This may seem like the wrong time of year to extol the virtues of wearing white. White jeans, surely, belong within the same date bracket as straw baskets. A white vest or T-shirt looks at its best when you are sunkissed. We are now at the hinge of the seasons, and autumn clothes, as a rule, celebrate the colours around us as the seasons turn: the russet of the leaves underfoot, the rich chocolate of your first mocha of the season. That is how it’s supposed to work, right?
But the reality isn’t as glowy and lovely as all that. I mean, we could dress in brown to match the puddles in the gutter, with crimson highlights to pick out our rosacea, and a flash of nutmeg to nod to the lurid vats of pumpkin spice latte that are unavoidable over the next month. But when you put it like that, it doesn’t fill the heart with seasonal joy.
Which is why this is a brilliant time to wear white. It’s like turning up the brightness on your laptop screen. Everything looks instantly prettier. But not just that: it also looks cleaner, more legible, less confusing. Calming and grounding, like a long, deep breath.
I’ve been thinking about all this since I saw the autumn collection by The White Company. The brand is best known for bedding, nighties, candles – the kind of stuff that just makes sense in white – but their new design lead, Sheila McKain, an extremely chic alumna of Donna Karan, Jaeger and Oscar de la Renta, has revamped the clothes, too.
Think knitwear, coats and loungey separates that come in cool-toned Scandi, creamy porcelain or warm, rich butter. Every shade, in other words, as long as it’s white. A dandelion-soft alpaca sweater, a nubbly cream shearling jacket and an elegant cowl-neck blouse – all in shades of white – make a strong case for a marble-toned autumn.
I was surprised to find myself as seduced as I was by the look, because winter white can read a little naff. Too self-consciously cute, too deliberately charming. I’m not going ice-skating, I’m going to work, you know what I mean? Perhaps it is because, as a clumsy person, I feel intimidated by the potential for coffee spillage, but an all-white outfit can look a tiny bit smug if you get it wrong.
So how to get it right? It seems to me there are two important principles to bear in mind when wearing winter white, if you want to look sophisticated and laid-back rather than twee or sterile.
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Number one: don’t wear tight white. White looks much more elegant if the silhouette and cut is generous. When white fabric is draped and slouchy – an off-the-shoulder sweater, a generous pair of pleat-front trousers – it looks mellow and soft, like snowfall. When stretched tight (a snug white tailored suit, a stretchy dress), it takes on a harsher glare and a different mood.
Number two: don’t be one-note about what constitutes white. It is a broad church, and you should embrace all of it. If you think of white as any shade from transparent through to the edge of beige in one direction and the margin of grey in another, then it becomes a lot more interesting.
Wearing white near the face is a centuries-old trick for making your skin look good – a string of pearls is the original ring light – and so it is worth playing around with which white is the one that bedazzles you best.
But the ploy that will be most flattering overall – because it will instantly make you look terrifically sophisticated and interesting – is to wear different shades of white together. Pour a little cream (cardigan) on to your oatmeal (tank top). Wear an airy, meringue-toned blouse to counter the marble shine of stiff ivory tailored trousers. There’s more to this colour than looking like a blank page. As the nights get darker, that’s when pale starts to get interesting.
Model: Ellen at Body London. Hair and makeup: Delilah Blakeney using Moroccan Oil and Nars. Cashmere top, £220, trousers, £190 and sandals, £130, all from The White Company. Sunglasses, £55, Le Specs. Earrings, £34.99, Pilgrim. Bracelet, £120, Tilly Sveaas
