Bing Crosby was nearly thrown out of an upscale hotel in 1951 Vancouver because he was wearing jeans and not a suit. Levi Strauss responded by sending Mr. Crosby a custom denim tux, and the Canadian Tuxedo was born. Since then, the Canadian Tuxedo (these days any combination of denim jacket and jeans) has evolved into a chilled-out uniform that’s the epitome of cool.
Denim on denim has graced the frames of Rosie the Riveter, James Dean, Elvis, Martin Luther King Jr. , Steve McQueen, James Brown, The Jordache Generation, Johnny Depp, Kate Moss, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake at the 2001 VMAs, Rihanna, Gigi Hadid, and Jaden Smith. The look is ubiquitous but never common: a reminder of immigrant genius, the power of rebellion, and blue collar grit.
Elvis in jean jacket and jeans, 1956. Image: rockabillythekid.tumblr.com
Martin Luther King in 1967. Image via: thought.remixer.xtra
Rihanna; Image via: Milk.xyz
Jessica Biel image via: Just Jared
XOXO,
LUCIANN
PS: we hosted our first community bloggers event last week, with special guests Judith Boyd (Style Crone), Brandi Shigley (of Fashion Denver) and Arnaud Kadima (who developed the Selfit-Shop Together app). Join us next time around: everyone's welcome and we had a blast! Meantime, stay tuned for interviews with Brandi and Arnaud this Spring (and note Brandi's take on the Canadian Tux below).
