Let’s just start by addressing the elephant in the room: White does not make you look fat.
Or at least, it doesn’t make you look any bigger than any other color in the spectrum, if worn correctly.
“Wearing all-white can create a continuous line that is flattering,” says Kirsten Bowen, creative merchandise manager of White House/Black Market. “It really doesn’t make you look fat.”
She may be biased, but the rationale bears truth.
Laura McDowell of the color cornucopia retailer T.J. Maxx concurs.
“Anything makes you look fat if you wear the wrong thing for your body,” she says.
The trick is wearing white the right way, Bowen and McDowell say.
Mix textures and choose lengths that flatter your figure. No matter what you’re wearing, your top should not stop at the portion of your torso or butt that is the widest. The same goes with skirts. And if you’re wearing pants you want them to skim the wider parts of your legs, not hug and accentuate them.
McDowell says that if you’re self-conscious about your hips, then don’t wear white shorts at all. White has a look-at-me quality, even if most people looking at you are thinking, “I could never wear all white.”
Valerie and James Marquis get a lot of looks like that. The couple owns Le Blanc Boutique in St. Louis, and they often step out wearing all white, which is the only color clothing they sell at the shop.
“All white can actually look slimming. People are always amazed.
Heads turn,” says Valerie Marquis, who is an expertly coifed woman and petite at 5 feet tall. Her husband in contrast is 6 feet 4 inches tall. Heads may be turning for other reasons, but she says that even when she steps out alone, people look at her like she’s just returned from the Bahamas.
The shop even carries white clothing in larger sizes with flattering shirt lengths that flare slightly at the ends rather than lying snug against pear-shaped hips.
McDowell says, “White is definitely the color of the season. I’m telling people to think little puffy sleeves, Victorian lace accents and even tuxedo shirts. There’s lots of variety out there.”
She says most people think nurse when they think of white shoes, but they’ll change their minds when they see some of the wedge heels and ballet flats in stores.
And many people associate certain dates for wearing white, but the truth is that it really depends on the temperature. Bright whites are best in warm weather.
“So when it feels like summer, you’re ready to wear it,” McDowell says.
Whether you wear white from head to toe or just as an accent piece, this summer is the time to include it.
Bowen suggests that you pay close attention to the fabric weight and what you’re wearing underneath. Skin tone or darker underwear works better than white underwear. It’s a trick of the light.
Don’t be shy about stepping out of a dressing room into the full light to see whether you or a salesperson can see something you shouldn’t.
Now go for the jewelry. Bowen suggests clean-brushed silver for day and metallic for night. For a casual look, consider natural woods.
White House/Black Market is hosting a “Wear White” promotion in its stores and encouraging customers to explore daring white-on-white combinations.
“Hopefully, our customers will be so emotionally compelled by garments that they won’t worry about how to keep it clean,” Bowen says.
Incidentally, experts say using water and a napkin on stains can cause more damage than good. So says Steve Boorstein, who calls himself the “Clothing Doctor” and boasts 15 years of cleaning experience as a dry cleaner based in Washington, D.C.
But what about cleaning whites? Here’s his advice:
Don’t bleach because bleach doesn’t remove stains. You have to remove the stain first, wash it and then bleach it, Boorstein says. Bleach is a brightener and whitener, not a cleaning product.
Don’t wear a garment a second time. Perspiration and body oil coat garments, making them harder to clean.
Hang up your dirty clothes. Air them out so that cooking, smoke and other odors can dissipate, which will make cleaning the garments easier, Boorstein says.
Don’t starch linen garments. “Linen should be worn soft without starch or sizing, because it’s going to wrinkle anyway. But without starch, the wrinkles will be softer and more natural, not like folded paper,” Boorstein says.
By the way, he adds that it’s better to dry clean white linen because it will remain softer longer. “You can be much more aggressive with a white garment, but the more you rub, the more you rough up the fabric, and it will forever look different than the surrounding fabric,” Boorstein says. “White is not the ultimate free pass.”
However, he does recommend Tide to Go and other brands of cleaning pens that can be dabbed on small stains – but only as short-term aids.
The garment needs to be properly cleaned as soon as possible, he says.
Still, Boorstein says that wearing white doesn’t have to be scary.
If you’re going to wash it at home, put as much water on it as you want to treat the stain, he says.
But if it’s something you’re sending to the dry cleaner, use water very sparingly. Putting water on dry-clean-only garments can create a ring that no dry-cleaning process can remove.
