The best white jeans for men look great year-round, despite what you’ve heard about the post-Labor Day fashion fallacy. Sure, the style’s natural territory is the summer, but an added stylistic element of white denim is their ability to seamlessly balance between preppy, minimalist, Euro- and rockstar-coded, all at once. We wouldn’t replace our blue jeans outright, but what we’re saying is that a good pair of white jeans is well worth having in your fashion arsenal, regardless of the season.
Wherever and whenever you plan to wear your white jeans, the key to nailing the look is three-fold. First, you need to pick the right pair with the right cut, that also suits your body shape. Second, you need to avoid ketchup, merlot, and mud splatters like the plague (unless you’re going for the scuffed-up, worn-in, Paul-Newman-on-a-dirt-bike vibe). And third, you need to wear them with a wardrobe-load of confidence. Below, our favorite pairs to help you achieve all three.
The Best Men’s White Jeans, According to GQ
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Best White Jeans Overall: Levi’s 501 Original Fit Jeans
In the end, the best blue jeans also turned out to be the best white jeans. You’re probably already familiar with the straight-but-not-baggy fit of the 501s in classic blue, but in white (or, in this case, more of an eggshell), they take on a whole new dimension, draping your legs like sculpted Swiss meringue. This softness means you can easily dress these up with a linen shirt or down with a faded, lived-in vintage T-shirt—the choice is yours.
Best Bootcut White Jeans: Wrangler Cowboy Cut Original Fit Jeans
Attend any rodeo and you’ll see Wrangler’s bona fides all around, from the bullriders to the nosebleeds. The American denim brand has built its name on real-deal cowboys who tout its dungarees as the ultimate pair of jeans for handling bucking broncos and beers with the fellas. Sure, you might not see this optic-white pair of bootcut jeans at a PBR event, but you can bet they’ll look as slick as Hank Williams singing his heart out. The denim is a heavy 12-ounce all-cotton denim cut with a mid-high rise, straight through the leg, and slightly flared toward the hem (you know, to fit your cowboy boots).