The Essentials: White Jeans

Love them or hate them: there's nothing like a pair of white jeans to divide sartorial opinion. Once confined to the likes of a perma tanned Liz Hurley and the Euro-trash, white jeans have had a bit of a renaissance in recent months. A staple among editors during the Autumn/Winter 2012 collections, they were spotted on pretty much every member of French Vogue's fashion desk from editor-in-chief Emanuelle Alt to stylist Géraldine Saglio. Garance Doré has professed her undying love for them, and American Vogue's eternally chic Tonne Goodman is a life-long devotee. But how to wear them without looking like an extra in a Wham! video? I think the key is to pair them with something long and loose-fitting on top preferably in a dark hue (unless you're blessed with a waif like figure à la Alt). Off-white could be a more flattering and less obvious choice. But most of all steer clear of super tight drainpipes at all costs... a cropped or rolled up straight leg look is definitely the way to go.