A Full Accounting of the Denim On Denim Trend
Monotone and Mono-texture looks are very a whole lot in style proper now. Whether it’s a matching joggers and hoodie set or one among Kim Kardashian’s latex Balenciaga clothing, the fashion is inescapable. Monotone can be a fleeting trend right now but there may be one variation of the look that has stuck around for the past half of-century: the Canadian Tuxedo.
Tom Ford carrying a Canadian Tuxedo with a black blazer and chelsea boots
The denim-on-denim pairing emblematic of the exceptional white north has remained undying because denim itself is timeless. The diverse sunglasses of blue reduce with white undertones that make up denim’s specific weave not simplest provide the fabric’s durability and elasticity but its aesthetic charm as properly. Denim just is going with the whole thing and that, my friends, is how it went from a utilitarian garment to one of the most prevalent fabrics inside the history of fashion.
So it stands to cause that doubling down on a cloth that goes with the whole thing will create an outfit that is going with everything, proper? The solution is yes, however simplest whilst finished properly.
A Canadian Tuxedo may be a powerful weapon in your sartorial arsenal because it may be the remaining no-brainer, cross-to appearance while wielded well. Just keep in mind that the time period Canadian Tuxedo is generally used as an insult for an unappealing denim-on-denim outfit and that the appearance can without problems go incorrect.
History is complete of very bad Canadian Tuxedos – the time period immediately conjures pictures of Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake from the 2001 American Music Awards – however it is also complete of notable denim-on-denim seems worn to perfection via a number of the maximum elegant men to ever walk the Earth.
This breakdown will help you differentiate the two and, in case you’re now not already a fan, optimistically promote you on the deserves of double denim as an handy, all reason outfit.
What is a Canadian Tuxedo?
The irony of the term Canadian Tuxedo is that blue denims, denim jackets, and denim shirts are all American innovations. The pairing of those clothes became popular in American workwear and western put on all through the early 20th century earlier than spreading into American famous style within the returned half of the 20 th century.
So how did our associates to the north get credit score? According to a 2017 article in Vogue,
“Lore has it that the very time period Canadian tuxedo comes from a Bing Crosby episode at a Canadian lodge in 1951. Crosby and a chum have been reportedly denied access to the lodge because they have been sporting jeans, which stimulated Levi’s to design a denim tuxedo for Crosby so that he may want to have a formal denim option. He wore the Levi’s suit several times within the ’50s, birthing the term—and the trend—inside the process.”
While the time period may additionally have began with an actual denim tuxedo and a publicity stunt, it colloquially refers to any aggregate of jeans with a denim shirt or jacket. The top is mostly a denim trucker jacket, a pearl snap western shirt, or a double pocket work shirt. A slightly extra improved appearance is completed with a chambray oxford shirt.
Denim dress shirt
There is not any rule approximately matching the color and texture of the denim. For a complete monotone look, you ought to match your pants and pinnacle as pleasant you can. Though you could move for a contrast which would provide a extra conventional look. Any pairing of denim top and bottom is classified as a Canadian Tuxedo.
When Was the Canadian Tuxedo Popular?
Head to toe denim started out as a utilitarian outfit for employees in American enterprise and on farms and ranches. The crossover into famous fashion commenced within the 1950s. Around the equal time that kids who grew up inside the shadow of WWII had been rebelling in opposition to the system with leather-based jackets and rock’n’roll, they began carrying bluejeans and denim jackets as style.
The pearl snap western shirt and denim workshirt, paired with jeans, became a stylish appearance among mid-century u . S . Tune singers as it become the uniform of the American operating elegance that they sought to represent. Early rock stars took the appearance from them and helped popularize it to the relaxation of the world.
This transition is exemplified by means of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash beginning to get dressed the same within the early 1960s after the two became pals. By the last decade’s end, we noticed George Harrison carrying a Canadian Tuxedo on the duvet of Abbey Road.
George Harrison in a Canadian Tuxedo on the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road
It became inside the Nineteen Seventies although, that complete-denim appearance took root within the Fashion Industry thanks commonly to Ralph Lauren. The Godfather of American Fashion commenced his empire with the aid of making ties but his signature appearance within the seventies have become a denim western blouse with denims and a herringbone tweed blazer, regularly with cowboy boots. He cross pollinated the American Southwestern lifestyle he cherished so much with preppy Americana he grew up with in Long Island. The two have remained intertwined in famous fashion ever considering that.
The Nineteen Eighties saw denim explode into a big array of shapes and sunglasses, lots of that are nice left inside the Nineteen Eighties. Acid washed jeans and matching jackets have become the definitive denim fashion of the last decade, often paired collectively. One of the most iconic movie characters of the decade, Marty McFly of Back to the Future, rocked an acid washed Canadian Tuxedo with an orange puffer vest.
Marty McFly with an orange puffer vest over an acid washed Canadian Tuxedo
The form of denim clothes persisted to exchange inside the 1990s, ballooning in length at the side of suiting and maximum other styles. The rise of streetwear though hip-hop way of life integrated outsized Canadian Tuxedos.
Two fundamental cultural revolutions of the 2000s brought the appearance of denim returned to its past due Sixties and early Seventies roots. The rock’n’roll renaissance, spearheaded via The Strokes in 2001, no longer only known as lower back the sounds of conventional rock however its models as properly. Frontman Julian Casablancas wore beat up antique jeans and denim jackets each on level and in exposure shoots even as the entire band leaned closely on denim in their wardrobes.
Several years later, a comparable renaissance happened in menswear whilst the complete aesthetic was torn down and changed through impacts from the overdue Sixties and early Nineteen Seventies. Denim workwear tops paired with jeans have become a signature appearance of the time.
The Canadian Tuxedo Today
Popularity waned a bit inside the following decade however the Canadian Tuxedo has come back robust inside the past couple years way to some brilliant celebrity endorsements. Aaron Rodgers, arguably the finest quarterback of his era, made several public appearances in head-to-toe denim in the course of the 2018 and 2019 NFL seasons. These may additionally have regarded as satirical clothing to a few football enthusiasts, but the attention to element in those suits famous that Rodgers turned into making a legitimate style announcement.
Aaron Rodgers sporting triple denim plus a bolo tie
Then in January 2022, long term denim fanatic Kanye West made the ultimate Canadian Tuxedo look with then girlfriend Julia Fox at the Paris Fashion Week. Ye and Julia’s matching denim suits have been a bit greater than any mere mortal have to ever try but the legitimizing effect was clear. Love it or hate it, Ye has giant energy over the fashion international and he put the Canadian Tuxedo firmly again at the map.
So, in brief, the Canadian Tuxedo isn’t making a comeback, it has been popular in a single potential or every other for the beyond half century.
9 Tips for Rocking a Canadian Tuxedo
1. Stick to a piece fit. You can find nearly any garment constructed from denim however when you’re going for the Canadian Tuxedo, stick with two gadgets. Jeans and a jacket or jeans and a shirt.
2. Keep it simple. You can find almost any type of garment conceivable made from denim but whilst pairing denim collectively, maintain it easy with 5 pocket denims, denim trucker jackets, and denim workshirts and western shirts. Leave the actual denim tuxedos to millionaire athletes.
3. Chambray counts. Essentially, chambray is a preferred cotton weave dyed to seem like denim. It is lighter weight than denim so it’s miles better for hot weather and layering. Matching chambray shirts with denim may be taken into consideration a Canadian Light.
Four. When matching color and texture, you both want your top and backside to be almost the same or a clear evaluation. If the two are near however not matching then keep away from pairing them.
5. Brown leather-based is better than black leather-based. When it involves leather-based add-ons like footwear, jackets and belts, persist with brown. Black is much less complimentary to maximum sun shades of denim. The ambitious exception is a black leather-based motorbike jacket.
A gun club take a look at blazer worn with a denim dress blouse and blue denims
6. Class it up with a blazer. Tweed seems terrific with denim so a tweed blazer will add some elegance on your Canadian Tuxedo. Navy or charcoal pinstripes paintings properly too. And ditto for a gun membership check jacket.
7. Accessorize at will. Head to toe denim gives a extraordinary clean canvas on which to location your favorite accessories like bandanas, scarves, rings, and watches.
8. The shoes are vital. A full denim suit must usually be complemented with a awesome pair of footwear. They may be all white leather sneakers or paisley velvet slippers but they need to be something you need people to notice, they could’t be boring. As noted above, eyes can be drawn in your feet.
Famous Canadian Tuxedo Wearers
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren in his signature denim on denim look
Robert Redford
Robert Redford wearing a Canadian Tuxedo on a motorcycle
Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen in a denim western shirt paired with jeans
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash wears a changed Canadian Tuxedo providing a mild denim blouse and black jeans
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye in a denim shirt with pearl buttons and blue denims
Dwight Yoakam
Country famous person Dwight Yoakam in a Canadian Tuxedo
Bruce Springsteen
Rock and Roll legend Bruce Springsteen in an all denim appearance
Ryan Gosling
Canadian Ryan Gosling in a Canadian Tuxedo
Kanye West
Kanye West and Julia Fox in matching Canadian Tuxedos
Bottom Line: Should You Wear it?
The Canadian Tuxedo isn’t always for everybody however the appearance has turn out to be so fundamental and undying that pretty much each person can pull it off. If you’re comfy in jeans then it isn’t a jump to pair your denims with a denim jacket. It is a look that you can ease into, get cozy with, then test with.
Once you get acquainted with seeing yourself in denim on the lowest and the pinnacle then you could discover a much wider range of denim garment pairings. Alternatively, you can settle into a combination you like and make it a signature outfit to your repertoire.
Levi’s and Wrangler are the oldest and satisfactory regarded names in denim and they’re the first-rate area to start whilst first approaching denim pairings. Their jeans, jackets, and shirts are low cost and without problems available. Both brands make excellent pearl button western shirts, that is a super vicinity to start your Canadian Tuxedo adventure.
From there, the denim rabbit hollow goes as deep as you want to tour. Check out American startups like RGT, Freenote, and Gustin, and Japanese aficionados like Chimala, Sugar Cane, and Real McCoy.
If denim pairing is something you’ve toyed with before then stay with it. Don’t think of Canadian Tuxedo as a pejorative time period. It has been around for a long way too lengthy and seemed excellent on a long way too many humans to be brushed off through any haters. You don’t need to be a blue collar worker or a farm hand for the appearance to make experience. Ralph Lauren has spent his entire career ensuring it’ll constantly be fashionable and in fashion.
If you do determine to take on the Canadian Tuxedo and very own it with self assurance, it will become a dependable fallback that you will continually have waiting in your closet. Going for a informal night time out or walking a few weekend errands and you don’t want to think about what to put on? Throw on a denim blouse and denims over your favorite vintage tee with a few low pinnacle shoes and you’re set.