16 Pairs Of The Best White Jeans To Wear All Year Round
White jeans are something of a paradox. Whether you choose pencil-straight pair or a style that pools, something in blinding white or a more tempered ecru, their minimalist aesthetic can appear effortless – see Jane Birkin’s insouciant, low-rise, pleat-fronted pairs – however, the flipside is that for all their optic effortlessness, they require significantly more upkeep than indigos. Yet, even as someone who can’t leave the house in white jeans without returning with a slightly blackened hemline or a back-pocket smudge, I will always think it’s worth it.
Quite simply, they deliver something different to classic true blues, which is why 24/7 wearers of jeans will always have a white pair in their rotation. I own two: a very high-waisted, straight-legged style from Mother, which has a longer hem that folds nicely over sneakers or almost brushes the pavement when teamed with a heeled ankle boot. The other is off-white, ankle-cropped and barrel-legged by DL191. They serve different purposes, as you can probably tell by their vital stats, but, crucially, both deliver polish in a mode that’s easy and undone.
Vogue’s pick of the best white jeans
Almost every retailer carries a pair of white jeans, and even with just a quick scroll it’s clear that they’re popular (they’re often a brand’s most sold-out jeans). Specialised denim labels – Citizens of Humanity, DL1961, Frame etc – have some of the best in the business, but so do contemporary brands, such as Me+Em, Studio Nicholson and Toteme, whose twisted-seam pair is the definition of cool.
They could pretty much be styled with any top-half, from a chunky knit by day to a long-sleeved jersey blouse by night. (I also love white-on-white denim, although that might be too much of a spill hazard.) My only note would be that to score on the low-effort index, the key is not overdoing it. Minimal jewellery, a quiet handbag and low-maintenance shoes – a lived-in boot or a classic ballet flat – are the way to go. All that’s left to do now is find your stain-remover of choice.
