How To Smarten Up Distressed Denim

Smartening up distressed denim may sound like a contradiction but personally I love to wear it as part of a smarter overall outfit.

My office went casual full time this week (we had casual Fridays before but weren’t supposed to wear blue denim on the other days) and I am fully embracing it so far. I’ll be back in dresses before you know it though, once the novelty wears off.

When it comes to distressed denim I prefer mine to be ‘rip and repair’ so that there aren’t any actual holes in my jeans. This pair from Long Tall Sally started out with ‘slight distressing’ on the knees but on the first wear the left knee ripped right across and has only got worse over time. That’s all very well in the summer but at this time of year my knees get cold! So I patched up the insides of the legs with some denim pieces cut from an old pair of jeans that I no longer wear. (I just used Wonder Web to iron on the patches – no sewing needed!)

As to how to smarten up distressed denim, I find adding a fitted jacket and heels to be a good place to start. The stripes work well for daytime but a more glamorous top could be substituted to make the outfit work for a night out.

Jacket – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Polo neck – Long Tall Sally
Stripe top – H&M
Jeans – Long Tall Sally (sale)
Shoes – Magrit (local outlet mall)
Necklace – New Look (sale)