I have shared several times on social media that I love jeans. This probably isn’t a life-shattering confession as I know that a lot of people feel that way, but my day to day style is pretty classic and feminine. I am known for wearing dresses. A few months ago a co-worker told me he was tired of seeing me in dresses.  “I’d like to see you in pants. You always wear dresses,” he said with an exasperated sigh. And while that might be true at work,  I’m telling you I live for a jeans day.

Now my grandmother was a very well-dressed woman. So much so that you know that go to line people always say about how no one will stand up at your funeral and talk about your clothes and shoes? Well, plenty of people did just that. One guy shared that as kids he and his friends would ride their bikes to the park across the street from my grandmother’s house and when she stepped out of the car they would all look up to see what she was wearing that day. “She always wore the prettiest dress suits and the fanciest hats. Mrs. Riddick was the best-dressed woman we knew,” he said. Now to be fair, that wasn’t her only claim to fame. She was also a voting rights activist, an active member of her church, a wonderful mother, wife, and friend and she had the social graces of Jackie O. But I never saw her wear a pair of blue jeans in my entire life.

She passed away a year and a half ago, but she definitely grew up in a time where there was no such thing as Casual Jean Fridays at work. Now that’s very much a thing. A lot of us really enjoy this little perk and I see so many people doing it well. But, I often hear from people who are struggling with how to wear them well in the work environment.  If you’re looking to take your jeans a step further and still look chic on jeans day here are a few things to do:

Wear them with a statement t-shirt underneath a classic blazer- cute tee shirts are still fun to wear with jeans even in the professional environment but make sure the tee fits-no oversized boyfriend tees. Throwing a blazer on over top of it gives you the chic model off duty look that still works for work.

Go dressier on top-treat your denim like you would a pair of black slacks. If you aren’t used to wearing jeans in a dressy way start with a classic white shirt or your favorite silk blouse.

Let your shoes shine-I’ve seen people do jeans day with tennis shoes but if you want to look chic in jeans and not like you’re running errands swap out the tennis shoe for a cute pair of flats. If you really want to dress them up, throw on a pair of heels. I like to wear heels with my boot cut jeans but I’ve thrown them on with skinnies too. Just be sure to balance your heels with a blazer or flowy top for work. Boots, booties, and loafers work too.

Amp up the accessories– I think a great way to dress up your jeans is with a statement pair of earrings or a statement necklace. The key to throwing on a pair of jeans and still looking chic is NOT looking like you threw on a pair of jeans but that you were thoughtful in putting together your jeans day look.

Now here are the three pair of jeans that I usually wear on jeans day. Of course, nothing too tight or distressed should be worn unless your work environment is creative and uber casual.

My favorite type of jeans for work is a dark washed blue jean like these from Joes Jeans.

I also love these comfortable ankle skinnies from Chicos. They are in constant closet rotation for me. They are a fun wash and they feel as comfortable as leggings but look much more chic.

Hudson has been my go-to brand of jeans for years and they make a great boyfriend jean that paired with a fitted blazer would still look work chic.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on making your jeans work for work!

 

Until next post,

 

xo, Tonya Parker