The Style Files - Ripped jeans are insanely stylish!

Denim is blue, of course, and in every conceivable shade, so if you read my column last week you’ll know I have a particular affinity for the hue.  I love denim too, but I like my denim to be worn and faded,  I cannot bear pristine looking jeans! For me, jeans must be trampled and beaten up, soaked, and cruelly ill-treated before wear (luckily you don’t need to do this yourself as there are countless brands that cater to the desire and have the look down perfect) and my most favourite jeans are of the ripped, torn, shredded variety – the ones that look like they’ve been re- appropriated from the trash! Jeans that I can wear with anything and dress up or down depending on my schedule. I do like the tattered but polished aesthetic that you can pull together with a pair of torn jeans, a smart shirt and pointed stilettos.

The irony that so much care, detail and structure goes into engineering a pair of carelessly ripped jeans, doesn’t escape me!  It’s that worn till it ripped natural carelessness that keeps it so prominently on the fashion radar, especially for 2014. This year ripped or torn jeans continue to evolve and can be worn in the most uber casual or sophisticated chic of ways. The fact that I’m happy to pay for torn clothing is another irony.

Fashion magazines and blogs are filled with celebrities in their shredded denim, yes overalls and cutoffs also make the list. The trend has gathered huge momentum as the pursuit of nonchalant edgy cool effortlessness perseveres.  In the AW season of 2013, everything pointed towards an unexpected shift in style, as the trend of torn denim transitioned from a grungy aesthetic, to a chic one. Continuing in that vein this season, with its hyperbolic course,we witness the shredded denim trend expand into super-chic territory, continuing its rise into AW2014 with absolute certainty.

Where it was considered not suitable for most occasions in the recent past, ripped denim has become de rigueur for 2014. As with all trends there are some do’s and dont’s that I’ve illustrated through celebrities. Do earn your fashion stripes this season by wearing your ripped jeans as a testimony of your flawless style.

By Minoli Ratnayake