How to look smart, not scruffy in jeans
Nicole Kidman paired an oversized dress shirt with heeled boots and jeans for an elongated silhouette - Stephane Cardinale/Corbis
“I wish I had invented blue jeans,” Yves Saint Laurent, the great designer of so many other things, declared back in 1984.
“They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity: all I hope for in my clothes.”
Saint Laurent’s thoughts on the blues have stood the test of time. Jeans, 40 years on, are still so often the linchpin in a sexy, sharp, sophisticated outfit.
It is a little ironic that we do try so hard to dress them up, when you remember that denim was originally invented as an unflinchingly tough yet undoubtedly unfashionable workwear fabric.
Jeans are inherently (and these days deliberately) scruffy – ripped and faded, worn with any old shirt and battered boots.
The world’s most popular trouser style has over time proven its worth, though, in all manner of stylish settings. We see denim on red carpets and in fashion shows, in boardrooms and in palaces.
If you want to look chic and not shabby in your denim this autumn season, there are a few new polishing hacks to consider (beyond pairing yours with a timeless Le Smoking jacket, of course, which still serves as the ultimate elevator). From tailored turn-ups to chocolate washes, try on these new classics and combinations for size.
The dress shirt
When Nicole Kidman attended the latest Chanel catwalk show in Paris, she wore jeans and played to their proportions. On paper, this light-washed, wide-leg style could read as casual – imagine that same pair with a slumpy grey sweatshirt and trainers. But with a crisp, oversized dress shirt and heeled boots, Kidman’s silhouette is elongated and the full drape of these jeans is seen, rather than squashed.
A bib shirt like this offers a “low effort, high reward” solution, according to With Nothing Underneath founder and chief executive Pip Durell. “The nature of the double material front means it’s sharp and stays crisp for much longer than a usual cotton shirt.
“What I love about Nicole’s look is that she has [worn hers] untucked, but teaming the oversized proportions with the elegant exposed wrist keeps the outfit from swamping her.”
The chocolate tone
Looking to add an alternative denim wash into your winter repertoire? “Coloured” denim can often look haphazard, but a bitter chocolate wash will look suitably rich when worn with black or grey knitwear.
Jonathan Saunders, the former London Fashion Week-showing designer who is the new chief creative officer at & Other Stories, has always championed off-kilter colour combinations. He proposes brown jeans with sky blue cardigans or yellowish snake print accessories – and it works.
The glossy belt
Sienna Miller walked the red carpet in jeans recently. No need for a glittery dress or a power suit – she proved that her “Dream Jeans” from Madewell could be dressed up enough for the occasion (the premiere of the film, Swiped).
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was the inspiration for that specific brand’s slim bootcut shape (Google any now-vintage image of CBK in denim to create your own “chic-in-jeans” reference board) but the concept can be shopped for on the high street too.
It’s the extra-saturated black wash that looks particularly smart here, especially when paired with a suede or patent black leather belt. Treat a belt as an extra piece of jewellery throughout party season – the more silverware there is on show, the more “dressed up” the trousers will look.
Sienna Miller at the Swiped premiere at the Curzon Mayfair - Kate Green
The Nineties leather jacket
The “supermodel off-duty” look has long been centred around jeans.
The 1990s runway icon Amber Valletta proved it once more during Paris Fashion Week, elevating her straight-cut mid-wash jeans with a black leather jacket and flat ballet pumps.
It’s a fresh, yet nostalgia-tinged combination that is easy to throw together with just a white T-shirt. The blazer collar would carry the look in meetings, too.
Amber Valletta in a black leather jacket and denim jeans during the Milan Fashion Week - Christian Vierig/Getty
The tailored turn ups
Note the crisp – not bunched or rolled – hems on Ayo Edebiri’s new Chanel jeans. The actress treats her denim as if it’s fine tailoring and styles it with a neatly buttoned-up jacket and almond-toe flats.
The turn-up has never looked so pressed and perfect – this is the antithesis of scruffy and wrongly-sized denim.
H&M has a fantastic pair paying tribute to this look, complete with a clapper-set trouser front crease, for under £30.
Ayo Edebiri at the Chanel spring/ summer 2026 show - Stephane Cardinale/Corbis
A shot of red
Red and blue will always pair well together. At the latest Celine catwalk show, designer Michael Rider employed this colour combination to great effect, adding a pop of brightness and interest to outfits with barrel and skinny jean shapes.
Cherry red bags and shoes look glossy, while the rose-tinted sunglasses trend is also fun. But even without these accessories and add-ons, the image serves as a reminder that a slick of red lipstick will do the same trick.
Jeans at the Celine spring/summer 2026 catwalk show - Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
The perfect ending
Finding the right shoe and hemline combination is usually the key to making a jeans-based outfit look intentional and current, rather than thrown together.
Toteme’s Low Straight and Classic Cut styles are designed to hit the perfect point across the bridge of the foot, styled with supple slippers.
Luisa Dames, the founder and creative director of the Berlin-based footwear label Aeyde, says that a “super-pointed pump” with a directional high-cut upper looks effortlessly stylish with jeans.
“Sculptural and refined shoes make it easy to elevate a casual look,” she explains. “I usually pair our Clara pump with wide-leg jeans and a simple snug blazer for a perfectly balanced outfit.”
How to style the look
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