Commentary - Jeans, the new Trousers

A friend of mine came to me recently and said he was going on a first date with a girl he really liked, she was very stylish and he felt a bit intimidated. He asked if I thought it would be okay if he wore jeans although he was planning to take her to a nice restaurant. I said as long as the jeans were appropriate (not covered in holes or acid washed) he could pull it off. (Note: some fine dining restaurants and country clubs have policies against wearing jeans)

Jeans are extremely versatile; they can be worn very casually or very dressed up. Pair them with a solid T-Shirt and a sport coat or jacket and you will have an outfit that can be worn most anywhere, you can go out to a decent restaurant in this outfit, then just remove the jacket later for a bit of dancing or a drink at your favorite bar.

Dress this same outfit up a bit by combining (or replacing) the T-Shirt with a dress shirt or button up collared casual shirt and you have another hip and fun outfit with a lot of versatility. Wear the shirt un-tucked, and if you are wearing it over the T, wear it unbuttoned or partially unbuttoned.

Don’t be afraid to borrow your ideas. Check out your favorite rock star, TV, or movie star; get ideas from them (but be sure to choose carefully, even some stars have no idea what they are doing.) Getting hints from stars or even people you know may be a great idea, but be sure to be an individual, add something to your outfit to personalize it. For example if you are into motorcycles make the T-Shirt in your outfit a vintage Norton or Ducatti Shirt. Try to stay away from pictures on your T-Shirt, logos are usually much cooler.

My friend ended wearing a velvet blazer (very cool), which he wore with a very hip striped shirt, and a cool pair of low rise jeans. His date thought he looked amazing, and she showed him how she felt when she got him home later that night!