DO YOU dare do double denim? If you think it’s hard enough to say then try pulling it off without ending up looking like one of Status Quo.

Any woman worth her J Brands knows the first rule of fashion is “thou shalt not do double denim”.

And yet the fashion gods, in their infinite wisdom, have decreed this trashy trend be the look of summer 2010.

House of Holland, Chloe, Ralph Lauren, D&G and even Mulberry (my beautiful Mulberry how could you do this?) are all on board the double denim bandwagon.

And, masters of the dark arts that designers are, they are doing a very good job of making an intrinsically bad look, look good.

Sienna and Savannah Miller brought back Bananarama memories with their take on the trend at their Twenty8Twelve show, left, transporting me back to my formative years when I spent way too many hours trying to fashion one of my mum’s headscarves into a funky turban. Never did pull it off.

Dolce & Gabbana meanwhile roughed it up with open neck shirts, slashed jeans and tan belts and boots on models who looked like they had just been having some Geena Davis/Brad Pitt style cowboy fun in a roadside motel.

In a bid to pull the cotton twill over our eyes some designers have tried to shake the double denim tag completely renaming the trend “Americana”.

Hmmm....Worst of all they have even recruited the big style guns to their cause, witness one Alexa Chung rocking a denim shirt AND denim jeans on PPQ’s front row at London Fashion Week.

If Alexa’s doing it you can bet your Balmains every girl under the age of 19 will be doing it...and quite a few who are old enough to know better.

Especially if we thought we stood a chance in hell of looking as cool as she does in it.

Which brings us to me. Dare I do double denim?

I would like to say never. One colleague fearful for my reputation has already threatened to kill me if I do.

And I also have the issue of having worn it first time around, oh the shame of my high waisted jeans.

So why do I keep finding myself drawn to that rack of beautifully soft denim shirts and acid-washed skinny jeans every time I go into Zara?

Why do I keep envisaging myself striding through town looking bang on trend with my Americana wardrobe as passers by admire my fashion forwardness?

Could it be that we are actually being too harsh on this whole trend? Could it be that, like jumpsuits and harem pants, double denim is just in need of a bit of fashion rehabilitation?

I mean how dangerous to the public is it really? Maybe you just need to wear it carefully.

If I mix up my denims, some stonewash up top, a little overdyed indigo on the bottom and steer well clear of Shakin’ Stevens-style jackets maybe, just maybe I will be alright.

After all, what’s the worst that could happen?

Oh yeah I could end up looking like an extra from Prisoner Cell Block H.