Book review: Denim Dudes by Amy Leverton pub. Laurence King

The claim that older men shouldn't wear denim is, of course, nonsense. Denim has been around longer than any of us and no generation has exclusive right to it. A new book, Denim Dudes, by Amy Leverton and published by Laurence King this month, confirms this. Rarely have I seen so many stylish older men wearing double denim; the style police will be reaching for their smelling salts. 

The excellent portraits, shot by a team of photographers, show how widely denim appeals to men of all ages and world-wide: the book's coverage ranges from the US, through Europe, to Japan and Australia.

Denim styles too are diverse. Best battered, often vintage, generally blue, usually unpatterned and always found in a wide range garments and shapes. The attraction of the material is obvious, with links to work-wear, rebellion and informality, denim melds youth and age, appealing to a wide range of independent thinkers. This is style, not fashion. As such denim gets my vote and I highly recommend this book.

This book is for all who have ever worn a pair of jeans, or a denim shirt or jacket. The author, Amy Leverton, is a denim expert who is Director of Denim and Youth Culture at the trend-forecasting website, WGSN. See Laurence King for more information.

Distressed jeans and the older man - a change from suits and blazers

Looking back at the blog over the last few weeks, there has been a disproportionate number of images of men in suits, blazers, ties and formal shirts. It's time to explore casual wear for the middle-aged man.

This image is from September 2008 GQ. I guess this man is mid-forties. As such, he's (apparently) breaking every denim rule in the book; an older man not only wearing jeans (oh dear!), but (worse) distressed jeans.

I like the look, particularly with brown brogues. There's no harm in pushing boundaries. He avoids looking like a middle-aged man dressing like a teenager (to be honest, what teenager would dress like this anyway?) My preference would be for naturally-aged jeans. I don't like the dishonesty of artificially-distressed clothing.

To read more on older men and jeans, go here, For discussion of distressed clothes, see here.

Can I buy a pair of British-made denims? Joe Casely-Hayford at John Lewis

After many years' service, my jeans are ragged and threadbare. These scars have been earned, not applied at the factory like so many designer denims. They were nothing special, but I liked them, and they lasted a reasonable time. They will now be worn for chores before ending their life as dusters and rags.

Sic transit gloria denimi

As I've just had a Made and Designed in Britain month I could hardly sneak off and buy new jeans made in China or Turkey. Then I remembered I'd seen Made in England jeans at John Lewis, who are making a good effort to sell British products - I wrote about their Harris tweed jackets a few weeks ago.

Their Joe Casely-Hayford for John Lewis Raw Selvage Jeans, Indigo, have sold out online at the time of writing, but can be found at a few branches. They are strong and tightly-woven, a rich indigo colour, nicely cut (reasonably slim-fitting) and long in the leg, so even daddy-long-legs like me have plenty to turn up. Most importantly, the fly is a zip and the waist isn't going to be somewhere around your knees - so these are jeans for grown-ups. I now have six months of not washing my new jeans while I let the raw denim map itself to my lifestyle (or whatever). See here for more information.

If you miss these, how about some Welsh jeans? Stay tuned; I'll be looking at Hiut Denim shortly.

If you're an older man unsure about wearing jeans, read my thoughts here and then just buy a pair. Jeans were here before any of us and no generation has an exclusive right to wear them - just do so stylishly!

(All photos by Grey Fox)

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