5.11.2012

foundations: the grey jean


i've been wearing my grey jeans a lot lately. a medium-shade pair of grey jeans are indispensable in my closet. i got these Margielas several years ago on sale from Totokaelo, and they were one of my first designer denim purchases.

like most of my favorite foundation pieces, these grey skinnies go with everything and transcend seasons. grey is a neutral's neutral, and is particularly flattering as a denim color. prints, pops of color, stripes...the grey is an ideal blank canvas that works with everything, and also is universally flattering on all skin tones.

for the late spring temps these days, i'm wearing them with my sandals and my favorite Vince lightweight pullover. for reference, i'm wearing the size S and it's a nice slouchy fit on me. i'm pretty much living in this uniform until the summer heat hits.

do you have a favorite go-to pair of jeans these days? what's the denim color?

34 comments:

  1. Totally agree that grey denim is a great transitional colour from typical dark/blue denim. I personally have been getting a lot of use out of my olive Paige verdugo jeggings.

    xo, alison*elle

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  2. My go to pants are Gap's slim crop and ponte jeggings, they are so slimming and so comfy and budget frindly, I pratically live in them all year round

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    1. ah how do you like the quality? i grew disenchanted with Gap several years ago...

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  3. very cute outfit! I like how light accessories and a fruit punch manicure can instantly make an otherwise dark outfit warm weather appropriate. I recently acquired a pair of faded black jeans with white stitching (I bought them off Garderoben bc they were too big for her) that I am hoping to be a year round staple as well. Of course I won't be able to wear them for a few of months still :)

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    1. missed you from the blogosphere! :) faded black jeans are great - i actually like them better that way. speaking of punchy manicures, i'm still hunting for the perfect hot pink shade for spring!

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  4. hey im looking into buying that sweater..trying to get an idea of the length. mind if i ask, how tall are you?

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    1. i'm wearing the S and i'm 5'5. shopbop also has measurement info - hope that helps!

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  5. You look terrific, all the elements work together so beautifully. I especially love the bag and your new haircut!
    I only own two pairs of jeans, a slouchy light blue Acne pair and a pair of medium blue skinny Levi's. The slouchy pair is for days when I travel around India, I need to wear loose clothes that I don't mind getting really dirty. My work takes me to some pretty gnarly places and I end up spending a lot of time outdoors. The skinny pair is my city pair, perfect with smock tops and flats or heels.

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    1. thanks Ammu :) the bag is such a staple - and i'm impressed with your super pared down denim! i'm actually looking for a light blue slouchy pair for spring/summer. how do you like your Acnes?

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    2. It's a great bag - is it coach or jw hulme?
      I like my Acne jeans - have had them for three-four years now and they are holding up pretty well. That said, I am not sure one needs to spend so much on jeans. My Levi's were much cheaper and are pretty great.

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    3. it's vintage Coach from the 70s. JW Hulme basically copied this style in their legacy bag, which has some great updated details :)

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    4. Aha - no wonder it looks so familiar :)

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  6. Well lately it's my A.P.C. jeans that I'm breaking in sloooowly (though it's getting kind of too hot for them already without sweating)

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    1. oooh breaking in APC jeans is quite a project. which pair did you get?

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  7. I love my one pair of gray jeans. It might have been the color--which always works--that had me falling in love with their skinny cut/style, something I never thought I'd pull off. Lately I've been wearing my new Uniqlo dark wash skinnies all the time. I adore how they go with any shoe, although it's bizarre to suddenly find flared or bootcut jeans "so much fabric." Change is interesting.

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    1. i love my Uniqlo skinnies - i threw away all my bootcut and flared jeans five years ago when i realized i mostly wear flats anyway. and i'm SO grateful for the huge Uniqlo store here in SH - such a great shop for quality, simple pieces!

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  8. I love your bag, it looks perfectly worn and is such a great size :)

    I don't own any gray jeans, but I live in black skinny high-waisted jeans from topshop. In fact, I just ordered another pair, along with a pair of black mid-rise skinnies, today. What can I say, I love black jeans. Am secretly on the hunt for the perfect slouchy-skinny model, but they seem to be impossible to come by. When I do find one I will probably get on in every color, haha :)

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    1. thanks Maja! oh i hear you on the slouchy skinnies. i'm in search of a light blue pair myself for summer.

      the bag is seriously one of my favorite vintage finds of all time. i throw it around and the leather just keeps getting better :)

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  9. totally cute outfit! i love the idea of the perfect grey jeans, but haven't come across them yet. right now, i swear by black jeans - acne hex is my favorite. i also lived in my j brand maternity leggings when i was preggo. i also have a pair of slouchy skinnies by acne (hug model which sadly they discontinued) in a faded black, which i love.

    fyi - nars has two great pink nailpolishes in a collab with thakoon! they are amazing!

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    1. ooooh thanks for the Nars collab tip! i've been looking for a hot pink polish with no luck so far. never tried Acne jeans yet - their prices are always too high or the sizing too complicated. how are yours holding up?

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    2. my acnes are a workhorse. i bought my first pair about 7 years ago and had to retire them just last fall. they had faded to this perfect greyish black. now i have to start the process all over again! they are a little pricey (right now going price in 200 USD) but i think they are worth it given the quality. my favorite thing about the hex is the mid-rise - most other brands have a low rise which creates problems if you're bending down or sitting - haha!

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  10. You look adorable! It's such a fresh and cool outfit. Your point on grey is very accurate. That color has become my year round basic as it works with everything.
    Yet I don't have grey jeans. At one moment, I was looking for one, much under the influence of Kate Moss and I couldn't find one that looked as nice on me (haha!) so I gave up. Most of my jeans are in a dark/medium blue wash, plus one black. Oh, oops I forgot that I do have grey jeans by Isabel Marant but with graffiti print so I feel like they don't really count as "real" basics!

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    1. right? oh your IM printed jeans sound great - i really love the fresh look of adding color/texture to the bottom half of the outfit!

      j brand makes some great grey jeans, their skinny fit is always spot on and quality is excellent.

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  11. I have some grey skinny cords that I wear in fall/winter that I really like. Very versatile. Unrelated: I see that you went for one of those cuts that you were considering! Weren't you going to post some photos? I'd love to see how it turned out!

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    1. yeah i'll post photos soon! :) i have a pair of skinny cords from jcrew that i cut to make them an ankle length. something about cords that make them incredibly comfy and stretchy!

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  12. Grey jeans are versatile hidden wardrobe work/darkhorse. and that sweater is looking great, too. the perfect stripe!

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    1. thanks Nanashi - and it's great to see you back in the blogosphere!

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  13. thank! love Vince for these easy chic pieces. i'm the same way, i actually like a faded black better than black black jeans.

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  14. I'm still a blue jeans girl, even though I had a grey jeans phase, haha. I wear too much grey tops to get much wear out of grey jeans - and wearing the two together looks terrible on me.

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  15. your gray skinnies look great! i actually don't have a pair, i should really get one. ;) my go-to pair of jeans are my dark wash skinnies -- works every time. :)

    <3, Mimi
    http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/

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  16. I love your look, the jeans are so good. I almso got a pair of grey J Brand jeans a couple of months ago, but decided to wait. I've been thinking about them a lot, though. I'll have to see if they make it to the sales.

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  17. I only have 1 pair of jeans, and they are gray! haha I dont know why but I like gray a lot.

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