Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! In today's video, we will discuss four
great ways to wear a denim shirt. You might be very surprised to hear us
singing the praises of denim shirts today but they've come a long way since
they entered the mainstream back in the 1980s. Like most men's clothing, denim
shirts started out as workwear. The heavy rugged material of denim shirts
made it really great for miners, laborers, and cowboys. The very first denim shirts
were created to last, not just to impress. Like the trench coat which has evolved
from combat military attire, the denim shirt has also evolved and entered the
mainstream as more of a fashion garment. Now in the 1970s, denim head-to-toe was a
trend, think denim leisure suits which is pretty horrible. In the 1980s, we started
to see most men wear denim shirts, not just the trendiest men, as our world has
become ever more casual, we've also seen the evolution of denim shirts. They've
now become much more casual and much more accepted and the mainstream fabrics
are much softer and much thinner than they used to be.
Overall, denim shirts are a great addition to any man's wardrobe, even the
guy who likes to wear jackets over t-shirts, denim shirts help tone down the
formality of overall outfits and add a great deal of texture that you wouldn't
normally find with other dress shirts. Denim shirts are softly structured, easy
to care for and are much more wearable than their original counterparts. Fabric
finishing has come quite a long way over the years. Now, denim shirts are much less
likely to wrinkle, therefore, they don't really need to be ironed. Now, there are
quite a few different denim shirt options out there on the market today.
Now, for the most versatility, we suggest getting something more classic, unadorned
with a lot of extra embellishments. This kind of shirt can be easily dressed up
with a sport coat or dressed down with a pair of chinos and it also won't go out
of style in three years. First will be the mid to light blue denim color. Now
this is a uniform color across the shirt without much whiskering or acid
washing. If the shirt were too dark, it would be too difficult to discern and if
it were too light, the shirt would start to look dated. Make sure that you have
simple buttons on your denim shirt, having snaps indicates it looks more
Western. A simple barrel cuff is all you need at the edge of your sleeve, nothing
too fancy and keeping a medium spread collar or a button-down is best. Make
sure you avoid buying denim shirts with a wide stiff collar, the denim shirt
doesn't suit this kind of formality. If you'd like to find out more
information about this kind of terminology, you can
find that by watching our video about shirt collars here. Also, make sure you're
skipping the contrast stitching and pockets on the shirt, these are all
casual details which will take away from the formality of what you could use when
wearing a denim shirt. Also, consider buying two denim shirts, one that you can
wear more casually untucked and one that you can wear tucked in perhaps with a
sweater. Please keep in mind that having an untucked shirt is more of a
contemporary and modern approach to style. If you would like something more
classic, something tucked in would give you that option. Now that we've gone over
some of the basics and some of the history about denim shirts, let's go over
four different ways in which you can wear a denim shirt. Now in general, when
wearing denim, you want to make sure that you're contrasting with at least one
other item in your outfit. Remember, the mid blue shade of a denim shirt will
give you the most versatility compared to it's darker or lighter counterparts.
Also, you probably take note that we're not recommending that you wear multiple
denim on top of denim. One per outfit is all you need. When you wear your denim
shirt, make sure you don't try to wear it with a full suit. Keeping things within
that smart casual level is probably as formal as you're going to want to go. On
the cooler months, you are able to wear your denim shirt with a sport coat
similar to how I'm wearing today, perhaps even a tweed sport coat. The soft blue
color of the denim shirt will pair beautifully with the muted tones in
your tweed sport coat. The denim will help modernize the overall look of the
tweed as it adds a much more youthful edge. Then also try to pair your tweed
jacket with a pair of cords or chinos and then even add a pair of chukka boots.
Once it starts to get warmer outside and you want to make sure you're also
wearing a more elevated outfit, try wearing a linen sport coat on top of
your denim shirt. From there, you can also add a pair of chinos and then a pair of
loafers. Then to finish everything off, a woven belt and a great knit tie. You
could also try wearing your denim shirt under a sweater. Now, at the Gentleman's
Gazette, we always like recommending wearing a shirt under a sweater and a
denim shirt is a great opportunity to try this. Now, making sure that you have
enough contrast between the denim shirt and the sweater choice, you could always
try wearing a cardigan, a sweater vest, or even a v-neck sweater. On denim shirts,
when cut appropriately, also look great on their own with a pair of great chinos. So
you've got a couple of great ideas on how to wear a denim shirt, now, let's
cover some things we hope you don't do. For one, we really recommend that you do
not wear your denim shirt left completely open, untucked, with just a
t-shirt underneath. Personally, I have seen many times, people
make the mistake of wearing a Canadian tuxedo or a head-to-toe denim outfit.
Usually, I often see this with people wearing denim on the bottom and then a
denim jacket on top. Now, if you happen to be in a Western inspired situation, this
might be okay but for us non gunslingers, we recommend you don't do this. Also, some
people make the mistake of wearing out of season denim shirt jacket styles at
the wrong time. For example, if you have any kind of flannel lining on the inside of
your denim shirt jacket, wearing it outside of fall winter is probably not
a great idea. Then we also have the people who like to add a lot of
personality to their denim shirts as well. You'll see them sometimes stitch
their favorite bands or their favorite punk music stars onto their denim shirts,
they have a lot of pop-culture references, this is not something that's gonna stand
the test of time so you probably don't want to do this to your shirts. Now, if
you happen to be a rising star in that rock music world,
go ahead. This probably looks great on you but if you're not looking for that
and you would like more of a classic aesthetic, we do advise that you refrain
from having a lot of these embellishments added on to your shirt.
Now, you also want to make sure that you're not wearing an incorrectly
fitting denim shirt. Now, I've personally made this mistake before, wearing a shirt
that was too short and too tight, very uncomfortable. Now, this looks terrible
because it exaggerates your torso making you look almost alien in length,
it also exaggerates certain areas like your stomach and causes a lot of pull
lines in the shirt. Needless to say, I looked like a cartoon character. Now that
you know how to stay away from certain incorrect fitting elements, how do you
find the best fitting denim shirt? First thing is to make sure that your
shoulders fit appropriately. From there, you want to make sure that the overall
body length of the denim shirt is covering at least the majority of your
back pockets and the front zipper area of your trousers. Now, if your shirt is
significantly longer than this, you start to look dwarfed and like you have very
short legs and if it's too short, you start to have a very exaggerated torso.
Also, if your shirt is too short, it starts to look a bit too feminine and
every time you breathe, you might start to have certain elements of your stomach
exposed. Now, at the very least, you want to make sure that you have at least a
tapered fit to the chest area. Now remember, denim typically is a
thicker material so to avoid excessive tension, make sure that you purchase your
shirts with a little bit more room for movement. Now, this will especially ring
true if you happen to be someone who has broad shoulder or has a lot of muscle mass
and a smaller waist. You're gonna want that extra room so you don't feel too
tight under the arm, across your back, and through the chest. I've also made the
mistake with denim shirts when I once purchased a fast-fashion shirt that was
quite thick and did not breathe too well. Now, I chose to wear this shirt on a
bright summer day as I was walking to a particular destination. I don't know why
I thought this was a good idea but I ended up at my destination extremely hot
and extremely sweaty. I've since learned the importance of paying attention to
the season in which I wear certain fabrics and I also do my best to
purchase high quality fabrics when I can but just to recap, remember, there are a
number of different ways in which you can incorporate a denim shirt into your
wardrobe. It's important to stay away from extremely dark and extremely light
colored denim shirts. Also, make sure you don't try to wear denim shirts that are
too heavily embellished or have a lot of Western details to them. Consider having
multiple denim shirts at least two. One for you to wear untucked and
one for you to wear when you want something more classic and have it
tucked in. Try layering your denim shirt with a tweed sport coat or perhaps even
under a v-neck sweater. Please remember the cleaner the design of your shirt, the
more timeless it will look. today I'm wearing a denim shirt that has a medium
spread collar and some really unique contrasting buttons I also have a
burgundy sport coat with some gray flecks woven in as well from Hugo Boss
that I'm pairing on top of the denim shirt and then I'm adding a nice splash
of color from this really unique pocket square from Fort Belvedere the color I'm
wearing happens to actually be a prototype the actual one that's being
sold right now on the Fort Belvedere website is more of an ivory tone then
I'm also finishing off the outfit with a nice dark brown pair of dress shoes and
a cream pair of chinos I chose to wear this more medium to light color denim
shirt because it pairs wonderfully against both the trousers I'm wearing
and against the darkness of the sport coat as well
now all the elements that I'm wearing happened to also fall under the smart
casual umbrella so everything harmonizes quite well
together