Denim jeans and the middle-aged and older man

Sooner or later the middle-aged man in search of style will have to establish his position in the blue denim jeans and the older man debate.  Or so we are led to believe.  I don't think there needs to be any debate.  We can do what we like, frankly, and should ignore those who say otherwise. Most men of a certain age were wearing jeans decades ago; why should there come a time when we should stop wearing them?

Mind you, care needs to be taken, as this picture shows.  However, if there are any sartorial errors being made in this picture by Jeremy Clarkson and his colleagues I would argue that they are nothing to do with a decision to wear jeans per se.  It is more a question of how they are worn.

From the BBC

So, how should jeans be worn as we journey towards middle age and beyond?  Well, I'm going to duck that one as I intend to avoid being dictatorial on this blog.  I leave that to fashion and style experts.  I am willing to stick my neck out and say how I would wear jeans, but I do so simply to throw out ideas, not tell others how to do it.

Firstly, my jeans should fit properly, not be too baggy, long, short or tight.  Secondly, I don't wear jeans with white trainers, tennis shoes, Converse shoes etc - my personal view is that it doesn't work with an older man.  Brogues are, for me de rigeur, with jeans.  Thirdly, I wouldn't wear over-distressed jeans with holes and patches unless I have worn them out myself.  I hate artificially-induced age in objects like clothes, furniture and pictures - it's just fake, and that's bad.  I favour turn-ups on jeans - they look good with brogues.

Here are a few pictures that I rely on in evidence.  Please study them and see whether you take a similar view to me or not, then wear jeans as you want, not as others say you should.  I'm not going to say what my view is of each photo.

From The Sartorialist

From The Sartorialist

From The Sartorialist

Sorry, I don't know whom to credit for this photo

From The Sartorialist

Finally, I have been discussing blue denim jeans here, not other colours.  This picture illustrates how wearing jeans in colours other than faded blue is going to be fairly uncontentious at any age (in my view) -

From The Sartorialist