Wearing jeans to work may, in some businesses, raise eyebrows with HR busybodies but it’s worth remembering that originally, jeans were made to work in. Long before Marlon Brando made them a cornerstone of your casual wardrobe, jeans were designed for miners, railway workers and ranch hands – labourers who actually needed to be clad in a hard-wearing fabric.

Granted, there fewer professions like that today. If you’re worried about 501s in the 9-5, chances are you work in an office where tailoring was traditionally the norm. Businesses may be getting more casual, but are jeans smart enough for the modern office? Can they ever make you look professional? Are jeans business-casual?

The short answer is yes, but it comes with a lot of small print. There are some (usually suited-and-booted) professions where denim will only be acceptable on dress-down Fridays. If you’re customer-facing in some way, your employer may not like it, either.

But there are a growing number of sectors where you can, with some clever styling, clock on in your favourite selvedge and still make the right impression. This is how it’s done.

Reiss

The Rules Of Wearing Jeans To Work

If you work in a bar, or in retail, or as a Calvin Klein underwear model, then wearing jeans to work is a no-brainer. For most of the rest of us, there are guidelines to follow, assuming your boss – like your grandfather – expects you to turn up looking ‘respectable’.

First up, leave your ripped jeans at home. Rips and torn hems are untidy by design so they won’t work if the look you’re going for is Mr Dependable. Pinrolled jeans, on the other hand, can work with the right kind of business-casual shoes, especially in more creative offices. Derbies, Chelsea boots, loafers and minimal sneakers are all team players.

Wearing a blazer with jeans can summon the spectre of Jeremy Clarkson, but it doesn’t have to. Avoid wearing a suit jacket with your denim and instead opt for a more casual, less structured blazer in a coarser material.