How To Wear White Jeans This Summer

Before we discuss how to wear white jeans, you need a good pair of white jeans. I highly recommend Pilco’s off-white jeans pictured above. I also like NYDJ and 7 For All Mankind’s ‘The Skinny’. The key to a good pair of white jeans is its opacity, or as I like to call it, the ability to not show your underwear. A good pair of white jeans will also be cropped, skinny, or a very slim straight leg. You want to skip wider leg white jeans because it feels too structured for a denim color that is inherently casual and won’t go with the recommended shoes.

Once you have a good pair, how to wear white jeans is all about color pairings and footwear. These are the biggest pitfalls for all white jean owners. I often see people wearing textures, colors and shoes that disconnect from the fresh lightness of a white jean. Wearing the wrong colors and shoes is also what gives white jeans the reputation of adding weight. When you wear the wrong shoe or have too much color contrast, the disruption of hues and volume proportion adds weight.

Since we are on the topic, another reason white jeans have the myth of adding weight is the visibility a light color brings. It does not add weight, it is simply outlining your body, which is new and can be scary since most people wear dark bottoms. Dark colors don’t slim by the way, they hide. Your body kind of disappears, which feels slimming because if you’re not there, you can’t be chubby, but if you’re not there, you can’t be slim either. Don’t let the comfort of hiding detour you from white jeans. With the right opaque pair of white jeans (Pilcro!) worn the right way, you will feel and look just as slim as you would in a darker denim.

Colors To Wear With White Jeans

White jeans require a softer palette to accomplish the most stylish and slimming outfit.

Soft neutrals like light grey and tan
Bright colors like indigo, royal blue, yellow, orange and hot pink
Pastels like baby blue, lavender and bubble gum pink

Colors Not To Wear With White Jeans

You want to avoid too much contrast with white jeans, so you will want to skip colors like black and dark navy. You also want to skip more traditionally winter colors because they will look downright macabre next to a white jean.

Dark colors like black, and deep navy
Traditional winter colors like dark brown, charcoal, and burgundy
The wrong color white (Make sure if there is white in the top you are pairing with your white jean, it is the same white as your jean.)