How All-White Outfits Became The Unlikely Trend That’s Going To Be Everywhere This Autumn

It might not seem like the most likely of trend-fellows, but top to toe all-white outfits are this autumn’s clean cut mood. Think of it as the Barbiecore-pink palette-cleanser (praise be).

At Fendi, Kim Jones offered roll-neck knit maxidresses alongside layered tailoring, sheepskin coats and delicate lace slip dresses all in shades of pristine snow; Maximilian Davis’s Ferragamo offered a modern take on Marilyn Monroe’s famous pleated white halter dress – his featured caped shoulders, as well as a sculpted white vest paired with white high-waist trousers. Meanwhile, white shirts have emerged as the piece du jour - see Valentino, where each look was styled with an iteration of the style complete with ties.

The white jean has also emerged as an unlikely hero, striking in a sea of ubiquitous baggy blues. Arket and Good American have options, while Toogood has a very chic slightly blueish white pair - and matching jacket.

If, like me, you share a life with a miniature version complete with small sticky fingers, the thought of wearing white at all might make you laugh uncontrollably. I understand. A friend detailed to me an incident with a strawberry daiquiri, ending her and her wife's foray into matching all-white looks around their toddler son. In another life, I had a weakness for cream silk everything. I know, I know. And yet...

Faye Toogood, the multi-hyphenate design talent behind Toogood - furniture, ceramics and clothing for the artful conoisseur - embraced an all-white life after having the first of her three children. 'Up to that point, I had worn a lot of colour, then I suddenly realised that I needed a uniform. My whole wardrobe became white, I dyed my hair peroxide white and painted our whole house white, white sofa - everything! I found it the most practical thing, I didn't have to think about what things would go together, the white became a uniform and a canvas for my very new and busy, frightening life.' For the sceptical, she also pointed out that 'wearing black can make you look more tired, whereas white lifts the light back on to your face'.

Natalie Hartley, stylist and purveyor of vintage shop Chillie London, dressed DJ Annie Mac in head-to-toe white denim for this year’s Glastonbury festival, no less. ‘We went white because you shouldn’t,’ she laughs. ‘It was Stella McCartney [carpenter jeans and oversized shirt].

We knew the outfit choice had to be comfortable, but white made it a statement and modernises a ’90s oversize look. People are scared in case something spills, but that’s what makes it more fun – do you dare?’

Hartley has been wearing white vintage football shorts with a white tee tucked in, paired with white socks and brogues. What of stains, though? ‘I use Fairy Liquid for everything and a stain remover bar on hard stains and the hems of trousers that might have dragged on the floor. The key is to sort the stain that day, if not within the hour.’

I also like the idea of reclaiming head-to- toe white looks from the pristine world of drivers and dry-cleaners. This is not about stealth wealth; it’s cooler than that. Think oversized and loose, with tops tucked in to create definition. Why should something so crisp and chic be out of reach for us mere mortals on public transport? Perhaps it is time to bring back another overlooked mainstay of ’90s (parenting) culture, the Daz doorstep challenge. IYKYK.

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