Denim is a staple of any American wardrobe — but it can be a challenge to pair denim with denim without committing a fashion faux pas. On a recent sunny day in Cherry Creek, we ran into Jacob Saraff, a Denver fine-arts student at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, who pulls off denim on demin in fine style. "Painting and drawing are my main two mediums," he says. We'd add fashion to that list. We chatted with Saraff about where he shops and what inspires his personal style.
Style inspirations and icons: "Definitely the 1990s. Denim on denim is my favorite. I like really like certain types of denim; it is a very specific thing to pull off."
Favorite color: "Pastel pink."
Favorite accessory: "My Casio watch from American Apparel. I wear it all the time. I bought it like three months ago. "
Style mantra: "I want to dress for every occasion I may find myself in during one day. I don't want to worry about going home to change if I go out after school. "
Shops at: I love Scotch & Soda, Urban Outfitters, American Apparel and Buffalo Exchange. Thrifting is a good way to shop in general. You never know that you're going to find. I like to shop at Goodwill.
Saraff demonstrates how to wear denim on denim the right way: The white tee breaks up Saraff's dark denim jeans and acid-washed denim jacket. "My style is a mix of Seattle and Denver," he says. His Dr. Martens pay homage to Seattle's grunge roots, his healthy-lungs pin is from a Seattle bookstore, and he found the rose pin, a reference to the ’90s comedy Don't Tell Mom the Babysister's Dead, at Denver's Buffalo Exchange. His ’90s motif is reinforced by the Calvin Klein logo on his denim hat.
"I've always pretty much had the same aesthetic, but my color palette changes from season to season," he adds. "In the summer I wear more pastels and denim. In the fall and winter I wear more maroons and dark greens, darker colors."
Always show your true colors, Denver...especially denim blue.