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Photo courtesy DJ Scammell

Denim Style

By Douglas James Scammell

Published 2:24 PDT, Fri September 26, 2025

Fashion For Men

As we move into late summer and into early fall we begin to move into more darker colors and heavy fabrics. One of my favorite casual looks is a very Canadian look known as the Canadian Tuxedo look that combines a Denim Jacket with Denim Jeans or even a Denim Shirt with Denim Jeans or all three combined together.

This look can also be worn during more mild winter days and all of spring. It is a very comfortable outfit that is great whether you are working on the farm or spending time outdoors or going to town during the day time. I would never wear this look as your evening outfit my personal opinion of course, but it’s great for casual daytime wear and it is also great cause it’s origin is also very Canadian…

History

The term Canadian Tuxedo story began right here in Vancouver B.C. back in 1951 when Hollywood actor and recording legend the dapper Bing Crosby who was also born just south of us in Tacoma Washington State and was a frequent visitor to Vancouver was denied entry to an upscale hotel at the time in Vancouver because he was wearing a denim jacket combined with denim jeans that he wore returning from a hunting trip to the hotel, rather than his usual three piece suit. He kind of also looked a bit rough and was not recognized at first by the bell boys working at the hotel even still, being one of the biggest recording artists ever at this time. The situation was quickly rectified but shortly after that they knew it was Bing Crosby the hotel rightfully corrected the situation and gave Bing entry to the hotel.

As a result Levi Strauss & Co took full advantage of this situation and designed a full custom tuxedo made out of denim and gifted it to Crosby so that no establishment could say old Bing was too dressed down again. When you take the time to look back at any of Bing Crosby’s movies or pictures of him and his outfits from any time period, he always looked extremely dapper and classic.

The Denim look was often associated with rebellion during the 1950’s from the greasers to rock superstar Elvis Presley who all wore this look.

Also the Denim look became very popular with cowboy’s paired with a cowboy hat and that look can be also called the Texas Tuxedo.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s movie stars like Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Robert Redford and many other classic icons were often spotted rocking the all denim look.

Resurgence

During the 1980’s and 1990’s the Canadian Tuxedo gained traction again making appearances in movies and TV shows like Back To The Future, and the Fresh Prince of Bell Air. Celebrities like Princess Diana and Drew Barrymore also sported the look further popularizing it.

Moving into the 2000’s stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake cemented the Canadian Tuxedo’s place in pop culture by wearing them at the 2001 American Music Awards.

In the final episodes in the AMC series Mad Men (2007-2015) the main character Don Draper portrayed by Jon Hamm who was always seen wearing suits in the entire seven seasons of that show was seen wearing the Canadian Tuxedo look which gave viewers of the series a bit of shock because it was so out of his character. After seven seasons to finally see Draper wearing something that was not a traditional Manhattan Madison Avenue type of blue suit look that the viewers were all so used to seeing him wear all the time. However, Draper looked great wearing the Canadian Tuxedo look and in my opinion he looked so much more relaxed wearing the denim outfit opposed to being formally suited up all though lets be honest Drapper looked just as great in a suit.

Today the Canadian Tuxedo is experiencing a significant revival, with designers and celebrities re-interpreted the look in various ways, from classic styles to more modern elevated visions.

To think that a well-known movie star showing up at a downtown Vancouver hotel in a jean outfit would create an opportunity for a famous clothing designer to design a "tuxedo denim suit" made news back then, that's special.