whydid kirsten smithWhen one thinks of shredded jeans, I  assume that most file destroyed denim under completely casual.  To be honest, I treat some of my destroyed denim like my own version of sweatpants.  A particular pair that reign as queen bee of my cluttered closet and are often the first thing I pull out for morning dog walking duty also happen to be the very same pair I pull out to wear with a tiny top and high heels for an evening out.  So, you see, distressed denim truly can go from day to night.  I’ve never worked at a job where I had to wear a “suit” (that’s the beauty of the fashion industry, kids), but when I worked in a sad grey cube at Henri Bendel, we were supposed to follow a few simple guidelines like, I don’t know: don’t look like an asshole or wear flip flops.  One of the clauses when distressed denim became one of our biggest sellers in store was that we could wear it… so long as it was one of our vendors… and most certainly not with flip flops- not even Havaianas.  So, full circle: destroyed denim can be both very downtown as well as totally dressed up.

whydid kirsten smith

whydid kirsten smith

kirsten smith whydid

kirsten destroyed denim whydid

whydid kirsten smithblazer: Dian von Furstenberg, blouse: Philosophy, jeans: DIY (learn how here), bag: Rafe, shoes: Carlos by Carlos Santana, sunglasses: Ray-Ban, bracelets: alex and ani, necklace: Maya Brenner

xx,

WhyDid

photos by Brian Schutza