As a classic item of clothing, fashion enthusiasts might argue that a good women's denim shirt is a necessary classic for any well-rounded wardrobe. They can be worn formally or casually, so whether you're planning on a casual night out with friends or drinks with the boss, you'll always be able to find a denim shirt to match your needs.

The versatile and characteristic item can be worn on a wide range of occasions, ranging from ultra-casual to casual-formal. Women's denim shirts can be worn with jeans or skirts, so here's a handy guide to styling them. Deciding on how to wear a denim shirt ultimately depends on several factors. What style of denim shirt do you have? How formal is it? What kind of occasion will it be? Whilst there are hundreds of styles of denim shirts, understanding where a particular denim shirt falls on the casual-formal continuum can help.

Dark Jeans

Denim is a versatile fabric that can go well with many colors. Women's denim shirts can be styled with a wide range of women's jeans and trousers, so figuring out how to wear a denim shirt with jeans can be simple and fun.

Lighter shades of denim blend well with black jeans while accentuating the eye-catching contrast between light and dark. For a more casual look, use your denim shirt as an overshirt for a t-shirt. For a more formal look, use a thin denim shirt as your main top piece. So figuring out how to wear a denim shirt with jeans can be simple and fun.

Light Jeans

Figuring out how to wear a denim shirt with jeans when the jeans are lighter in color can be a little trickier. When wearing a dark denim shirt with light denim jeans, your style could clash. You can wear a lighter all-purpose women's denim shirt with light jeans, and for a more uniform look, consider looking for a denim shirt that matches the hue of your denim jeans.

This color contrasting advice wearing denim applies regardless of whether you're styling with women's jeans or men's jeans.

Dress Pants

If you're going for a slightly more formal look, consider wearing a pair of women's dress pants to compliment your denim shirt. A formal dark denim shirt contrasted by a pair of black dress pants is a good choice for a work meeting that may not be formal enough to warrant full dress clothes.

Examining the collar of a women's denim shirt to go with your dress pants is one of the easiest methods to determine its formality. Shirts with floppy (typically buttoned) collars are more casual than those with harder, structured collars.

Another method used to tell how casual a denim shirt is to look at the fabric's weight. Is the cloth thick and hefty, or light and airy? A good rule of thumb is that the heavier and thicker the cloth, the more casual the shirt.

Skirts

In summer, men can style a light denim shirt with a casual pair of men's shorts. This also works well with women's shorts or skirts and dresses. You can style a women's denim shirt with a long, brightly colored skirt if you're looking for that floral summer vibe.

A formal denim shirt made from thin material with a rigid structure collar goes well with tighter and shorter formal skirts, too. To create a more shapely appearance, consider tucking the shirt into the skirt.

Looser and thicker denim shirts with floppy collars tend to give off a more casual appearance. They may be fully buttoned-up, buttoned halfway, or fully open as an overshirt. They are easy to style and go particularly well with a pair of equally casual jeans or pants.