[Untilted]

I have never seen anyone look good with OCBD + Jeans combo. You don';t wear jeans on the waist, so they are kind of like "boot cut". You wear them on the hip, you torso suddenly looks long and if you have any belly, the fat drips down. Since jeans are usually fairly tight, the roomy OCBD looks 2 sizes too big for you and the top and the buttom of your body are unbalanced. One way to solve the problem is to add a sportcoat/blazer.

Can anyone post a picture of the "OCBD + Jeans" combo pulled off successfully? (no jacket, please)

 

[Patrick06790]

I haven't done this since college and I'm not about to start again now, for all the excellent reasons you mention.

 

[Tom Buchanan]

Untilted,

Perhaps you should ask this over on the Streetwear forum of Styleforum. That is just a joke.

Unfortunately, I am with Patrick in that I dont wear jeans, also for the reasons you give. I do not like low rise fitting pants. I have also always found chinos to be much more comfortable than denim.

I admit that the jeans and oxford look can be a good one.

 

[NoVaguy]

i generally wear point or spread collars with denim.

but i agree people should take a second to think about wearing jeans if their waist is larger than their chest. thankfully, i still have a 6 to 7 inch drop and this is not a concern for me.

 

[familyman]

I do it on occasion. LE trim OCBD's work well for this as they don't have nearly the amount of billow that a normal OCBD has. I always wear boots, more of a construction foreman look than a Jerry Seinfeld look. I hope.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I did last night after the close of business, as it were. Changed the chinos for 501s while keeping my pink OCBD. No belt, no socks.

Every one thought it just confirmed the "preppy" thing that I've been tared with.

 

[Wayfarer]

i generally wear point or spread collars with denim.

but i agree people should take a second to think about wearing jeans if their waist is larger than their chest. thankfully, i still have a 6 to 7 inch drop and this is not a concern for me.

I still have about a 10" drop (48-9 up top, take 38" waist) but I really only own two pairs of LL Bean jeans. I just have not felt "right" wearing jeans much in the last several years, since about the time I turned 35. I still wear them for doing yard work or a cool weather hike in the desert, stuff like that. But to wear them out for any other reason has ceased to feel like the correct thing to do.

I feel that way about many of my associates I see on a social basis too. I get this feeling of great incongruity when I arrive somewhere to find my usually well decked out friend in baggy jeans and sandals. Give me cords or chinos for very informal stuff, other than that, odd trousers please.

 

[Parker]

I think it can be done and can look great. I believe Brownshoe posted a couple pics donning a sportscoat, ocbd and levis. I like the heavy weave oxford cloth paired with a nice slubby denim. Pair with classic sneakers or loafers and you're there. A pretty classic look IMO:

 

[Andy Roo]

Tilt, I've been working on this problem for several days now, and I still haven't come up with a satisfactory solution. It's obvious that with a pair of low-rise jeans, one needs a slim-fitting shirt - a really slim-fitting shirt - and the guys over on Style Forum seem to believe that such a thing doesn't actually exist.

The best way to go about pairing an OCBD and jeans may be to have your tailor remove some excess fabric from your shirts. I hear this costs about $20 per shirt.

 

[Untilted]

but then the OCBD can only be worn with jeans.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Parker is on the right track. Replace the sneakers with suede shoes and you've got the modern-day Sloane Ranger look.

DD

 

[jwmnbl987]

I wear that combo almost every weekend during the colder months. 501's, OCBD, shot shell, and Cole Haan driving pennies or Wallabees (not all that trad, but very traditional still). I'll also usually wear a ball cap as well. I think it looks great. All this talk about drops, mine is 16 (yes, 16) inches so maybe that helps me pull it off. Like others have said, the OCBD can't be baggy that's for sure, but it doesn't have to be tight, either.

 

[Kingsfield]

From going to war to catching trout to bedding tradly coeds, there's nothing you can do in jeans that you can't do in chinos.

I'm a 40R with a 32" waist. I have two old pair of 501's which I occasionally wear horseback riding. When they finally cross over, they will not be replaced.

 

[Andy Roo]

but then the OCBD can only be worn with jeans.

As I said, I'm still working on it.

This summer I'm going to find a way to seamlessly integrate premium denim into the trad idiom. The problem with regular or even trim-fitting OCBDs is that there's still that bit of a mushroom effect, still that marked incongruity between the two components. I want a clean line, a viable hybrid.

 

[A Questionable Gentleman]

This summer I'm going to find a way to seamlessly integrate premium denim into the trad idiom.

Here's your problem. Denim does not work in the summer trad wardrobe. It does, however, have a well defined place. The OPH when discussing the ski weekend, does specify denim alow with Lacoste, OCBD and Bean Norwegian sweater aloft.

One must only consult the authorities.

 

[Andy Roo]

Here's your problem. Denim does not work in the summer trad wardrobe. It does, however, have a well defined place. The OPH when discussing the ski weekend, does specify denim alow with Lacoste, OCBD and Bean Norwegian sweater aloft.

One must only consult the authorities.

Oh, I know all that; I've read the book. I know trad is what it is, and I'm not trying to change that.

I just want to personalize it a bit, for myself.

 

[Kingsfield]

Parker is on the right track. Replace the sneakers with suede shoes and you've got the modern-day Sloane Ranger look.

Preps only dress like sloanies when they are slumming. :icon_smile_big:

 

[Prepdad]

I've worn this combination since high school which was ....ahem... more than a few years ago. As long as the shirt doesn't billow out like a spinnaker and the stomach doesn't meander over the waist like molten lava, I think it looks fine. Agree that's it's not as much a summer look and I personally don't pair jeans with sport coats but I think it has its place as dressed-down-but-not- slovenly attire. I only have one pair of jeans left and I'll probably not replace them, however. Some things just need to die a natural death.

 

[familyman]

As I said, I'm still working on it.

This summer I'm going to find a way to seamlessly integrate premium denim into the trad idiom. The problem with regular or even trim-fitting OCBDs is that there's still that bit of a mushroom effect, still that marked incongruity between the two components. I want a clean line, a viable hybrid.

For summer I think you need to stick to polos with jeans. It's classic preppy and it's far easier to find a polo that has clean lines than a tucked OCBD. The OCBD in summer really seems to work best with the sleeves rolled up and khaki shorts. Classic trad look.
When it's cooler you can do sweater/OCBD with jeans and it looks great. One of my faves is a V neck sweater vest, OCBD sleeves rolled up with jeans combo.
There's plenty of room in the trad/preppy camp for jeans and OCBD's, but I'm not sure that it's worth putting too much energy into wearing those two elements together in warmer weather.

 

[Joe Tradly]

Here's your problem. Denim does not work in the summer trad wardrobe. It does, however, have a well defined place. The OPH when discussing the ski weekend, does specify denim alow with Lacoste, OCBD and Bean Norwegian sweater aloft.

One must only consult the authorities.

Agreed. What denim I do wear, I only wear it in the winter and fall. Why on earth would you wear jeans when summer offers so many other, better choices of casual trouser?

JB