How can men style a denim jacket?

It took Levis Strauss almost a decade for creating the world’s first blue jeans for understanding the material that works well for a man’s bottom and works brilliantly in his upper half as well. The modern man need not take so long to leap. Denim not only makes for the best-looking and comfortable wearing pants but as an excellent rugged jacket. The denim jacket serves as functional, low maintenance outerwear.

Its durable material offers perfect protection to your arms and torso, does not wrinkle, tasks a beating, and lasts for the long-haul. They are light in weight and an excellent jacket for those chilly days, which marks the start of spring and fall. With a collar and structure that extends to the waist, the jacket creates a masculine silhouette. It adds to the visual appearance through its rebellious, casual, and oppositional-to-the-suits.

When you throw it over t-shirts for men, it adds a lot more interest to your necessary get up. Considering there are so many benefits to denim jackets, why are men hesitant to make it a part of their wardrobe? Guys typically worry that its tough and cool legacy might not fit well on their shoulders and do not want to look like a wannabe.

So, how to pair them well and get the style right?

Denim jackets are not versatile, like a sports jacket. You cannot dress them up or down for meeting the requirements of any dress code. While some fashion-forward pair the jacket with a dress shirt and tie, the contrast between a formal underlayer and casual outerwear is too jarring. Denim jackets are the best when you pair them well with casual clothing items. Let us understand it better –

Bottom

One important rule with denim is never do the double denim. Never wear a denim jacket upon jeans. Such pairing is called the Canadian tuxedo. The moment your jacket and jeans match, it seems like you are wearing a weird pseudo suit. But there is no rule to avoid this combination. You can pair them if there is contrast. Wear a darker jacket with light jeans. Wear jeans other than the blue colour, like black or charcoal. You could even try joggers, chinos, and corduroys.

Top

When it comes to what to wear under the jacket, a single layer is often what you need. Additional layers can be exciting, and you need not add too much bulk. A thin base layer lets the jacket hang carefully and without constriction, like plain t-shirts. Some of the tops that work well with denim jackets are sweaters, polos, button-down shirts, t-shirts, long or short sleeve henleys, hoodies, and plaid shirts.

As you try mixing the top and bottom layers with the jacket, you can prevent the wannabe look by avoiding pairing too many things. Avoid wearing white t-shirts under the jacket along with black jeans and black work boots, unless you are a biker. Let the jean jacket be a natural accompaniment to the other casual clothes you wear.

Suresh is a lecturer in one of the top fashion designing schools in India. Being a lecturer, he is also a passionate fashion blogger who keeps individuals updated on new trends. In this write-up, he writes how men can style a denim jacket