The Casual White Pant and T-Shirt Look
White often feels like a formal colour, but it can easily be roughed up to become casual on-the-street wear. To take it down a notch, wear your white pants with a lowkey dark t-shirt and a favourite pair of worn-in footwear. Layer with a blazer or open shirt, and mix in accessories like a rubber watch strap or wooden beads. Just because your pants look pristine doesn’t mean the rest of the look has to. (Maybe skip the hat, it’s a bit nowhere.)
The Triple Double (Two dudes, double breasted blazers and double monks)
With a few notable exceptions, two is always better than one, right? This more formal look sees white pants paired up with double monk strap shoes and a double breasted blazer. And note the chic mix of colours: a light blue shirt, tan or cognac shoes, and a darker brown jacket. Black is definitely not the only neutral that can or should be paired with white. (Personal favourite)
The Half Tuck Denim Shirt & White Combo
Denim lovers: you don’t have to totally relinquish your favourite fabric if you’re wearing white pants. The casual-but-considered look of this half tuck denim shirt getup is killer. In fact, you could even opt for white jeans and totally nail the denim-on-denim trend that’s been going around lately. Finish the look by rolling the hems and sleeves and you’re good to go. (Credit: Tokyo Faces)
The Rolled Cuff
The rolled cuff is the ultimate way to dress up a less formal outfit. Don loafers, boat shoes, or Oxfords and ditch the socks for fashionable warm weather wear. On top, aim for a casually unbuttoned shirt (think chambray or a print). This look, as with all white pants, is best achieved with a slim jean or pant. The trim silhouette is a must when wearing white pants.
WHITE TROUSER GUIDELINES
The three guidelines you need to follow are:
- Nail The Fit
As if I was going to start with anything else. But, although I obviously mean you should make sure the trousers fit you, there is another side to this. Due to the fact that they are a spring/summer item, it’s even more important that they are slim through the leg and hemmed with very little break. A comfort or loose fit will just look sloppy here, especially if you pair them with loafers/drivers or go sockless.
If opting for shorts, make sure there’s wriggle room in the thighs and that they end a couple of inches above the knee.
- Embrace Their Neutrality
By which I mean experiment outside of the obvious grey and navy t-shirt combinations.
White can arguably be considered the greatest neutral of them all, so why not get a little creative and use it as an anchor in your looks? It looks great with any sort of pattern – be it gingham, stripe or floral – and is complemented by a wide range of colours, from pink and green to lilac and yellow.
- Embrace Their Versatility
White trousers aren’t just for a casual Sunday in a beer garden; they’re for all of summer and beyond. White jeans are the perfect piece to help nail the denim on denim look this season due to the fact that they are a completely different colour to traditional indigo/blue denim shirts.
White chinos are also the ideal partner for those hard to match summer blazers that you’ve been investing in. You know the ones I’m talking about: the brown linen one, the navy cotton plaid one, the Indian madras one, even those pink and green tropical wool pieces. As long as you pair them with other neutral staples, such as a blue dress shirt and complementing stripe tie, the chinos will anchor a statement jacket in a refined way whilst still allowing it be the focal point of a look.
As for white shorts? I’d make an argument for them being even more appropriate in the summer than a pair in beige or navy due to not only their versatility and neutrality, but the fact they scream “it’s summer and I’m here to have fun”.
Credits: Fashion Beans, D'Marge
