The old rule said no white after Labor Day. The better rule is white jeans with a camel coat, a chunky knit and a loafer, which is one of the best looking outfits you can wear in the cold. If you want to keep going, White Jeans in Winter is the one I would read next.

 

White jeans look most wintry when everything around them is warm. Think chocolate brown, oatmeal, grey marl and burgundy. The cuts that look current are straight, wide or softly curved, with a high waist and enough length to sit on top of a boot or skim a loafer.

 

Below are the two directions I would shop: crisp bright white for contrast, and creamy ecru for a softer, more expensive looking outfit.

Bright white is the bold version, and it looks best against dark colors. Try it with a black turtleneck and a long wool coat, or a navy cardigan and brown loafers. I went deeper on a related idea in Cloud Dancer: Wearing Pantone's Calm White Color of the Year in Winter Whites.

 

The cropped pair is the easiest to wear with loafers. The low curve fray jean has that rounded leg that looks great with a cropped knit. For something classic, the straight leg pair and the ankle straight pair both work with boots. The low rise wide leg and the soft barrel jean give you more volume, and the raw hem kick flare is the one to wear with pointed flats.

 

My fitting room test: stand in daylight and look at the pockets. If you can see them through the front, the denim is too thin for winter. What I would skip: very stretchy white denim, which shows every crease by the afternoon.

If bright white feels like too much, ecru is the answer. It looks softer, hides more, and goes with every brown, camel and grey in your closet.

 

The high rise straight leg in ecru and the soft alabaster pair are the everyday heroes here. The wide leg ankle jean in eggshell and the toasted ecru wide leg look great with a long coat. The slim pair in bone tucks into knee boots, and the zip ankle jean in cream is made for a western boot. For a slightly vintage feel, try the mid rise crop in a washed white or the almond milk pair with a relaxed leg.

 

What I check: the shade next to your sweaters. Some ecru leans yellow, so hold it against your cream knits first. What I would skip: ecru with heavy whiskering, which reads dirty instead of soft.

Pick one pair in the shade that suits you, then wear it with your darkest coat and warmest knit. The contrast is the whole point.

 

Keep shoes closed and leather, keep the rest of the outfit warm toned, and wash them inside out on cold. That is all it takes to wear white denim straight through to spring.