Let's face it, back in the day we all loved the Marty McFly character in "Back To The Future" and looked to him as a symbol of cool. Marty's space age Nikes inspired both a pair of HyperDunks and this year's most coveted kicks, but the most overlooked element of Mcfly's style was his penchant for wearing distressed Levi's with a distressed denim jacket.

Wearing denim on denim was once a fashion "don't." As of late, with Kanye West donning the McFly staple of distressed jeans with jacket, denim-on-denim has found itself on the "to-do" list of fashion fiends worldwide. Before you hop, skip and jump on the bandwagon, learn the rules first. Crawl before you walk, young'un.

Read more after the jump.

For starters, you should try out a selvedge denim or "raw" denim suit as some of you call it. Yeah, the hard denim suit is where you should get your feet wet. Selvedge is the uncut edge of the fabric on the right and left-hand edges as it comes out of the loom. Sounds complicated? We'll get into details another time.


The trick with doing the raw denim suit is that you NEVER wear it unbuttoned. That's right, the jacket should never be worn unbuttoned. Why you ask? It just looks better, now stop asking questions and continue to follow instructions. Now just as the jacket should always be buttoned, the pants leg should always be cuffed. This gives the illusion that you actually care about your appearance and you want to be taken seriously. Follow me and watch the difference in how people stare at you. Thank me later.




Now wearing the same type of denim is cool, but alternating denim styles and washes shows a bit more of personality. As you can see dude on the left did the black raw jeans with the blue raw jacket. Works for him, but would I try that? Probably not. I'd probably lose the jacket and do a more distressed look. Not for nothing, it works on him. Dude on the right did an acid wash jacket with gray jeans. I don't think this look works at all. Acid wash is a touchy thing. You've gotta have a certain kind of attitude to pull off acid wash, I don't think he executed well in this outfit. Honestly, I don't think anyone should try acid wash. Let's leave that in the '80s.


Now this is a bit more "Marty," not the distressed denim-on-denim. This look should only be attempted by true style champions. There is a heavy science to doing distressed denim. First of all, your jeans should NEVER be darker than your jacket. That's the first NO. The jean should always be much more distressed than the jacket for the simple reason that it just looks better. I told you to stop asking questions.


Now the fit of the jacket means the world also. The jacket should not touch your belt if your pants are sagging a bit like mine, and if pants are pulled up, the edge of the jacket should not exceed your belt line. Proportion is everything when doing denim on denim. I advise most of you to just stick to jean jackets, the vest is for true killers and you should take target practice for a while before you step on the field.


Lastly, denim shirts are only good when worn along with a denim jacket. Denim shirt with denim jeans is pretty tacky--pair it with a jacket and your good to go. I didn't invent this style, but I can sure help you perfect it. Stick with this guide and your style will go the distance.

All photos by Asia Bowlin
Styling by CurT@!n$
Jean suit by Prohibit NYC
Jeans and Vest by Levi's