You may think that denim doesn’t belong in the office, but as dress codes relax and designers embrace the original workwear fabric in new ways, the blue stuff has smartened up its act. And from tailored shirtdresses to jeans in the darkest of washes, denim is returning to the workplace in a big way this season.
A denim suit might immediately make you think of the rodeo-ready Canadian tuxedo, worn as jeans with a loose-fitting jacket (Beyoncé, eat your heart out), but there are new variations that are ready to take you all the way to the top. Look to softer pieces for a more polished look — wear Jigsaw’s suit with pointed flats and a traditional stripy shirt or Aligne’s pleated skirt suit with loafers.
• This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue
When wearing a denim dress to the office think less boho, more boss, and go for tailored pieces that sit well below the knee. Pair Whistles’ fitted shirtdress style or Aligne’s wrap-front dress with sleek slingbacks or low-heeled knee-high boots.
How to give jeans a workwear spin? Here the wash and style are crucial. Focus on darker shades and sharply tailored pairs that have a trouser-like quality. Then team with a smart white shirt and some seriously grown-up accessories: gold jewellery, a stylish watch and a ladylike bag. However you wear it, it’s time to put your denim to work.
Advertisement
• Shoes, £460, toteme-studio.com
• T-shirt, £55, geox.com
• Jacket, £160, and trousers, £120, jigsaw-online.com
• Bag, £120, mango.com
• Ring set, £75, pandora.net
• Jacket, £119, and skirt, £99, aligne.co
Seek out softer denim pieces, like this skirt by Aligne, for a workwear look with an understated feel
• Loafers, £275, russellandbromley.co.uk
• Shirt, £29.50, marksandspencer.com
• Trench coat, £155, albaray.co.uk
• Drop-waist dress, £115, cos.com
Spring has sprung and with it the return of the shirtdress — this time, though, it sits well below the knee
• Sunglasses, £55, Le Specs, johnlewis.com
• Hoops, £125, otiumberg.com
• Shoes, £36, zara.com
• Chambray dress, £523, anothertomorrow.co
• Bag, £475, strathberry.com
• Boots, £200, dunelondon.com
• Corset dress, £199, whistles.com
Advertisement
• Morus jeans, £348, Closed, freepeople.com
• Shirt, £135, shopsessei.com
Nothing makes a smart pair of jeans sing quite like a white shirt — just add grown-up jewellery
• Villeret Women Date watch, £17,200, blancpain.com
• Ear cuff, £69, missoma.com
• Sasha Jolene jeans, £290, Paige, reiss.com
• Blazer, £445, aninebing.com
• Harper jeans, £290, agolde.com
• Shoes, £155, cos.com
• Bag, £1,200, toryburch.com
