White jeans are one fashion trend that comes back each summer in new ways. And a look back at how celebrities wore the trend over the years is a trip down memory lane filled with enduring styles that stand the test of time, and looks that we wish we could erase from the sartorial conscious.
Low-rise, boot-cut white jeans prevailed in the early 2000s, worn by the likes of Anna Nicole Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith to red carpet events. Simultaneously, cool-girl celebrities of the era like Drew Barrymore, Nelly Furtado and Jade Jagger opted for wide-leg white jeans with a skater vibe.
The trend shifted to skinny jeans by 2005, becoming a staple in the wardrobes of Kate Middleton and Kate Moss, who both wore their white skinny jeans tucked into boots for an equestrian look.
The skinny jeans trend continued on for years with celebrities putting their own spin on the basic. Cindy Crawford, Eva Longoria and Courtney Cox kept it classic with clean white jeans.
Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio and Gwen Stefani stayed true to their rocker style by wearing skinny white jeans with black color-blocking and side stripes. Both Kim Kardashian West and mom Kris Jenner favored distressed white jeans.
By 2015, white jean jackets became a go-to layering piece for off-duty celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Lena Dunham. Men began to embrace white jeans, too, with Brad Pitt and Kanye West sporting head-to-toe white ensembles.
Melania Trump and model Winnie Harlow both accented their monochromatic white denim looks with pops of yellow in 2018. Around the same time Gen Z celebrities like Bella Thorne and Noah Cyrus began experimenting with ’90s-style jeans and deconstructed white denim.
What’s in store for white jeans in 2020 is anyone’s guess as most trendsetters remain at home, but brands are delivering an array of options online, including sailor jeans, cropped wide-leg jeans and effortlessly cool white denim shorts.
