
Denim. It's so delightfully versatile, comfortable and accommodating, all at the same time. You can dress it up, with blazers, bomber jackets, body suits a splash of sequins, dress it down, with a simple fitted tee and sneakers, or stay somewhere carefully in between, while never letting your style quotient go askew. No wonder it's a favourite among celebrities, street style stars and regular folks like us, alike. Neha Dhupia, whose anti-fit, fiercely individualistic style we anyway adore, seems to be a permanent and enthusiastic fixture on the denim-on-denim bandwagon. And more often than not, Neha's pairing of denim is perfectly on point.
Yesterday, while stepping out to promote her show for MTV, Neha styled herself in a pair of cobalt distressed denim jeans with a slight rolled up bottom, a matching boyfriend jacket with embellishments and a lose white round-neck tee to break up the blue monopoly. She finished the look off with a massive pair of hoops, white sneakers, smartwatch paired with slim bracelets, and hair pulled back in a ponytail with a mini puff, looking sporty and feminine, simultaneously. There's nothing about this on-duty look of Neha's, with all the comfort and ease of being off-duty that we don't adore.
In the past too, Neha has nailed her denim styling to perfection. Last month, while shooting for another show, Neha wore similar denims with a black blazer with a light floral print, white floral-printed tee and red heels, with hair left loose in long, flowy waves.
And in July last year, she was seen twinning with friend Karan Johar in New York in a sleeveless denim jacket with floral patchwork.
Neha's Instagram is filled with photos chronicling her love affair with denim and denim-on-denim styling, and she seems to get it right - every single time!
Denim might be a versatile and forgiving fabric, but that doesn't mean one can never go wrong with it. Remember Sridevi's disastrous denim-on-denim outfit at a party thrown by the Ambanis for London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, in December?

To make sure you stay on the Neha Dhupia, not Sridevi side of denim, here's a simple list of dos and don'ts for styling your denims:
1) Break up the colours: Don't opt for a denim-on-denim outfit that is all exactly the same shade (like Sridevi did). Use different washes for your top and bottom. If you're using the same wash in two key pieces, break it up with a neutral colour (like Neha's white shirt), While going matchy-matchy is not a good look for any fabric, in the case of denim, it just ends up being that much more overwhelming.
2) Don't be afraid of showing some skin: Especially if you're using two pieces in the same colour. A sports bra or a crop top under your jacket and over your jeans could be just thee distraction your matching pieces need. If showing skin is not your thing, break up the colours with the help of an accessory in a pop colour.
3) Denim clothes are cool, accessories, not so much: Unless you're absolutely, without a doubt sure of it, confine the use of denim to your clothing. Denim hats, jewellery, shoes, bags, etc., when paired with denim almost always end up looking tacky.
4) Use your shades smartly: Denim is a forgiving fabric, but only if you're smart with it. If you're trying to draw attention away from a certain body part, use a darker shade of denim on it. So if you have big thighs, but a relatively small waist, pair a dark pair of jeans with a white denim jacket or shirt for best effect.
5) Add a trench coat: Trench coats are all the rage now, and you can combine tow great styles in one look by adding a denim trench coat to the mix. Opt for denim culottes in a different shade under your trench, or roll up the bottom to add a little texture to your denim-on-denim look.
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