10 ways to style a denim jacket

by Smind on 17 Jun. 2024

I still remember my first denim jacket. A classic, mid blue, which I often wore with a pink and white striped tee, and pink shorts. Even as a kid, I was partial to this wardrobe “classic”, the transitional weight jacket that has this uncanny ability to chill out even the most dressed up outfits. Tulle and taffeta? Dial it down with denim. Casual to its core.

So off the back of a new series on Instagram, where I take a single item and style it 10 ways, I thought I’d immortalise those outfits here, while expanding a little on the styling concepts I leaned on. Basically, the idea is to become besties with the items we already own (if you aren’t already). Because it’s half the equation to finding wardrobe nirvana.

There’s a few details I personally tend to seek out in a denim jacket. As someone with a longer torso, I tend to prefer a style that hits me just below the hip. The denim must be reasonably soft (though a rigid denim does work, the style needs to be quite oversized to compensate). And I want a medium blue; nothing too aged or faded out. No distressing. Any button style will do. A curved hemline is preferred as it creates a softer silhouette, but straight across is fine too as long as it meets my other criteria. The one featured here is Ceres Life (sold out but love this one they do).

My wardrobe is mostly neutrals, so with the exception of the blue monochromatic look, I decided to lean in on that, as I wanted to highlight the jacket as the focal piece. The blue wash acts as something of a neutral – the great thing about this wardrobe hero – and it actually looks fantastic when paired with a vibrant red, or soft pastels. You could easily repurpose these proportions using a more vibrant colour mix or swap out the blue denim jacket for one in white or black denim (if that’s what you have in your wardrobe).

Looking back on the outfits I pulled together, I can see that I favoured a higher neckline. And reflecting on this, you can see that the crew-neckline tops allowed the jacket to be the focus.

Probably my favourite look, has to be the first double denim outfit. Or, pairing it with the white denim, which allows the blue to really pop. I think when doing double denim, what you want to do is aim to match with a jean that is as close as possible in colour to the jacket. An exact match isn’t a must, but it does make it feel much more intentional.

You can see here in action, how a denim jacket is a great tool to use to dial down the formality level of dressier pieces in your closet. It makes full skirts or heeled looks feel more “chill”, by adding in that good friction.

Finally, you can really play around with the styling. When doing double denim, break up the colour with a contrasting tee, or button it from the collar to get a monochromatic moment. Wear it like a shirt or a jacket. Throw a knit over the top for another layered piece.

Before we get into the outfits, it’s worth also highlighting that as you remix your wardrobe, you’ll start to see a solid through line. Variations on styles that you find work best for you – something that comes with playing around with what you have in your wardrobe. Not all of these outfits will look wildly different, but instead allow you to see commonalities in items you own (and sometimes even lesser worn pieces!).