But that’s not the point of this post. The point is: jeans with a sportcoat, whether white or indigo, is a go-to outfit I wear all the time. I wear it with my shirt open-collar almost exclusively, however. Ties with jeans don’t usually work in my opinion for a couple reasons—first, of course, a tie dresses up your outfit and jeans are dressed-down. Second, jeans usually have a lower rise than dress pants, so tying the tie long enough to reach the waistband is a challenge, and can make the tie knot too small or the tie look weirdly long, even.
That said, when we were in Italy a couple years ago, I saw men wearing ties with jeans everywhere. And I didn’t hate it.
Going back nearly 10 years now (!), I remember seeing this image from Pitti via the Sartorialist and thinking it was awesome. The way I saw men in Italy doing it was primarily simple—navy blazer, blue shirt, navy tie. The jeans were about like the guy in the photo: washed, slim. I rarely saw Italian men wearing full-dark-rinse denim.
I’ve done it a few times with indigo jeans of various fades, with varying success. Recently though I made the pairing using my white jeans, and I think it looked great. I chose a linen-silk blend knit tie from Brooks Brothers, which worked really well. I think a plain navy, green or maroon grenadine or knit would’ve worked, too. Shantung would have as well. Repp stripes would’ve worked but I would’ve looked like a professor.
Try it out sometime, wearing a tie with your sportcoat and jeans ensemble. Just make sure the denim is a bit darker, the tie is a bit more casual, and you keep the patterns simple. That’s my advice. If you do, and you think it looks amazing, let me know with a pic or link to Instagram!
Shop the Post
Navy Blazer: Eidos (similar seasonal navy blazer; similar staple navy blazer)
Pale Blue End-on-end shirt: Gutteridge (similar from Drakes)
Linen-Silk Knit Tie: Brooks Brothers
Off-white denim: J.Crew (similar)
Snuff suede loafers: Polo by Allen Edmonds (similar)
