It used to be a big fashion sin: double denim – a full-on denim outfit with matching top and bottoms. Like it or not, this wardrobe classic seems to have become more popular than ever, as it keeps popping up on the catwalks again and again.
Last time was in Copenhagen where several models rocked double denim ensembles on the fashion week-runway, drawing inspiration from movies and icons who wore double denim completely void of irony. And that is how it’s done best: think Robert Redford in “The Electric Horseman”, Marilyn Monroe in “The Misfits” and Brad Pitt’s Redford-inspired look in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”.
Denim has come a long way from its origins as work wear and farmers’ dungarees and has been worn by miners, cowboys, counterculture rebels, American civil rights activists, rock stars, and movie stars. If worn right it’s ageless, timeless, genderless, and a social equalizer. It’s when denim becomes double denim – matching top and bottoms – it becomes tricky. The nickname “the Texas Tuxedo” conjures up photos of dated ensembles that are too matchy-matchy. It’s a style statement for sure, but hardly a positive one.
Double denim from Won Hundred and Munthe at Copenhagen Fashion Week. Photos: James Cochrane
During the seventies and eighties, cheesy double denim styling ran rampant on any cop show or rock stage. But the award for the tackiest double denim moment in popular culture is fairly new: it is hands down the matching eyesores worn by Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake to the American Music Awards in 2001. Britney herself reflects on this outlandish wardrobe choice in her memoir “The Woman in Me” calling her strapless floor-length patchwork denim dress with matching bag “attention-grabbing but tacky”.
If you still could imagine wearing denim after that there has been no shortage of tips on how to pull the look off successfully. And it’s easy: choose tops and bottoms with different washes and opt for classic pieces rather than more curious garments like the ones worn by Spears and Timberlake.
I am tempted to also advise to hold off the Stetson hat and boots, but no rule without exception. While sleeveless denim jackets and tucked-in shirts and giant belt buckles is just slap-in-your-face-with-a-giant-brick wrong, Ralph Lauren has somehow managed to make this look his trademark. Not only does he look fit, but the look also resonates so well with his fetishism of Americana culture.
As for the sleeveless denim jacket the image of a platinum blonde Ryan Gosling as Ken in “Barbie” springs to mind – I dare anyone to come forward and say he looked less than smokin’. And vintage photos of Debbie Harry or Madonna wearing faded double denim teamed with messy blond hair and rhinestones is pure street glam. These stars prove that the hallmark of a fashion icon is the ability to rock a really bad outfit.
Commentary: Sissel Hoffengh
