How to Wear: Denim and Chambray Shirts

Ah, the denim shirt, a should-be staple in any man’s closet. These shirts are just as versatile as their jean cousins so you would be remiss to not have at least one in your closet. They can be a bit intimidating to wear at first, so we’ve broken it down in this guide to help you start adding your denim or chambray shirt on heavy rotation.

Please note, we’ll use the terms denim and chambray somewhat interchangeably in this guide. We should point out they are NOT the same thing. Denim has a twill construction (notice the diagonal lines on your favorite pair of jeans) while a chambray is a plain weave. However, for the most part, we think chambray and denim shirts can be styled similarly so we’ve combined them in this guide for simplicity.

Pants

You have quite a few options for pants when it comes to wearing denim or chambray shirts. Basically, anything in your closet is fair game, even your jeans!

Cotton Chinos

If you opt for cotton chinos, know that this will be a slightly dressier option (depending on what you decide on for shoes of course). Cotton chinos are a great choice because you’re combining a shirt that has texture with a pant that is relatively “flat” in appearance. This type of combination is always good! Chinos in all colors look good from a medium khaki to an olive or even a burgundy. You have a ton of great choices.

Jeans

Believe it or not, you can wear other denim with your denim or chambray shirt! Yes, people might reference your “Canadian Tuxedo” but so long as you mix-up the contract with the top and bottom, you’ll be just fine. That means a darker jean on the bottom with a lighter shade up top (the inverse can be hard to pull-off). Black or gray jeans with an indigo denim shirt is also a really great option.

Technical Pants

The final pant combination we suggest is mixing your textured denim or chambray shirt with a more technical pant (i.e. not made solely of cotton). We think this is a great look for the same reason mentioned above. These technical pants (of which there are a ton on the market) usually have a pretty flat finish on them which is great to give a high-low contract with the shirt.

Layering

Layering is a great way extend the outfitting options of your denim or chambray shirts. Choosing to layer is going to be dependent on the weather and the occasion you are dressing up for. But, like we always say, layering, even with a lightweight sweater or jacket, sets you apart in the world of men’s fashion and lets everyone else know that you know what you are doing.

A popular layering option with a denim or chambray shirt is a lightweight cardigan, crew neck, or vee-neck sweater. You can think of the shirt as a neutral color, so you have quite a few color options to choose from for your sweater. Tans, browns, dark olives, burgundy, blues, even navy are all great choices. If it’s a bit cooler out, you can choose a shawl collar cardigan which tend to be a bit heavier.

You can also layer your denim or chambray shirt with lightweight jacket. A bomber silhouette is a great choice as are chore jackets or even field jackets.

You can even choose to wear your denim or chambray shirt unbuttoned over a t-shirt for an added look. A white, grab, or black t-shirt would work great.

Finally, you can wear your denim or chambray shirt underneath a blazer. If you go this route, obviously you’ve decided to dress-up a bit which is great! We don’t recommend wearing a worsted wool blazer though, you’ll want something a bit more casual made of cotton probably or something that at least has a bit of texture (remember texture = more casual). Same color options as above apply here – tons to choose from!  

Shoes

Shoes are one of the main determinants in how dressy you want your outfit to be. Of course, there are other cues such as if you decide to tuck in your shirt or not (both good options), but we think shoes have the greatest impact.

The good thing is that you have a lot of great choices when wearing a denim or chambray shirt. Depending on what the rest of your outfit looks like, you can choose anything from a clean leather sneaker to a Chelsea boot to a pair of derbies.

Hopefully this brief guide has helped you figure out how to bring your denim shirt off of its hanger and into your weekly outfit rotation!

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