How to Wear a Canadian Tuxedo, According to Hailey Bieber
Shannon Adducci
Style Director
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Trends may come and go, but springtime always seems to give way to denim jackets — each season with its own twist, like 2015’s oversize trend, 2017’s nifty patch obsession or the current cropped trend taking over. But no matter the nuance, the “Canadian tuxedo” always seems to find its way into one iteration or another, in all its coordinating denim glory. Presently, the look has found its home as the roving uniform of Hailey Bieber.
The model and street-style star wears the look with such aplomb that Levi’s recently tapped her for a capsule of its classic 501 range of denim, which debuted on the brand’s site on Friday — just in time for festivalgoers to pack for Coachella, which begins this Friday, April 12.
In a video for the collection, Bieber sits on the floor amid a pile of clothing — her capsule pieces — and talks about what she’ll pack for Coachella. “Obviously, my 501 cutoffs,” Bieber lists among the items she will bring. “A denim jacket,” she adds, holding up a trucker made of pieced denim. She also rummages through the pile to file a Hawaiian shirt that looks very much like something that her husband Justin Bieber is probably currently wearing, as the couple likes to share their looks.
The pieces all stand on their own, but for Bieber, denim seems to work best in numbers — whether its on her own body in preferred matching sets or slyly coordinated with her husband in clickbait paparazzi shots that mesmerize in their own grungy, wabi-sabi way.
That Justin Bieber is actually Canadian somehow oddly reinforces the idea that the Canadian tuxedo is destined to be Hailey’s uniform — though it should be noted that the term is a misnomer: It was an American, crooner Bing Crosby, who first donned the ensemble, wearing an actual denim tuxedo jacket that Levi Strauss made for him after he was denied entry from a Vancouver hotel with a strict dress code.
Here, six styling tips extracted from Bieber’s own portfolio of Canadian tuxedos.
Swap Jeans for a Mini
If jeans and a denim trucker jacket equal a Canadian tuxedo, does a jacket and a miniskirt equal a Canadian cocktail dress? The duo of trucker jacket and denim mini is one of the model’s favorite silhouettes, a concoction that she tends to wear with a trusty pair of Adidas sneaks.
Go for Logos
Any denim is fair game for Bieber, from vintage Levi’s cutoffs to more tailored designer duds like these denim separates from Versace that the model sported in New York last summer with Adidas Continental 80 sneakers. The logo pieces take the traditional Canadian tuxedo formula of jeans and trucker jacket up a few major notches.
Define ‘Denim’ Loosely
For Bieber, the Canadian tuxedo is not confined to merely denim. Instead, it’s a styling trick that marries two coordinating separates and often results in a full monochrome look. The star even wore one of these looks from her husband’s new clothing line, Drew House, last month at Paris Fashion Week. The rugged aesthetic of the corduroy has a similar workwear effect as that of coordinated blue denim separates, and she punctuates the look with a polished white pump (white shoes are a must for any Bieber style acolyte).
Pair It With a Lover
By Bieber’s standards, denim is not only meant to be shared but also to be coordinated with your significant other — and the more mismatched, the better. An outing in Los Angeles in August was a peak matching/nonmatching moment for the Biebers, with a Hawaiian shirt, ripped denim jorts and Adidas slides for him; colorful, coordinated denim separates and Adidas Continental 80 sneakers for her.
Wear It With a Friend
Matching denim isn’t just couples goals. For Bieber, it’s also something to do with friends. Last year, she and Bella Hadid matched their denim on two occasions, one of which was Levi’s Coachella brunch, where Bieber wore her jeans with her favorite pair of white Dr. Martens.
Add Some Color — and a Heel
Whether it’s colorful denim or just colorful denimlike separates, make like Bieber and go monochrome, a styling trick that instantly elevates any look. Bieber’s neon ensemble from Paris Fashion Week in March is by New York designer Matthew Adams Dolan, an expert in the all things denim who has also outfitted Rihanna in plenty of over-the-top pieces.
Watch FN’s video below with Hailey Bieber.
