Summer Jeans Beyond Blue
Colour, fabric and familiar clothes are worn differently.
A guide from the Weekends fitting room
A favourite shirt can look quite different when you change the jeans beneath it.
White with chocolate. Azure blue with cream. A simple tee with green jeans providing the colour.
You still have the ease of jeans, but another way to wear the clothes already in your wardrobe. That is where coloured jeans become interesting: they can give a blouse, shirt or jacket you know well a different role.
You don’t have to change the colour and the shape at once. Start with a silhouette you enjoy, then consider what a cream, chocolate, or seasonal colour could add to your everyday outfits.
Jeans you can wear across seasons
If you put jeans away as soon as the weather warms up, it may be the weight of your denim that needs changing.
Lighter stretch fabrics, including Joseph Ribkoff Featherweave denim and Lania’s stretch denim, make jeans a possibility beyond the cooler months. You can keep the familiar styling while choosing a fabric that feels less heavy.
For spring and summer, wear them with a tee, sleeveless top or an open shirt. When the weather cools, add a knit or jacket. The jeans remain useful while the layers around them change.
That makes fabric worth considering before colour. A shade you love won’t earn its place if the jeans feel too heavy or restrictive for the days you want to wear them.
Think about your plans, too. Lunch, shopping and an evening out ask something different of your wardrobe from a very hot afternoon outdoors. Summer-weight jeans give you another option; choose their weight and fit for how you will actually spend the day.
Putting colour into an everyday outfit
Start with a top you already wear regularly.
Perhaps it is a printed blouse that always ends up with blue denim, or a white shirt you usually wear with black pants. Change the jeans and look at the outfit again.
Cream can give a print a lighter setting. Chocolate offers another direction beneath white. Green or peach can provide the colour when the top is simple.
This is also a useful way to decide how much colour you want. You might enjoy a pale neutral that slips easily into your wardrobe, or prefer jeans that become the focus of the outfit.
There is no need to find matching shoes, jewellery and a bag. Start with your usual accessories and see what the outfit needs once you have it on.
Cream colours: Almond and Moonstone
Almond and Moonstone belong together in the cream and pale-neutral part of the selection. They offer a light alternative when you want a change from blue denim.
With navy, the contrast is clear. With azure blue, the top provides the colour. Raspberry, coral, tangelo orange and fresh green are other shades to bring alongside them.
Cream jeans are also worth trying with a printed shirt. Look at the background of the print as well as its smaller details. A pale neutral beneath it may be enough to bring the outfit together without matching every colour.
White and cream can work together, too. Different textures give the outfit interest: a cotton shirt, a soft knit or a flowing blouse will each create a different result.
Compare pale shades in daylight where possible. They do not need to be identical, but you want to enjoy how they sit together.
Moonstone is now a core colour
Moonstone is now a core colour in Joseph Ribkoff Goldie jeans, giving you a pale option to consider across seasons.
That is useful if you enjoy lighter jeans with summer tops and want to continue wearing them with knitwear later. A cream colour does not have to belong only to warm weather.
Core status does not guarantee that every size is available at every moment. Check the individual product when you are ready to choose.
Chocolate colours: Mocha and Mahogany
If black jeans are your usual starting point, put the same tops beside Mocha or Mahogany.
These shades give you a chocolate colour direction without asking you to build an entirely new wardrobe around them. Start with white or cream, then try azure blue or a print containing a brown detail.
A white shirt and chocolate jeans make a simple outfit in which the colour combination does much of the work. For warmer days, compare a tee or sleeveless blouse. As the weather cools, add a knit and your usual jacket.
You can also explore brown tones together. The shades needn’t match precisely; compare their warmth and the different textures. A woven jean beneath a knit gives you another way to wear a tonal outfit.
Mocha and Mahogany should still be treated as individual colours. Try them with the same top so you can see which works with more of the clothes you own.
Peach, green and room for more colour
Peach and green give you other ways to move beyond blue, alongside cream and chocolate.
With peach, start with white, cream or navy. Keep the first outfit simple so you can see how much colour the jeans bring.
With green, try a white tee or shirt, then compare a print. A green detail in the pattern can create a connection, but look at the whole outfit before deciding whether it works.
A coloured jean can also be the only strong colour you wear. You don’t need a bright top as well: a plain shirt, familiar shoes and the jeans may be all the outfit requires.
As the selection develops across Joseph Ribkoff, Lania and Monari, use these colour families as a starting point. The useful question is which shade gives you more ways to wear your wardrobe.
Choose the shape as well as the colour
Changing colour does not mean you need to abandon the fit you like.
If slim jeans work beneath your longer shirts, start with a similar shape. If you prefer a straight leg, keep that preference in mind. A wider leg is worth comparing when you want more room or a different proportion.
Slim and straight
A slim jean follows the leg more closely. Check the room through the thigh and calf as well as the waistband, particularly when seated.
A straight leg gives you less narrowing towards the hem. It is another option beneath a loose shirt or blouse when you prefer that line through the lower leg.
Wide leg
A wide leg brings more volume, making the fall of the fabric and the finished length worth checking together.
Lania Chrome and Joseph Ribkoff Goldie offer wide-leg options. Compare how each sits through the waist and hips, then look at the hem with the shoes you intend to wear.
You can wear an untucked shirt with a wide leg. A shorter top or a small front tuck gives you other proportions to compare. Choose according to the outfit and the coverage you enjoy.
For more on the Joseph Ribkoff shapes, read our Denim Fit Guide. Use the individual product measurements and size information when choosing your pair.
Why the fabric makes a difference
Colour may catch your eye, but fabric influences how the jeans feel and where you will wear them.
Lightweight stretch denim
Joseph Ribkoff Featherweave is a lightweight stretch denim. Lania’s stretch denim provides another option for women who want jeans with flexibility.
These fabrics are worth considering if heavier denim is what limits when you wear jeans. Compare the weight, movement and feel of the individual pair rather than assuming all stretch denim behaves alike.
Fit remains part of the decision. Enough room through the body and leg helps you enjoy the flexibility of the fabric.
Lania’s soft stretch denim
Lania’s Chrome jeans offer the familiar structure of denim with a softer feel and stretch for movement. If stiff, heavy jeans are what put you off wearing denim in warmer weather, these are worth considering.
The fabric works with the wide-leg shape: there is room through the leg, while the deep hem gives weight to the finish and helps the denim fall cleanly.
In Almond or Mocha, that makes Chrome useful across seasons. Wear it with a cotton shirt or tee in summer, then add knitwear as the weather cools. You keep the comfort and shape you enjoy while changing the layers around it.
Garment-washed cotton sateen
Joseph Ribkoff’s Cotton Sateen Straight-Leg Pants use garment-washed cotton sateen with stretch, a straight-leg silhouette and classic five-pocket styling.
The smooth woven finish gives you another option alongside denim. It is worth comparing beneath a blouse when you want the familiarity of jeans with a different fabric finish.
Check the care instructions for the particular pair. The cotton sateen style has its own washing requirements; care should not be assumed from another pair of jeans, even within the same label.
The same jeans, different plans
Once you have found the fit, try changing the top.
Begin with your everyday tee or shirt. Then add a blouse, jewellery and the shoes you would wear to lunch or dinner.
Cream beneath a bright blouse or chocolate with white can give you an outfit you might not have built around blue denim. The jeans provide a familiar base while the colour changes the combination.
This is where a pair can earn its place across seasons and occasions. You have clothes to wear with it now, and other combinations to return to as the weather changes.
Find your next pair beyond blue
Start with a shape you enjoy and a colour you can picture wearing with your clothes.
Compare the fabric, check the length with your shoes and use the size information for the particular pair. If you are moving between labels, compare measurements rather than relying on the same size number.
Explore Jeans with ColourYour coloured jeans questions
I find jeans too heavy for summer. Which fabrics should I look at?
Look at lighter stretch denim, including Joseph Ribkoff Featherweave and Lania’s stretch denim. Compare the weight of the individual pair and the room through the leg. A comfortable option for lunch or an evening out may still feel too warm for a very hot day outdoors.
What is the difference between cotton sateen and denim?
Cotton sateen is a woven fabric with a smooth finish. Joseph Ribkoff’s Cotton Sateen Straight-Leg Pants combine it with stretch, garment washing and familiar five-pocket styling. Featherweave is lightweight stretch denim. Compare the feel and fall of each fabric, as well as the care instructions, when deciding which suits your plans.
Which styles should I compare if I want a wide leg?
Lania Chrome and Joseph Ribkoff Goldie are wide-leg options. Compare their waist and hip fit, fabric and finished length with the same top and shoes. The shared description of “wide leg” does not mean they will fit or fall identically.
Should I choose the same size when changing jeans labels?
Use the measurements and size chart for the particular style. The same size number across two labels does not establish the same fit. If you are unsure, tell us which jeans you currently wear and which pair you are considering so we can help you compare.
Is Moonstone a seasonal colour in Joseph Ribkoff Goldie jeans?
Moonstone is now a core colour in Goldie. It gives you a pale alternative to blue to consider across seasons. Check the product page for current size availability, or contact us about the size you need.