Double denim has had its ups and downs. For so long in menswear it was considered an abuse of aesthetic principles akin, to sporting odd socks or wearing your pants outside your trousers. It would be the cause of derision and wearing it would place you firmly in the role of style pariah. But over time, most of us realised that it wasn't the fact that it was double denim that was the problem, it was just how we we're were being presented with double denim that resulted in such condemnation.
Solms Jacket Mullins |
Pleat Trousers Mullins |
The Canadian tuxedo as it was otherwise known consisted of straight-leg denim jeans and a trucker jacket. It's a hard look to pull off even if you are wearing a Stetson and Cuban heels. The denim tended to be of the heavyweight, rugged type, too, which made the concept of a two-piece uniform even harder to stomach for everyone who wasn't a cattle rustler. But actually, we're being hard on the American Midwest version of double denim. Go through the film archives and there are plenty of images of Paul Newman, Elvis, Steve McQueen, Montgomery Clift, Robert Redford and such like all looking pretty decent in double denim - it was the 2000s version of double denim that spoiled it for everyone (Britney and Trousersnake being the arch culprits).
When denim got a makeover with a little help from the Japanese, the paradigm shifted. They applied their idiosyncratic attention to detail to its production and dyeing processes, and voila, Japanese selvedge denim was born, a thing of exotic beauty and workwear charm, only with Savile Row prices. Denim shuffled off its workwear coil and became something altogether more luxurious and coveted. Different indigo washes and chemical rinses were introduced, raw denim became a thing, turn-ups in jeans became standard, and yes, we started to wear top to toe denim once again, stylishly mixing up the tones.
There was always a workwear edge to it, however. Ralph Lauren might sneak a pleated denim dress shirt into his black tie look, but for the most part denim resided in the workwear/streetwear worlds. We decided we wanted to break this mould by creating a denim suit made from the softest indigo-dyed cotton we could find. And so that's what we did.
We took our perennial Solms jacket silhouette, the one that Oli has constructed from day dot, and crafted it in a relaxed denim cloth that drapes beautifully. We paired it with some pleated trousers, cut with a relaxed bias. Together they make for a great casual suit that you can wear as an extension of your casualwear wardrobe, or dress it up with a shirt and tie. Moreover, it's also game for wearing as separates, pairing the jacket with some cream chinos in the summer, or wearing the pleated trousers with a tee and blouson. The options are many.