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As much as I love a fantasy dress up moment, and an opportunity to wear something out of the box, the reality is I’m getting dressed for the normal stuff 99% of the time. Similar to the ideas for what to wear on the weekend, I like to have some pre-set formulas for looking pulled together when I’m not really doing anything notable.
And obviously, most of those day-to-day looks revolve around…. denim! Duh. And while I love my tried and true combo of a navy crewneck sweatshirt + jeans, I’m getting a little sick of it. But a suede and denim combination feels honestly kind of fresh and cool, and it hints at a 70s feeling without being boho or… hippie. Generally, when I’m getting dressed with a reference in mind, I try and develop my looks out from that starting point, giving them my own perspective and my own influence so that the end result is more like its own thing than a straight up carbon copy of source material. When I was looking through the spring collections, there were a lot of through lines (what I used to call trends when working at a magazine) and one of my favorite is layered texture. Mixing denim with suede (or denim with knits, knits with leather, etc etc) is one very easy way to do that. Madewell’s spring collection centers on a lot of super wearable suede pieces, and of course their famous denim, and I was happy to get to play around in that world with them. It’s always a dream for me to get a brand’s entire new collection to work with - of course it’s great to see pre-styled looks, but when I can see the breadth of what’s on offer and then pick and choose my own storylines and put together my own ideas, that’s the best.
WHITE JEANS + A CUTIE CROPPED JACKET
The thing I love about this, is that it’s a very easy combination (straight-leg jeans + jacket….effortless) but the shape of the jacket, being less structured and cropped, works beautifully in contrast with the jeans, so instead of having two oversized things together, one is oversized, one is not. The bonus here are the painters knee patches on the jeans, that workwear detail with the elegant suede jacket is just….perfect. Then, the flat sandals keep it feeling grounded, though if you need height, an open toe heel would also be great here.
FLARED JEANS AND A LONGER JACKET
Now on the flip side! These jeans are fitted and slightly bootcut, which really elongates your leg, and the longer jacket here also does the same. The whole thing is very loooong and sexy and it makes me wish I had a giant bouncy blowout. I felt like playing into the long and sexyness of it all, so put this with a pair of heels, though flats would definitely make it feel more day. I love a nighttime jeans look!
A DENIM SHIRT DRESS
One of the trickiest things about wearing denim on denim is making sure the two pieces are exactly the same wash and color. Whether it’s a pair of jeans and a jacket, or a skirt and a shirt, you ideally want both pieces to match perfectly. The genius thing about this dress is that it solves that problem for you. Pile on a bunch of necklaces and a sculptural belt, and it gives a very sexy, horny, 70s feeling.
A COORDINATING SKIRT AND JACKET
Ok, here’s another take on the matching top and bottoms. I love the shape of this skirt so much, it has really subtle pleating at the top, and it has a really beautiful swingyness - normally denim skirts are pretty stiff, but this one has a lot of movement. The jacket also has the soft structure of the cropped suede jacket from the first look. It has a slightly dropped shoulders, and cocoon shaped sleeves, which all make it very special. This is the kind of thing that I almost want to style with a little basket, but that feels a bit too on the nose - a suede, structured bag makes the look more modern.
A SUEDE SKIRT
I love a more literally 70s inspired suede skirt with patch pockets or big buttons, etc, but there’s something about how solid and clean this one is that makes me extra love it. And, what could be easier than a mini skirt and a denim jacket? The jacket has nicely oversized Dolman sleeves, and then is slightly cinched in at the waist to give it a really interesting shape - you can see it better in the video, but this isn’t your standard fitting denim jacket, which IMO justifies its position in your wardrobe. This is slightly dressier than I typically go for a standard day (a mini skirt does make momming tricky sometimes), but if I don’t have to squat down on the ground, I’d love to be in a mini skirt.
That’s it! Spring, baby, SPRING!!!!!
Your friend, forever,
Laurel
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