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11 Best Rugged Denim Shirts for Men

By Beau Hayhoe  |  Updated February 8, 2024

11 Best Rugged Denim Shirts for Men
Courtesy of Flint and Tinder

Some ideas in the menswear world are so ingenious, it’s a wonder there aren’t more like them. Take the denim shirt: It’s a simple enough silhouette, but the standard dress shirt is turned into a rugged, timeless essential by using the very same cotton denim that makes your favorite pair of jeans an eternal classic. Not a bad casual staple piece to have in your wardrobe, right?


WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
  • The denim shirt is (perhaps) the original hybrid style: The use of durable cotton denim fabric in a shirt (rather than jeans) paved the way for a new type of workwear, and the style is still casually rugged in modern times.
  • Denim shirts are old-school made modern: Most denim shirts now use modern design touches, like stretch fabric or a more lightweight cotton, to ensure a comfortable, easy-to-layer fit and fabric that’s not too stiff. Some are even designed more like shirt jackets, with slightly thicker construction.
  • Denim shirts are a style swerve: When you tire of wearing an Oxford shirt or flannel shirt out on the weekends, look instead for the denim shirt: It’s often got cool details like snap buttons or contrast stitching, and it pairs well with denim or even casual stretch chinos (see below).
  • You can double up on denim: A denim shirt and jeans can work for you – trust us. If you’re feeling a bit rock n’roll, try wearing a light wash denim shirt with dark blue or black jeans, or a black denim shirt with mid-wash blue jeans. Avoid boot-cut jeans, keep the rest of your look toned-down, and head out to your next concert or dive bar.

The best denim shirts, like those trusty blue jeans, were first trusted for their hard-wearing durability and versatility in the field. Some denim shirts are built more like an Oxford shirt, with a buttondown collar and chest pocket, and some nod to Western designs, with reinforced shoulder and back yoke stitching.

The bottom line is that when you want to switch things up from an Oxford shirt or a flannel shirt, a Western shirt is a bold approach approved by icons like Steve McQueen and worn to great effect by modern style legends, too. Channel that same energy by stepping out in one of the best denim shirts below.

Best Overall Denim Shirt

Levi’s Barstow Western Denim Shirt

Why did I choose it?

What makes a classic a true classic? Try longevity and a respect for the past, blended with modern style. Levi’s hits the right notes with its longtime favorite Barstow Shirt, from Western contrast stitching to a highly agreeable price and rugged good looks to style with Levi’s denim.


Best Selvedge Denim Shirt
Taylor Stitch Western Shirt in Washed Denim

Best Western Denim Shirt
Iron and Resin Tonopah Western Shirt

Best Denim Workshirt
Kato Brace Shirt

Best Denim Oxford Shirt
Bonobos Everyday Denim Shirt

Best Splurge Denim Shirt
Todd Snyder Italian Denim Overshirt


Best Overall Denim Shirt

Levi’s Barstow Western Denim Shirt


$54
 

You could very well call the Levi’s Barstown Denim Shirt “the original and best” as far as denim shirts are concerned – the company helped pioneer denim in the United States, after all – and you’d be right on the money.

It’s a certified classic for a reason, hitting on all the right notes, from the pointed shoulder yoke detailing to the V-shaped front chest pockets. The Light Wash color is classic and makes for a solid style purchase when paired up with dark blue, black or grey denim, and it helpfully retails for well under $100.





Best Selvedge Denim Shirt

Taylor Stitch Western Shirt in Washed Denim


$125
 

The best denim shirts call to mind another time and place, like the vintage appeal of Taylor Stitch and its distinctive take on the Western shirt.

Organic cotton selvage denim delivers both softness and standout durability (the shirt is washed for a lived-in feel), while the faded color itself looks like you’ve had it for years.

When paired up with contrast stitching, slanted Western-style chest pockets and YKK Western snap buttons, it’s a perfectly executed take on the denim shirt. Bonus points for the fact that you can wear it open over a Taylor Stitch tee, or buttoned up beneath a shawl cardigan.





Best Western Denim Shirt

Iron and Resin Tonopah Western Shirt


$119
 

The best denim shirts can add some serious flair to your wardrobe, at least if you select this handsome number from road-ready brand Iron and Resin.

Custom embroidery adds a distinctive look to the front of this shirt, while double-needle stitching at key stress points drives home serious durability.





Best Denim Workshirt

Kato Brace Shirt


$238
 

Trust Kato Brand to consistently select some of the most interesting, appealing fabrics on the market, all the while turning them into seriously stylish, high-quality jeans and shirts.

It all comes together in this 7oz. denim workshirt, with heritage details like rounded flap pockets, and incredible USA-made design. Several color options available.





Best Denim Oxford Shirt

Bonobos Everyday Denim Shirt


$99
 

Bonobos says they’ve used all the “denim bells and whistles” here, and that results in a classic denim shirt made from rich, lived-in fabric.

It boasts the buttondown collar of an Oxford shirt, and the casually rugged “cool” factor of the iconic denim shirt.





Best Splurge Denim Shirt

Todd Snyder Italian Denim Overshirt


$248
 

The denim shirt is the perfect sort of piece for famed American designer Todd Snyder to overhaul. It’s a rugged classic that takes on a luxe feel with Snyder’s use of handsome Italian cotton denim, and the faded fit and finish makes it look like you’ve had it for years. Someday, that will prove the case.






Buck Mason M024 Denim Work Shirt


$148
 

For a brand that was originally inspired by the rough-and-tumble, hard-working factories of Rust Belt cities, it makes perfect sense to carefully craft one of the best denim shirts on the market.

All the bells and whistles you could ask for in a denim workshirt are front and center, be it the indigo yarn-dyed denim (in a layering-friendly 7oz. weight) or the double-needle felled seams for long-lasting durability. Side seam gussets (a fabric patch designed to improve mobility) make this a proper workshirt pick for the garage or the shop, but the rich denim color is stylish enough to serve as an off-duty shirt jacket, too.






Billy Reid Shoals Denim Shirt


$198
 

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is an adage that could very well apply to this iconic denim shirt from another lauded all-American menswear brand.

The Shoals Denim Shirt is a longtime favorite of the Alabama-based designer, who’s carried it in his namesake line for nearly two decades. The details have remained largely the same, from the eye-catching angled front snap pockets to the antique brass snap buttons.

Reid himself loves the shirt, and it’s not hard to see why: The soft denim fabric is comfortable as a shirt on its own, yet easy enough to layer over a henley shirt in cooler weather.






RRL Type 2 Denim Jacket


$490
 

Some of the best denim shirts are so cool and utterly rugged, they look like Clint Eastwood or Steve McQueen wore them right off screen and into the real world.

The RRL Type 2 denim jacket leans into Ralph Lauren’s classic Americana designs in a major way, reinventing the famed Type 2 Trucker Jacket style for the modern man.

It’s made from tough selvedge denim that will wear in handsomely over time, and the use of Japanese cotton fabric puts it a cut above other denim shirts on the market. In short: It’s worth the higher price tag.






Orvis Wrinkle-Free Pure Cotton Denim Shirt


$109
 

Want a classic denim shirt that more closely rivals the casual, cool flair of your favorite Oxford shirt than a Western shirt? Orvis is right on the money with its Wrinkle-Free Denim Shirt, a lightweight 4.5oz. cotton denim shirt in a deep indigo blue color.

That color gives it a dressy look and feel that could even work well with tan stretch chinos and brown leather chukka boots in a business casual office setting. Plus, this shirt’s details are subtle and timeless, like the buttondown collar and a single button chest pocket.






Flint and Tinder Bone Button Western Shirt


$158
 

Western shirts, with their durable back and shoulder yokes and hearty snap buttons, have long been a heritage style move with functional roots. They’re also more popular than ever these days, and Flint and Tinder has come up with an expertly crafted shirt with a lived-in feel and burnt cow snap buttons.





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