Saturday, June 6, 2009

Three Degrees of Wearing White: Which level are you at?

It's still very rare to find a pair of white pants in a guy's closet. Let's face it. Wearing white is such of a fashion statement that most guys are intimidated to wear it. And the key to breaking that wall down, is really having a good understanding of how best to pull it off. By the time you're done reading this, you should be making a trip to your favorite mens store looking for your first pair of white pants.

The rule of thumb for wearing white is creating balance
. Pairing your white pants with the right shirts, shoes, and accessories can make you look sophisticated, classy, and luxurious. On the other hand, the wrong combination can bring out the Old Man Sailor in you. So here are the rules.

1) For the beginner, get initiated with a pair of white denims. Like your regular blue denims, its all about fit. Stay away from wearing Skinny whites. Stick to straight or boot cut denims. These cuts give you versatility to easily dress your denim up or down.

One of my picks this season is Rivet De Cru's "The Michael" jean. This stylish white 5-pocket denim comes with flap on back pockets, a button fly closure, and Rivet De Cru's signature pocket stitching. This jean works well with guys who have the "hockey butt" but also gives skinnier guys a nice comfortable slouched look. This jean can easily be dressed up with a nice black dress shirt or dressed down with a nice polo. Shoe options depending on the look include pristine white sneakers, loafers, or laceups.








2) Once you've broken in your white denims, its time to move on to white linen pants. Anything made from linen always comes with a self regulating cooling mechanism. The nature of this fabric makes it the ultimate choice for pants, shirts, scarves, hats during the summer months. You can easily pull a sophisticated look with a navy pinstripe french cuffed shirt, sand suede shoes, and paper fedora.

3) Now that you've built your confidence up and are ready to kick your white wardrobe up a notch, explore a white linen suit. Again, easily dressed up or down with a contrasting colored dress shirt or v-neck for a more casual look. For suiting, keep the fit tailored and modern. The length of your sleeve should sit on your thumb knuckle. And you know your suit jacket is too tight when you start seeing creases across the first two buttons of the jacket.

White symbolizes cool, relaxed, purity, cleanliness and innocence. It makes Spring colors come to life. It makes a great canvas for patterns, shapes and lines. Most importantly, it makes every man's wardrobe contemporary this season. No longer feeling intimidated? I thought so.

3 comments:

Lisa said...

The only thing I don't like about linen is how easily it wrinkles. =( I wonder if there's some sort of miracle fabric treatment out there to keep it from wrinkling, kind of like Scotch Gard but for wrinkles?

Your Stylist said...

Linen will surely wrinkle. Linen/cotton blends are a great alternative. Downy has a product called Downy Wrinkle Releaser. I use it frequently especially what I don't feel like ironing or steaming clothes. Quick and easy solution to wrinkles :)

Mike said...

That's why white denim is a good start. It doesn't wrinkle and is easy to wear. I'll check Rivet De Cru's white denim. I like the detailing on the pockets. And I'm a skinny guy, so a straight leg jean with a bit of a slouch usually looks good on me.

Cool post!

Mike.