Image by @theaudreypeters
You pop on a white dress or an all-white outfit in the summer, and you never second-guess your wardrobe choices, but when you come to an all-white ensemble in the winter, you’re faced with questions, how can I style this colour palette? How can this look chic, and more importantly, how can I keep white crisp and clean?
Granted, white is high maintenance and not the easiest to wear daily with little marks, stains or creasing, but that shouldn’t deter you from playing with white in your winter wardrobe. When worn, white is incredibly polished, clean, and layered with tailoring or texture; you have a winter wonder. Between a completely tonal look, a statement white piece and keeping winter whites white, this is how to wear and maintain white in winter.
When going tonal, consider your shades
They always say go big or go home, so considering a completely white outfit, playing with tones is one way to nail white this winter. But how do you do so without feeling like a snowman or your outfit feeling washed out? The same way you can add texture and different white tones to your interiors are the same method of thinking you can consider for your white wardrobe. So play with varying shades of white – warm whites, cream, stone, ivory, stark white – these options will help add depth and contrast when worn together. And taking things one step further, play with texture and materials, between silk and cashmere or cotton and wool. When you add dimension via texture, it will immediately elevate your white winter look and have you feeling and looking your best, guaranteed.
Consider your tailoring
One of the most significant ways to look and feel luxurious is having your clothes tailored to fit your body (as opposed to the other way around). Doing so adds sophistication at the cost of a nipped hem or extended waist and leg. And your colour palette is no different; think a well-tailored white suit, well-fitted trousers and shirt or white pair of jeans, you can tailor pretty much anything these days, and it will help tie the all-white look together without breaking the bank.
Play with dark hues
While we love an all-white look, sometimes it may not be practical or preferred and so take a white suit set or tracksuit set and layer a darker hue to help balance the colour. Whether that’s a black tank, chocolate jumper or beige trainer – the options are endless, as white is a synonymous pairing.
Take on your statement white
Whether you don’t see yourself with an all-white look or like to play with other colours, consider an all-white statement to nod your head to the palette this winter. A well-tailored coat, bag, shoes or even hat and scarf set against these cold winter days, you have the luxury of playing with an element of white to help your outfit equally stand out without dedicating your entire outfit to it.
Maintaining your whites
One of the biggest challenges for wearing whites is maintenance, as you will notice any little stain immediately. Instead of running away from anything that will mess up your whites, arm yourself with a kit of essentials to help keep your whites white.
Top Tips: If you’re on the go and notice a small stain, try Tide to Go, it’s fantastic and removes any small marks that have just happened.
Take your most expensive and invested pieces to the dry cleaners; while you may be tempted to throw them in the wash, don’t run the risk, and your dry cleaner will get them whiter than white. When washing your whites, introduce a stain remover and whitener such as Vanish Oxi Action, a whitening agent such as white wine vinegar or bicarbonate soda and then your laundry detergent. This combination will keep your whites as fresh as they come.
