What type of jeans do you wear to work? - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Dressing

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

What type of jeans do you wear to work?

Suja

Veteran

So, I am thinking of updating my denim capsule and I started thinking about what jeans one would wear in a business casual environment. The conventional advice I remember (from several years ago) was that you should stick with a dark wash and bootcuts or straight legs. Is that still true?

I work in tech and am one of few women in my type of job so I can set up own rules. I generally go way professional for work (pencil skirt or dress pants with a blouse or sweater and blazer) or super hip and casual (distressed skinnies or boyfriends). I'm wondering what people in more formal environments who can occasionally wear jeans prefer. Like what would a lawyer wear on a casual day? Are skinnies or rolled up boyfriends ok? How much, if any, distressing. I'm curious whether the conventional advice from a few years ago still holds or if we have reset into a new normal.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Dressing

19 replies

Latest reply was from Jules

unfrumped

Veteran

Ha. So, no jeans at work during any "real" work with patient-people contact, even weekends. But will wear them to do office work in private.
But I realize it is part of casual-business-casual.
I find rolled jeans just do not look like workplace attire--to me, they say, "time off"--of course that's influenced by my particular environment. And so not helpful for creative industries or tech. But still you can think about what you want to project.
So it'll be fun to hear from folks who work in other environments.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I see a lot of ladies who work in tech wearing skinnies with blouses - I think full length is more professional than rolling, tbh. I think dark wash and maybe colors are dressier than lighter wash or anything weathered. Shoes seem to make a difference, too - ballet flats or heels make jeans look more dressy than loafers or oxfords.

deb

Veteran

I work in the tech side and feel most comfortable in a dark wash bit skinnies, straight, or boot cuts. The guys wear light colored jeans all of the time and if the guys do the same in your workplace, why not follow suit?

Thistle

Veteran

I am in charge of the global Accounting and financial reporting department for my company. I am the only female in a management position in my company, so I can't gauge how conservative I am being, but I tend to play it safe here.

I wear dark washed straight legs, boot cuts, and slim boyfriends. No distressing at all.

Anonymous

Dark wash jeans only - various cuts. I work in a rather casual office, but still prefer to wear dressier tops, shoes and accessories.

Elizabeth P

Veteran

Agree, dark wash, generally boot or straight cut, but I will wear skinnies with boots in the winter. I'll also wear white, black or cobalt.

Elly

Veteran

I work in a creative field--- everything is ok here except for distressed w/holes.

kristinarouse

dark clolor tight jeans are my favorite,Lee and Levis offer great jeans for women.

1
2

jennifer

Veteran

I work in fashion retail. We are allowed to wear " nice" jeans ( no distressing) as long as a blazer/jacket is worn with it and a blouse or sweater under the jacket.
I'll wear dark wash mostly ( due to being the champion freight buster - that can get a bit grubby!) but I vary it up with colours,white , black and mid or light washes too. Bootcuts and flares and straight legs are my preferred fit. My coworkers usually wear skinny fit pants or jeans and most of the time those are a colour ,black or dark wash. They usually wear boots/ booties or ballet flats .

Adelfa

Veteran

I am in management in mental health services. On Fridays I wear dark wash slim straights, no distressing, no rolling. I would wear skinnies only with a tunic--I do that sometimes.

I have several pairs of colored jeans (all dark colors) but I'm not sure those are relevant here. Except again, if they are skinny, only with a tunic.

I wear my jeans with booties or mid-calf boots. I haven't felt comfortable yet to wear them with tall boots.

I'm sure what you choose will be fab and appropriate!

Suja

Veteran

This is a fascinating discussion. Thanks to everyone who posted. It seems like the old advice about dark washes and straight legs or bootcuts is still in effect. My issue is that I could get away with anything, even distressed skinnies with holes. It is more about the image I want to project. I want to project a more fashion forward image and be my authentic self but still "dress for the job I want.". I've been feeling experimental with denim, which is how this topic came up. I would love to try faded jeans, coated jeans, patched jeans, etc.

Still trying to figure out the right balance.

jurocha

(website)

Veteran

Media industry here; I wear mostly dark washes and always straight/skinnies. I do sometimes risk a distressed, but that means pairing it with blazer+blouse and high heels.

ramya

Veteran

Another Techie, IT industry to be more specific. Only girl in the team. I wear coloured denim, dark wash denim mostly. But all skinnies or straight cut. No bootcuts for me... Usually teamed up with blazer or jacket.

Have worn lightly distressed jeans though.

unfrumped

Veteran

Again, this is conservative, but it also sounds like you don't just want to see whatever you can get away with , you want to project perhaps a somewhat more formal or business-like appearance but still be in casual-business mode and have fun with fashion--is that on track? If so you might start with the more conservative denim items, and play more with on-trend tops and jackets and footwear. To me that would be the dark wash or perhaps dark rich colors--just because those fabrications look more polished--instead of distressing. Again, it depends on how you want to look. Also depends some on your favorite flattering silhouettes.
For example, I don't wear the untucked shirttail/layered sweater thing to work, but if I were in a more casual settiing I would like that silhouette because the curved shirttail hem and longer length works for my figure type, but a sweater layer adds some polish. But if I did that, I'd wear a somewhat polished jean act with it. Then also I might have fun with more casual boots, for me that would not be heels but moto or buckles and comfortable shape.

KikiG

Veteran

These are my new jeans, and they are pushing my personal envelope due to the distressing. I think that the dark wash and that the distressing mostly is high and mostly will not show makes them acceptable. I am a professional working in a business casual environment, and most of my client interaction is over the phone. No one will say a negative word about my Friday jeans, but I will go out of my way to be dressy with them from the waist up in case I end up on camera for work or if a client drops by.

White House Black Market

Saint Honore Dark Wash Girlfriend Jean

View Info

Top Pick

1

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

My last office job I had a management role (media/entertainment) and jeans were not allowed at all.But that was 10 years ago and it was a Japanese-owned company.

Now I work food service and denim is fine but if I wear distressed jeans with holes (fading and light abrading seems to be less controversial) I get comments, like am I too poor to afford a new pair of jeans. I joke back and tell them, hey these are artfully distressed jeans and they cost me a whole week paycheck (which is true, sadly). But I stopped with the super distressed denim because I don't like that kind of focus on me. I wear skinny jeans 80% of the time and straights 20% of the time. I do combine them with a white shirt as well as a blazer in the cooler months. They are almost always black jeans, which looks polished with the white shirt, or dark wash denim. The light denim isn't great because it shows every stain.

rachylou

Veteran

Any kind - except blue jeans, bfs, patch/holes, rolled hems. Haha. Everything trendy. Harem jeans would be OK though. It's the finished aspect.

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

Anything goes in academia, but I wouldn't wear anything ripped, and if I need to teach and have my back turned to the students, I'd prefer a boyfriend fit over skinny jeans.

Jules

Veteran

I am also a woman in tech and pretty much make my own dress code, such as it is I can pretty much pretty much wear what I want and my workplace is no fashion hotspot, so my data points are pretty meaningless! That said I am moving to a slightly more professional role, where I still hope to base my wardrobe on jeans. For me, Monday to Thursday, that will mean black or dark wash skinnies, straights and flares. I will see how I feel about white jeans and light, uniform washes in the spring. I can and have done distressed jeans on Fridays, but I think it crosses a line for some observers based on comments I have received. I wasn't in a position where I had to worry about that much, but it gave me an idea how it was perceived.
I think footwear is more key, I will wear fashionable sneakers with my jeans on Fridays but not the rest of the week.