Casual Friday: Distressed Denim

Distressed denim.  It's been happening for quite a while.  However, I've always been torn (no pun intended) about whether it's appropriate for even very casual work environments.  For those of you that enjoy denim-approved casual Fridays in more conservative work environments, I'd recommend sticking to the rip-free kind.  This has been true for the vast majority of my work experience in more formal offices, so for this outfit, I'd swap in a tear-free pair like this.  However, for those of you that work in very casual and/or creative environments (i.e. start-ups or the set of Wolverine III) I've come to understand that certain kinds of distressed denim, when done right, can make the grade.  The jeans I'm wearing today have distressing, but as you can see, the distressing is done minimally, and no skin shows through the holes.  Conversely, versions like this one or this one, which are great for nights and weekends, are probably too much for a professional setting―pretty much no matter where you work.

When wearing these puppies, I recommend balancing the distressed bottoms with richer elements in the rest of your outfit.  This can be done with a silk blouse, a blazer and heels, or in my case today, with studded boots, this cross knit cowl-neck poncho, and soft curls.

What do you think?  Is distressed denim an absolute no-go or (if done tastefully), is it passable for casual days at your workplace?  I'm all ears, so fire off in the comments below.  Happy Friday!

P.S.  If you want to get a leg up on holiday shopping (shudder) take an extra look at Barrington.  I'm an ENORMOUS fan of these bags (also styled one in this post), and a monogrammed gift is always a home run.
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