sam Elliott.
Chambray and denim are ok together, particularly a dark denim and mid or light chambray. Denim and denim, not so much.
I think Ralph Lauren or Jay Leno when double denim comes to mind…
The real winners of the Super Bowl: Renee Fleming, Joe Namath’s coat, and Bruno Mars’ hair. In that order.
Oh god. I forgot about Leno’s double denim. That’s probably the textbook How NOT to Pull Off This Look. So wrong on so many levels.
Don’t forget Bruno’s ankles. Moves. For miles.
I don’t get all the criticism in the comments. It’s a smart look that’s actually not tricky to pull off. I’m living in France right now and this is easily the most popular outfit here right now.
That James Brown homage was LEGIT
In all seriousness, how can you tell the difference without doing a super close inspection of the garment? The difference between the two is the precise nature of the weave, which is really hard to tell unless you inspect the direction of the weave (or something). So if the shades are different and, as Joe advises, you mix up the textures, what makes chambray and denim okay but denim and denim not so much? Personally, I prefer thinner and softer chambray, which is why I’d personally agree with you, but I’ve owned and seen chambray that was nearly as thick and rigid as raw denim, basically a denim replica.
I dunno, to me there is a pretty visible difference between chambray as such and denim as such. More so in person, perhaps, than in photos. A “chambray” shirt that looks indistinguishable from denim is, in my mind, a denim shirt. So I would wear denim jeans that look like denim and a chambray shirt that looks like chambray.
As a Montanan, perhaps I just have a more experienced eye when it comes to distinguishing stylish vs. unstylish iterations of workwear.
I do this one a lot, too. But always with a sweater, v-neck, crew neck, elbow patches, zip neck. Either I pull the sweater sleeves back to expose the cuffs of the shirt, or leave the shirt untucked for the contrast.
Okay. I get it. We’re of the same mind on this.
I love Montana, by the way. There’s something about that kind of country that got in me and never got out. I want to retire there, but my wife says if I go, I’m going alone.
I do some denim-on-denim. I have a dark yet faded denim jacket which I pair with my clean dark jeans, pics included. IMO, looks relatively decent. I always make sure the jacket have some sheen to it while the jeans fade into the background. Or maybe the top under the jacket may have something to do with it. Though for the most part, I wear some non-jeans to pair with my denim jacket. Or even navy chinos/cords since I’m into the dark-on-dark thing. Thoughts?
And when it comes to a chambray shirt+jeans combo, my shirt is always the lighter one. As for my dark denim shirt, that I pair with non-jeans or colored ones.
I think this is quite possibly the best comment I’ve read, ever.
Come on Joe, where are the pics? It’s kind of hard to see how you’re pulling it off when you only show a waistband.
This man seems to have it down.
Of course, Mr Gosling can pull off damn near anything.
Denim on denim can look really good, I reckon half of it is down to attitude and feeling confident enough to carry it off. the other half is having really cool accessories to take away from the potential monotony of denim on denim. Something like these polo belts from A Hume: http://www.ahume.co.uk/Pampeano/Polo-Belts/c-1-471-472/