Can I Wear Jeans and a White T-Shirt to Work? Plus 8 More Burning Questions On the Classic Men’s Outfit

Can I Wear Jeans and a White T-Shirt to Work? Plus 8 More Burning Questions On the Classic Men’s Outfit Tennis T-Shirts

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Pinning down the outfit’s genesis is near-impossible, said Chloe Chapin, who’s writing a dissertation on fashion history at Harvard. Late-19th-century coal miners sported early versions of denim dungarees—the progenitors to jeans—noted Ms. Chapin, while white T-shirts rose to prominence when the U.S. Navy began issuing them to sailors around 1913. One thing’s indisputable, said Ms. Chapin: The look began as workwear. “Bluejeans and white T-shirts are…very cheap, accessible to everyone—they were worn by dockworkers and mechanics.”

The style, which has cycled in and out of popularity over the decades, has often radiated bad-boy vibes. See James Dean and Marlon Brando smoldering on-screen in the 1950s, or the cocky T-Birds in 1978’s “Grease.” In the ’80s, teens embraced the look with vigor, said Ms. Chapin, because it was “cool, cheap and a bit of a F-you to the status quo.”

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Stone Wash T-Shirt This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.

Can I Wear Jeans and a White T-Shirt to Work? Plus 8 More Burning Questions On the Classic Men’s Outfit - WSJ