How to Pull Off a Tux Jacket with Jeans.

I know he's Domenico Dolce (of Dolce & Gabbana), so maybe lightning will strike me, but this doesn't work:

Merry Brownfield/WWD

He looks like he was running errands in jeans and a tee shirt before his event and only remembered to change half his clothes.  However, there are ways to pull off a fantastic mix of formal and casual. His problem is that he took each of these elements to the extreme. Not just jeans, but holey slouchy jeans. Not just a tux jacket, but a buttoned tux jacket with a tux shirt and bow tie.  He has extreme left wing on the bottom with Tea Party on top. So they clash. By combining more bi-partisan pieces, he could have made a happy marriage of the two.

Let me show you what I mean.

Justin Timberlake nailed this look by taking his tux jacket with a classy black dress shirt that is left unbuttoned at the collar, and paired them with clean dark denim jeans. See? The jeans are on the dressier side, the shirt is worn a little more casually, and everything happily works together.

www.people.com

Now check out Kanye West.  He's gone the opposite direction, by wearing his unbuttoned white tux jacket with an un-tucked tee and casual baggy jeans. He's not even wearing socks. Not a look for everyone, but it does work.

 

My apologies, I could not find a source for this photo.

So the key for you is, just decided if you're shooting for a dressy or casual look. Then make sure all the pieces you bring together--and how you wear them, are reaching for the same goal. Throw your tux jacket on top and you're done! Would you ever wear this look? If so, would you go dressy or casual?