Boots in white shades are on-trend. There have been lots of questions on the blog and forum about how to incorporate them into outfits, so here is the first of two outfit formula posts on the topic. 

A few things upfront:

1. Platinum blondes, light silver, and white-haired people naturally bookend white boots in outfits. If the white boots match nothing else in the outfit, they will effortlessly create a complement with their coloured light hair.
2. It is not essential to bookend the look. You can have ANY complexion and hair colour and rock white boots.
3. When you wear tops and toppers in shades of white, white boots look more integrated into the outfit.
4. Create a two or three-item complement with white boots using a belt, a scarf that picks up some white in the pattern, a handbag, or a an item of jewellery. My white pearls do a good job of picking up the white in my footwear.
5. Don’t worry too much about mismatching white boots in an outfit. Their jarring and bright effect as a stand-alone addition is in itself a trendy look, although an acquired taste.

Some visuals to get those white boot outfits rolling:

1. Column of Colour

The white boots here are a mismatched addition, which I think works well. Less expected than black, animal print, or cognac boots to match the top layers. There is no bookending with light blonde hair, but there is an extremely narrow white stripe in the pinstripe of the blazer that picks up the white of the boots. It’s very subtle, and might as well not be there. The column of navy, and the long layer of toffee add vertical integrity to the outfit which offsets the high-contrast horizontal line created by the white boots.

2. Low-Contrast bottoms & Topper

Wearing white boots with light bottoms like these light wash jeans creates a low contrast that lengthens the leg line. Adding a low-contrast coat further elongates the outfit and harmonizes with the light blue and white. Here the white boots are less visually jarring than in outfit 1 above. They blend like the froth of cappuccino.

3. Graphic Matching

Wearing wardrobe items with white in them makes white boots look integrated into the outfit. Here, the white of the sweatshirt and colour blocking of the topper match the white of the boots. The black-white-denim palette is a graphic classic where the white adds crispness to the outfit.

4. Suited & Unexpected

Another mismatched combination that looks as if the wearer forgot to swap out her shoes. Personally I like the unexpected and jarring effect of the white boots. They look interesting, fun, crisp, and make a bold statement. There is very subtle bookending with the black hair of the wearer and the soles of the boots, which in turn matches the black bag. These small visual details help pull together the look.

5. Black, White & Grey

Wearing a black-white-grey outfit with white boots is a classic colour combination. First, the column of black creates vertical integrity which offsets the horizontal line created by the high-contrast boots. The white in the plaid and stripe of the coat pick up the white of the boots to create a harmonized whole. When the coat comes off, the repetition of the white is thrown out the window. That’s fine because mismatched boots look just a fab.

I’ve been wearing white footwear forever. It’s my thing, signature to my style, and bookends my blonde hair and white pearls. White footwear is my wardrobe essential, so much so that I don’t think about how I’m going to integrate it into outfits because white footwear always works to my eye. It’s a completely subjective thing. It might not be your preference, and it’s all good. Horses for courses, always.