Last year's colored
denim craze didn't exactly have me jumping for joy- I find electric blue skinny jeans absolutely terrifying.
J.Crew has a knack for making denim look positively adorable in all sorts of pastel shades, but I'm convinced the appeal is all in the masterful styling and not the denim itself. So basically, while I want to like colored denim, I just can't. Besides, I prefer to think of denim as a canvas for the rest of my outfit- the more minimal, the better. The occasional distressing, fine. Studs and rhinestones, no thanks. So when I came across a crop of dusty grey denim at
Madewell, I couldn't help but think I was on to something. Sure, they weren't your typical jeans, but they weren't your basic blue jeans either. They were noteworthy, but neutral all at once- in a word, they were perfect. Click the slideshow for eight pairs to add to the mix this fall.