If you’re simultaneously obsessed with the latest micro-trends and too intimidated to test them out, you’ve come to the right place. This is Ways to Wear, a monthly series where editor Eliza Huber offers a dose of outfit inspiration centred around current trends that feel intriguing yet overwhelming at the same time. Consider it your guide to actually wearing the coolest items of the moment, no matter how puzzling they might appear at first.
If I had to pinpoint one item on my Instagram feed that I’ve spotted the most thus far this summer, I’d name white trousers without a second of hesitation. For reference, the people I follow are primarily involved in the fashion world or the industries surrounding it and mostly live in Europe—specifically France and Italy. Their outfits are, therefore, quintessentially French and Italian, and in the summer, that means they wear low-key yet dangerously chic ensembles that, nine times out of 10, involve white pants.
Despite how laissez-faire their looks appear online, they tend to be harder to re-create than you expect. It’s probably because of that whole je ne sais quoi thing that comes naturally to people born there but not so much for those who aren’t. Driven by my own frustration, I decided to put my own white-trouser selection to the test, using my skills in the styling department as well as my Instagram-induced knowledge of French and Italian fashion. The result? Seven summer outfits that are centred around the warm-weather bottoms that would fit right into either country between the months of June and August. Below, see how I did and shop the pant trend that French and Italian women swear by during the summer months.