How to wear white jeans has always been a tricky puzzle to crack, sartorially speaking. Here, GLAMOUR's Fashion Editor, Lucy Walker, gives a masterclass on how to style fashion's most unforgiving item...
(Above) Cotton top £300 Jacquemus; denim jeans £235 AG at Harvey Nichols; silk shoes £345 Mansur Gavriel; gold-plated earring £165 (for pair) Eshvi
What do you think when you hear the words ‘white jeans’? Elizabeth Hurley? Johnny Borrell circa 2005? Or just crying emoji? Believe me, I agree. I have a love/hate relationship with jeans full stop – because, while they’re the bedrock of my everyday wardrobe, they’re extremely unforgiving. Plus, if you follow the style counsel that the lighter the hue, the less flattering the jean, white denim is the cruellest mistress of all. Throw in the fact that every red-wine spill, grass stain and sticky-handed toddler within a 20ft radius WILL find you, it’s easy to see why you simply wouldn’t bother with them.
And yet. Dior put white jeans on the S/S17 runway and they looked both cool and grown-up. It makes me want to be the kind of person who can pull them off. But this isn’t my first rodeo (incidentally, another thing that should never be attempted in white jeans) – I had a doomed holiday romance with white jeans a few summers ago. They were extremely high-waisted, loose on the bum and with a tapered leg (I know, I know). The mere sight of myself in a Facebook photo sent me running back to Uniqlo in search of my faithful deep blue. But this time, I decide, it will be different.
I take my cue from the most flattering pair of blue jeans I own, which are medium-rise, slim-fitting on the hips and bum, perfectly straight with a slight crop and, most importantly, have no detectable stretch. This rules out skinnies, carrot legs, low-rise styles and anything that remotely resembles a jegging. Enter The Isabelle by AG, which fulfils all the criteria. But what to wear them with?
I want to avoid the ‘yummy mummy on the school run’ look, so blazers, loafers and crisp classic shirts are out. Instead, I go for an off-the-shoulder top with oversized cuffs by Parisian brand Jacquemus and add some low-heeled slippers and a single earring. The straight leg and unfinished hem are super-current and the fit is flattering enough for me not to fear an Insta moment. In fact, I’m going to do that right now, while they’re still pristine...
Denim jacket £300 Dries Van Noten at Browns Fashion; denim jeans £65 Levi’s; satin shoes £495 Manolo Blahnik; jersey top £52 Petit Bateau
Fancy a go? Click through the below gallery to see 10 of the best pairs of white jeans to buy now:How to wear white jeans (it's easier than you think)Gallery15 PhotosncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qLjApqauqp2WtKLGyKecZ5ufY8Kse8Crq6KbnJp8qbvWZquoZaOpxq2xjLCfoqyVYremrc2s