From the Wild West to Justin and Britney: Why the Canadian Tuxedo Stood the Test of Time

by Lindsay Cooper January 9, 2018

If you Google “Canadian Tuxedo” a picture of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake pops up. The double-denim look that the two pop stars wore to the 2001 American Music Awards has become iconic, but Canucks didn’t dream up this sartorial combo.

Turns out the term was coined after American singer and actor Bing Crosby was nearly kicked out of his upscale Vancouver hotel for wearing denim-on-denim in 1951. Despite the hotelier’s negative opinion (and Justin Timberlake’s repeated attempts to distance himself from his infamous ensemble), we beg to differ.

And apparently fashion designers do too, with the monochromatic pairing continuing to cycle onto the runways every few seasons. It was represented at the FW17 shows by Dior, Off-White and Y/Project and more recently made appearances in SS18 collections courtesy of Tibi, Tom Ford and Calvin Klein. And we can’t forget how the Kardashians eschewed their usual labels for jeans in their 2017 Christmas card.

Even Yves Saint Laurent was smitten. “I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans,” he admitted in an interview near the end of his career. “They have expression, modesty, sex appeal and simplicity. All I hope for in my clothes.”

For our February issue, we took this age-old staple and reinterpreted it for the current season. We layered other wardrobe staples—like leather jackets and blazers—and mixed in some ruffles and patterns to keep it from looking like a costume.

The beauty of 2018’s Canadian Tuxedo is more than just good jeans.

See how we styled the Canadian Tuxedo for SS18 below and in our February issue.

Photography by Max Abadian. Styling by Zeina Esmail. Creative Direction by Brittany Eccles. Hair, Sabrina Rinaldi for P1M.ca/Oribe. Makeup, Geneviève Lenneville for Folio Montréal/Nars. Nails, Shirley Truong for P1M.ca/Tips Nail Bar. Fashion assistants, Sara Roberts for P1M.ca and Felicia Ryan for P1M.ca. Models, Janice Alida for Sutherland Models and Meghan Collison for Mode Models International.