Cover photo credit: Informale
On BonneGueule, we have been defending the stylistic interest of white pants for a long time.
Many people in the team wear it without complexes and in all seasons:
Giovanni, from our Paris 3 boutique
Mathieu, from our Lyon boutique
Michel , who writes great presentation articles
However, in the 10 years that I have been interested in clothing, I have worn it very little.
Could it be because I don't like him? No. I always found it interesting: it's a piece that is both strong because it's quite flashy but also easy to integrate because white is neutral (there's no real prohibition in terms of colors with white pants ).
If I don't wear it, it's for another reason: I'm afraid of getting it dirty.
Fear of the stain that leaves an outfit.
Fear of putting them on and facing a day where the pants will inevitably rub on all types of surfaces.
However, in recent months, I have been more calm about it. I wear it (almost) without flinching.
How did I get here?
2019: first white pants and birth of a fear
The first is from Suitsupply . These are linen/cotton pleated joggers. Acquired in 2019, which is late given that I have been interested in clothing since 2011):
He was the one who made me aware of the fear of white pants.
The first time I put it on, I wondered how I was going to manage on public transport, as I was used to wandering around at ease in my dark, not very dirty pants.
I also told myself that I would have to be careful in our offices, where the main corridor for circulation is quite narrow.
It didn't fail: I brushed against a radiator. Result: a small reddish spot on the upper thigh. I never managed to get her to leave.
Marked for life with a hot iron. What a great introduction!
At the end of this first day, I realized that it was restrictive to wear such pants.
Not so much in terms of style because I managed to integrate it into my outfit, but rather in terms of precautions when using it.
Easy to wear, easy to get dirty. Henley Address Paris , Velasca desert boots, De Bonne Facture blazer
These pants will end up in the closet without me bringing myself to part with them, because I told myself that I would probably come back to them one day.
2020: second white pants and new trauma
At the end of 2020, I came across these very beautiful Berg&Berg pants with two pleats on Yoox . I let myself be tempted:
It is very beautiful and suits me very well.
I wore it a total of three times before selling it.
Just in time to see a small stain of unknown origin appear on my thigh and to realize that the belt I was wearing was staining the fabric.
It was an opportunity for me to realize that formal clothes don't tolerate imperfections.
Such pants must be clean, immaculate. I find it hard to imagine it being stained, even slightly. More casual pants like jeans with light stains are much less shocking. Some might even argue that these marks give character to the room.
For someone like me who is afraid of getting light-colored pants dirty, taking them so stylish wasn't a good idea.
So it's a different type of white pants that I need.
2021: third white pants and double revelation
At the beginning of 2021, I purchased a pair of beautiful De Bonne Facture pants.
These are rather thick fatigue pants in Japanese cotton twill:
It allowed me to realize two important things:
1. The importance of the right shade of white
I had much less apprehension wearing these pants.
I quickly realized that it was because of its color.
These pants have a shade closer to putty (grayed white). It is darker than the other two.
A white... not quite white. Portia1924 belt, BonneGueule shirt, vintage US Army t-shirt
This seemed obvious to me: to reduce my fear of wearing white pants, I simply had to make them less white.
Not all white pants are the same. We can explore shades such as off-white, ecru, cream, putty, etc.
Nicolò talked about the different shades of white jeans in one of his latest videos
It's up to everyone to find the right shade, the one they are comfortable with.
For me, this putty shade is just fine: light enough to fit like white pants into my outfits, dark enough that my apprehension about staining it mostly fades.
I'm still careful when wearing it of course, but I'm not as tense as before.
2. The usefulness of having white pants that you can afford to get dirty
I started to get a taste for light-colored pants.
This summer I found myself wearing my Suitsupply joggers that had been hanging in my closet for over two years.
He comes back with another function: that of the pants that I agree to get dirty.
Indeed, when I got it, it was my only white pair of pants. If something bad happened to him, I was done for. He was the only starter: I had no one to replace him.
Now there are two of them.
The Suitsupply pants being less high-end than those from De Bonne Facture, I use the first when I want light pants but without taking too much trouble. I keep the second one for when I'm ready to be a little more careful.
This rotation with less high-end white pants seems interesting to me.
If we were to translate this experience into advice for the greatest number of people, it would be to purchase a pair of casual white pants that are not too expensive, entry-level or second-hand, that you can wear and get dirty without guilt. .
For example, you will easily find white/ecru Levi's jeans at attractive prices on Vinted:
Here, one might ask why I didn't buy such inexpensive white pants to get my hands on? Because wearing it has never been a goal in itself.
If I had given myself the explicit mission of succeeding in taming him, I would probably have done this.
But I do just fine without it the vast majority of the time. It's not an essential for me.
But it's a good thing that I managed to find the right way to make it my own, at my own pace. This is another string to my bow!
Tell us everything in the comments. This interests me because around me, I have the feeling of being the only one to have this apprehension about light-colored pants.
Need advice on how to wear white pants? So watch this video
🎬 1 white jeans, 5 looks and the unexpected – Panache S02E09
