“Whiteout” means wearing shades of white from head to toe, or almost head to toe. The idea is that white comes in many shades, and that you wear some of them together in one outfit. Shades of white include bright optical white, a softer off-white, warm rich cream, a cool grey bone or stone (like an extremely light grey), or very light tan.
First, a few tips about putting the look together:
- I’ve found that keeping the whites of two of the items in an outfit a close colour match creates outfit cohesion, and goes a long way to making the look feel pulled together. I like to match the white of my boots with the white of my jeans, belt or bag. Or I wear the same colour cream both on the top and bottom, while wearing a different shade of white footwear and topper.
- Don’t feel the need to wear white, bone, tan or cream footwear with the outfit. By all means bookend the colour of your hair with black, grey, taupe, cognac or brown footwear. Or sport metallic footwear.
- Whiteout can be interpreted in both casual and dressy ways. The casual ensemble on the left is with jeans, while the dressier version on the right is with crepe trousers.
This is not meant to be a practical look. But it’s awfully pretty, and a refreshing way to wear light neutrals. It’s like wearing brights without the colour.
Here are the components of the ensemble:
White Bottoms: Wear white, cream or stone jeans or trousers. By all means wear a skirt if that’s more to your liking.
White Tops: Layer two tops in different shades of white, or stick to one white top. Wear a white button-down shirt or soft blouse under a pullover, or wear either the blouse or the pullover. I’ve chosen pullovers here because warm knitwear is trending, but feel free to choose cardigans or fine gauge knitwear instead. I’ve found that white knitwear looks best fluid or oversized because it adds depth to the colour. If you tuck, faux tuck or semi-tuck your top, then add a white or light snakeskin belt.
Footwear: Finish off the outfit with footwear in a shade of white, or in a neutral that bookends the colour of your hair, or in a metallic. Patterned footwear like light-coloured snake skin is another option, or even cheetah and leopard. Choose tall boots, mid-calf boots, booties, pumps, oxfords or loafers. Wear nude hose for warmth when socks are not an option.
Topper: Add a blazer, leather jacket, wool coat or trench coat in a shade of white. If you don’t have a topper in a shade of white, go with black, grey, taupe, brown or ink blue. Or throw on a topper in blush pink or other very soft shade of pastel. Leave off the topper in mild Winter weather.
Accessories: A bag in a shade of white is a gorgeous complement, as is a shade of silver, pewter or gold. Repeating the colour of non-white footwear also works, like wearing a cognac bag with cognac booties. Or black bag with black booties. Add a scarf in the same tonal white palette if you’re after extra outfit texture and detail. Finish off with jewellery and eyewear as desired.
Check out my White on White pinboard for extra inspiration.
This ensemble pulls at my heartstrings because I love all shades of white. To my eye, wearing them together makes a luxurious, crisp statement. I’ve been wearing the formula even more regularly this Autumn and Winter and enjoying it tremendously. I feel somewhat angelic and rebellious at the same time. Rebellious, because I’m normally the only person on rainy Seattle streets wearing all white at this time of year. Personally I don’t find it all that impractical, but I am extra careful on the days I wear it.
