How to Wear Double Denim by Mixing Denim Washes and Colors with the Thrifty Six

I have recently been welcomed into a wonderful group of fashion and lifestyle bloggers that focuses on styling preloved clothing and accessories in themed monthly posts (third Monday of the month). I hope that this showcase of secondhand items and outfits provides some shopping and style inspiration for anyone who is interested in creating great looks in a way that is sustainable for our planet and our pocketbooks.

Today's topic is Double Trouble Denim...which is a tricky concept for me. As I said in a previous double denim post: "I have to say that wearing double denim as a style choice is not something that comes naturally to me! I am still haunted by the combination of the 1980s double denim look complete with acid wash, oversized jean jacket, and giant hair + the ubiquitous Texas tuxedo of my Oklahoma upbringing." But I have figured out a way to make double denim work for me, which is to make sure the pieces are in different colors/washes.

Here I've paired thrifted dark blue trouser jeans with a thrifted black denim vest with pinstripes in white and a few different blue colors. For a winter-turning-to-spring color palette, I chose light blue as my accent color with a long-sleeved T in a perfect "saturated pastel" color and snakeskin print flats in a metallic denim shade of blue.

Plus size outfit idea for women over 40 — OOTD 4/8/25

I added a pair of stick earrings in periwinkle blue and white and a memory wire bracelet in a range of white/clear and blue tones from a DIY jewelry collection I made using the Glacial Glimmer Bargain Bead Box (plus extra beads from my stash for the bracelet). My Glacial Glimmer collection includes two layering necklaces, four pairs of earrings, and this bracelet...and I still have beads left over. The iciness of this color palette is spot on for winter, of course, but can also evoke the blue skies and white clouds of spring and summer.

I could have worn the matching layered necklace, but I decided I wanted to add some other shades of blue to my look with my necklaces: a pastel blue glass bead necklace (from Fire Mountain Gems), a lampwork glass necklace (also from FMG), the world's easiest DIY beaded chain necklace I made by putting together 3 pre-made 7" pieces of beaded chain, and a light blue and silver pendant on leather necklace (from CJ Banks). This is the last time I'll be wearing the lampwork glass necklace as-is; it's too heavy with all those chunky lampwork glass beads on it. I'm going to take it apart and make multiple necklaces, allocating the lampwork beads across them and supplementing with beads from my stash. The entire necklace cost $0.60, which is way less than you could buy the 9 lampwork glass beads for, so no loss there!

Let's take a look at some other ways I've worn double denim by pairing two different colors/washes...

This outfit from the same week as the previous one pairs a dark blue wash denim jacket with black straight leg jeans. (I used to have a black denim jacket which I'd wear with blue jeans for an equally great reversal of this combination, but sadly I don't have a photo of it.) I had to wear my black Adidas sneakers with it, and to repeat the color of the sneaker stripe, I added a lightweight ivory cotton sweater under the jacket. For some spring color, I tied a silky square scarf with lovely swirls of lavender, green, magenta, pale yellow, and black around my neck (fold in half along the diagonal, then tie the ends together once at the back of the neck). A thrifted statement pendant in gold hangs down below the scarf for that "short scarf, long necklace" combination that I love. My bracelet stack is a set I made from snowflake obsidian beads in an Annie's DIY kit. I finished the outfit with a pair of the world's easiest DIY hoop earrings using 11/0 seed beads on a pre-made earring hoop; I selected the seed bead colors (from a seed bead mix I'd bought on sale) specifically to coordinate with this scarf.

This colorful outfit, with a shade of light lime green that is another perfect "saturated pastel" color, does double denim slightly differently; I have a medium wash chambray top paired with darker wash denim-blue pants in a stretchy-woven fabric that isn't as thick as denim but gives something of the appearance of denim. I love wearing these pants in the summer as a cooler alternative to jeans because they share that "ultimate neutral" versatility that blue denim has. My silk scarf and ballet flats create a low-key stripe print mix, and I am wearing DIY earrings (world's easiest DIY hoops with light green glass pearls) and an all-DIY bracelet stack in colors to coordinate with the scarf. I added a mixed metal pendant necklace (from CJ Banks; I wear it all the time) to hang below the shorter scarf as is my wont. {stretch bracelet tutorial}

This outfit is another version of the first one in this post with the black striped denim vest and blue denim jeans, this time in a skinny jean silhouette. I chose blush pink as my accent color and did a double stripe print mix by adding a black striped scarf in a color palette that is the combination of the vest colors and the T-shirt colors.

The medium wash chambray sleeveless top (from the lime green cardigan outfit above) is a great one for pairing with various pieces of colored denim. For example, here it is with red jeans...

And brown jeans with blush pink...

And brown jeans with ivory.

This outfit combines the brown jeans with a dark blue denim shirt worn as a lightweight jacket.

When you consider the various blue washes and colored denim options, and the different fabrics ranging from denim and chambray to pseudo-denims like the cropped pants I wore in the lime green cardigan outfit, the possibilities of double denim outfits are endless! Of course, double denim can also be styled with matching denim pieces (as other Thrifty Six contributors demonstrate below), but for those of us who are a bit matching-double-denim-averse, we can still experiment with the double denim idea by using a non-matching denim strategy. And even if you love matching denim, mixing up your washes and colors gives you even more options for doing a double denim look. I hope the outfits I've shared gives you some inspiration for playing with denim (and denim-like) pieces from your closet!

Now let's review the Double Trouble Denim that my thrifty friends have styled...

The Thrifty Six:

Emma of Style Splash

“I can’t say for sure where this denim waistcoat came from, but I think it belonged to my brother in the late 70s/early 80s. I rediscovered it fairly recently in an ottoman at my mum’s old house and it’s in great condition. The label is Brutus – not one I’m familiar with. Anyway, I’ve paired it with palazzo style jeans from Marks and Spencer, creating a nicely balanced outline. The blouse is also second hand (from Vinted of course!).”

Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade

“‘Double Trouble Denim’ is the T6 theme for April and there sure is trouble with this denim!

These unusual and super-cool jeans are far too tight for me – I can just about get away with standing but sitting is very problematic!

They’re Italian vintage, not sure of the decade but they definitely predate stretch-denim.

The style is incredibly high-waisted with popper fastenings which can pop open at any time!

So, I’m sad because I love this look but it’s completely impractical and can never be worn…

…yet I’m happy because it’s perfect for this T6 photo shoot before the jeans are sold.”

Jodie of Jodie's Touch of Style

“I thrifted both the vest and shorts separately, yet they are the same brand with the same color of thread running through them. An accidental double denim set, LOL. I had to add pops of color with my sneakers, scarf and purse. My entire crew showcased other ways to pair double denim along with other color variations.”

Nancy of Nancy's Fashion Style

“I never liked jeans. Did love denim jackets and skirts though. But I did not even wear jeans in my puberty! Everyone wore them and I really could not see the charm of them. But for the past few years I started to appreciate it a bit more and look at me now! Double trouble denim! These jeans are a favourite, and the blouse is pre loved! I wanted to wear heels but forgot all about it as my head was into leopard!”

Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge

“I thrifted this long denim vest (dress) about 5 years ago and I don’t wear it often so it was the perfect piece to highlight for this thrifty challenge. I paired it with an old pair of denim shorts (not thrifted) and a newly thrifted blouse, scarf, and necklace. My moccasins were also a thrifty find a few years back. I am not a huge fan of double denim but I loved this combination!”

Next month's topic is still up in the air, but I'm sure it will be another fun challenge!

In the meantime, visit these lovely bloggers for the details of their thrifted Double Trouble Denim outfits and more style inspiration:

Are you a double denim lover? Does double denim give you 80s flashbacks too? How do you like to wear the double denim look? Did any of these outfits resonate with you or give you an idea for how to play with the double denim concept?

Blogs I link up with are listed here.

How to Wear Double Denim by Mixing Denim Washes and Colors with the Thrifty Six

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