Julia Roberts Offers A Masterclass In “Going Out” Jeans

Looking smart is not always easy for a die-hard jeans girl such as myself. Some establishments don’t even allow jeans, and yet somehow I always end up staring at my denim shelf (yes I have a whole shelf) before a night out, trying to figure out how to make it work.

If there’s one person who appears to have gotten “going out” jeans down to a fine art, it’s Julia Roberts, who was pictured recently in New York in a big, mannish blazer, a white shirt with a few buttons undone, heels and jeans. Yes, it’s an uncomplicated ensemble, but when it comes to power dressing, often the most simple method is the best one.

XNY/Star Max

This isn’t the first time the After the Hunt actor has offered a masterclass in wearing jeans in a polished, rather than casual way. At Venice Film Festival, Roberts wore full Versace, including a wool jacket, striped shirting and straight-legged jeans with pumps – a look that was later that week replicated piece-for-piece by Amanda Seyfried. And it worked. In the words of my colleague, Daniel Rodgers: “Power, seduction and everything else Versace stands for can be communicated in other ways besides a safety-pin dress.” Basically, don’t listen to the haters: blue jeans can also constitute power dressing.

The Roberts method, to my eye, is fairly simple. If you’re going to wear jeans to a formal-ish event, or when going out out, then style them with smart, tailored items only – blazers, pressed shirts and the like – so that the jeans are the only casual item in the whole look. The actual denim is important, too. While selvedge denim is often a go-to choice for anyone wanting to smarten up a pair of jeans, cropped, bootcut-style jeans like Roberts’s also work. All the better for flashing a bit of heel in.