This post has been updated in March 2023 with updated links to current styles! Only 3 styles became unavailable this year so this list is still pretty current! I wanted to update it as this took me SO much time and I know many of you enjoyed this post and may want to refer to it again this year... tis the season for white jeans!
This post has been a very long time coming. I started the journey to finding the 'perfect' pair of jeans back in late March and it took me a full 6 weeks to research the best white jeans out there, order the jeans, try them on, document it, and return the bad pairs, etc.
I shared everything on Instagram stories and I think the video helps the most for you all to see the jeans really move on my body. There is a highlight called 'white jeans' and it documents the whole white jeans journey from start to finish.
In total, I tried on 14 different pairs of white jeans from 9 different brands. Obviously, this list is not exhaustive or representative of the many pairs of white jeans from so many different brands, but I do feel like I varied the brands and prices enough that this was a good sampling.
My biggest takeaway from trying on 14 pairs of white jeans is that I truly truly truly do not understand how so many pairs of white jeans made it into production after a sample was created. SO many of these jeans were so see-through!!! This is my open letter to brands to make pockets with nude fabric. I totally realize that this is more costly, but I am also just not down with wearing see-through pants. Some of the most expensive jeans I tried on were some of the worst offenders, too.
I am going to try and make this post as clear and organized as possible because a lot of these jeans look so similar and to keep a constant variable in all of this, I wore the exact same shirt with every single pair of jeans. Helpful in that it really showcases the jeans, but can also get confusing at the same time!
First, I'll share my top three favorite pairs of white jeans that I tried on. I will go in-depth on why I like them, the fit, the sizing, and all that good stuff. Then, as you scroll down, I'll also share all of the other pairs that I tried on that did not make the cut. For the 3 pairs of jeans in my top 3, I purchased them and have kept them, and have been wearing them. All other pairs mentioned got returned.
First and foremost, I was looking for a specific pair of white jeans. My criteria was: opaque, high-waisted, straight-cut, very stretchy pair of bright white jeans.
For your reference, I am 5'6" and typically wear a size 27 or 4 in jeans. In letter sizing, I wear a small in most brands but sometimes size up to a medium for a roomier fit.
This will be a long blog post, so please keep scrolling to find the information you are looking for.
This white jeans experiment has been interesting because I started off by ordering and trying jeans on my own, but then started to get a bunch of feedback from you all. Many of you would recommend pairs and I would order them and would not like them. In my opinion, that does not mean you gave me a bad recommendation! It means that they’re just not the right fit whether for my body or my standards or budget or whatever it is. I can only speak for myself but I think this illustrates that if I recommend something and you order it and don’t love it, it doesn’t mean I am trying to swindle someone into buying something that’s not great. Not that anyone has ever accused me of doing so, but I do see chatter of people talking poorly about influencers often and I just wanted to highlight this!
Many times, there are so many variables about why person X will love something and person Y will not. Price, fabric, fit, lifestyle, etc. I think it goes to show that the business of influencing is 100% built on trust, but I also try to believe the best in everyone so if an influencer recommends a product to you and you don’t like it, it doesn’t make them dishonest. I’ve ordered plenty of things that other influencers I follow have raved about and ended up returning because I didn’t like them. I never once considered them promoting a product just to make a buck! In fact, it is in the influencer's best interest to promote only the very best things because they also don’t want you to return them!! This is just me rambling with my thoughts, but thought it was all worth a mention... a little food for thought!
Also, one more thing. Keep in mind that sometimes the photos don't pick up on the fabric. I think many of these photos don't show the pockets as much as they appear in real life!
#1
The fit of these is spot-on with what I was looking for. They have a nice high waist, and a bit of stretch (although I wish it had just a touch more). They are more fitted at the thigh and taper outward to a bootcut/straight cut at the bottom. They hit me right at the ankle so they are not cropped but I also didn't have to have them hemmed. Truly, the perfect length for me.
These jeans are completely and entirely opaque. You cannot see through them, the seams are not obvious, and the pockets are lined with nude fabric so you don't see the pockets showing through at all.
I think out of all of my top 3 pairs of jeans, these are the most traditional and most polished that you could somewhat 'dress up'.
These run true to size. I don't find that they stretch out too much, but if they do, you can just wash and dry them in a machine and they go right back to their original shape.
The quality is top-notch and truly the nicest quality out of any of the jeans that I tried on. Crazy enough, I am pretty sure these are the least costly pair out of all that I tried on. Just goes to show that price does not always align with quality!
#2
Unfortunately, these are no longer being sold in 2023. DARN! However, these look almost exactly the same. I asked the Talbots team and they said that this year’s version is straight leg, ankle length vs last year’s stovepipe was a slim wide leg, crop length
So these are number two on my list and they don't necessarily fit the bill when it comes down to exactly what I was looking for. These are not a traditional boot-cut pair of jeans. These are called 'stove pipe' and they are a very straight fit from hip to ankle. The thigh is wider than any other jeans that I tried on. These also hit above my ankle so they are definitely more cropped than a true, full-length pair of jeans. Overall, I think these have a more relaxed fit.
They are entirely opaque, although, I do think the zipper fly stands out as a little more opaque than everything else (I think you can definitely tell in the photo). It doesn't stand out enough to deter me, but it's annoying enough that it is worth mentioning.
The pockets are nude!! They are very high-waisted and have a ton of stretch. These are the kind of jeans that you put on when you don't feel like being constricted in any way, they are insanely comfortable.
These run true to size. They do have stretch, but they are meant to be very relaxed in the way they fit, so I would not suggest sizing down. Sometimes I find that Talbots runs a little big but that was not my experience with these jeans.
#3
In 2023, these are being sold with a finished hem vs a raw that we saw in 2022 which makes them even better!
In a world where brands seem to cut corners and lower quality as often as possible, I have been truly impressed with J.Crew whose quality has seemingly gotten better. I was first blown away by their new cashmere in 2021 and now I am blown away by these jeans in 2022. I really haven't been disappointed in much that I've ordered from J.Crew in the past year, instead, I've been very pleased which is really saying something with all of these brands lowering their quality!
So these would possibly take the #1 spot but the #1 reason why they don't is that they have a raw hem. I have nothing against a raw hem, I think there is a time and a place for that, definitely. I have quite a few pairs of raw hem jeans. However, I personally prefer the more 'finished' or polished look with a seamed hem. It's totally a personal preference. So much so, that I actually ended up taking these to the tailor and having the raw hem turned into a seamed hem, and love them.
These are a true straight-fit jean and because I had the hem finished, they are a little more cropped on me. They are very high-waisted and have a bit of stretch to them (a requirement, no rigid jeans were being tried on in this 'experiment').
I find them to fit roomy, but not enough for me to size down. The roominess just makes them very comfortable and I find that they look a bit more relaxed when compared to the #1 Old Navy Pair but you may want to size down as the reviews are saying they run a bit big.
They are opaque and you can't see the pockets almost at all (the pockets are white) but they're not 'perfectly' opaque like the Old Navy ones.
Ok now for the pairs that did not make the cut...
These are really good jeans. They almost made the top 3. They run true to size, maybe on the smaller side if anything (and I usually find L.L. Bean to run generously) so I would suggest sizing up. This was my true size and I should have gone up a size for a better fit. They are pretty opaque and you can't see the seams too much! But, you can see the fly a lot- it's just a lot more opaque than the rest of the jeans. The jeans themselves are opaque but the contrast between the fly and the rest of the jeans makes the jeans look a little more see-through than they actually are... does that makes sense to you all?! They are pretty cropped, not like capris by any means, but definitely a little more 'kick crop' than a full-length straight-leg pair of jeans!
I think if a brand makes a bunch of pairs of white jeans, they need to do everything in their power to show the consumer the difference between them. There are so many on Madewell's website that it was hard to find what I was looking for. They are all named something similar, too.
These were one of the most recommended pairs of white jeans from you all. I will say that the quality was top-notch. They are called 'mid rise' but I really found that these were high rise on me so I can't imagine how high the high rise would be! Also, I found them to run big so I would at least get your true size if not size down because they are super stretchy (which is positive). I also liked that you couldn't see the pockets. They were pretty opaque- the seams weren't bad but they were visible. Overall, I don't think I gave this pair enough of a chance as they were the wrong size and the last pair to arrive so I just kind of gave up and never ended up ordering my 'correct' size... I think they did not look good on me at all, but I think that is just likely due to them being too big (I had to clip the waist).
In 2023, these seem to no longer be available.
All of the Talbots jeans I tried on had nude pockets which is a big win in my opinion. I also loved the fit of these jeans as they were high-waisted and hit me perfectly at the ankle (maybe a half inch shorter than I would prefer as I already have a lot of ankle/kick crop styles). These also have a great amount of stretch.
The reason these didn't make the cut is that they are a little too see-through for my liking. It's not the pockets but more so the fly/zipper area sticks out so much because it looks so much more opaque than the rest of the jeans. It's harder to tell in photos but in person, it's very noticeable.
The stove pipe is like this, too (#2 favorite), but I think because of the cut/looser fit, it's less noticeable. These are true to size.
These are amazing, except again, the zipper/fly area is so white, it just really sticks out compared to the rest of the jeans. The fabric on these is a little thin and again, I think the fabric is probably the same as the modern ankle and stove pipe but this style is meant to fit even more fitted/close to the body so it makes the fly even more noticeable. You can really notice the fly in the video I shared on Instagram stories under my 'white jeans' highlight.
In 2023, these are no longer available.
This color was more of creamy ivory vs a bright white. Not a negative but I was looking for bright white. They run a bit small. The stretch on these is really nice and I like the cut but the fabric is not opaque enough for my liking. The pockets were totally visible and that's what made these an instant 'no' for me. I liked the bit of compression that these provided in the fit, too.
Let's start with the positives. These have the best stretch out of any jeans I tried on. I wish ALL jeans had this kind of stretch. They felt like leggings and looked like rigid jeans. I loved this about them. I also loved the high waist and overall cut/fit. Honestly, these could have been the most perfect jeans of all time BUT these were the most see-through maybe out of any of the jeans that I tried on. So many of you recommended these but the pockets showed through like crazy, I could not do it. Even the seams showed through on these so much, it was just not a good look. I loved the stretch so much that I considered having the pockets removed at a tailor but in the end, I decided not to. At $225, I think it's kind of crazy that the pockets showed through as much as they did. They were pretty much unwearable out in public. Harsh, but true. I want to get these jeans in regular blue denim color, though, which for sure won't be see-through because the fit and stretch were unparalleled to any jeans I have ever tried on. The white fabric is just a big miss.
This is another one that was highly recommended by you all. I love the Mother brand and have quite a few pairs of their jeans. They are pricey but I've always been impressed with the quality and fit. I was so surprised to see the 'fairest of them all' white color was so see-through. The pockets were like giant squares at my hips. I have a cream pair of jeans from Mother (I can't quite remember what the color was called but it's not 'fairest of them all) and I love them and they are not see-through at all. So this was a surprise to me. The seams on the side weren't showing through as much as some other pairs of jeans, but the pockets were an immediate 'no' for me. The stretch on these was really nice, almost comparable to the AYR pair.
These were the first pair I tried on in this entire experiment. I did not like these at all. They run big. The fabric was thin and just showed through every imperfection. They had a nice amount of stretch. They were not high-waisted at all, much too low for my personal comfort. Just an all-around miss for me. This is surprising because these are a best seller and came highly recommended.
These were so see-through which is unfortunate because I really loved the cut of them. They were a true straight-leg pair of jeans and had a nice bit of stretch to them. They did have a raw hem, which was another strike for me.
In 20223, these seem to only be available in a distressed option (no thank you).
Strike one was that these have a raw hem. I thought the cut of the jeans was good, but these were somewhat see-through with the pockets. They also didn't have much stretch and had a button fly (which is a negative for me). I honestly didn't hate them but they just didn't work for me.
So these might have actually made it into the running but they were a bit more cropped than I wanted and they had a raw hem. They were too cropped for me to take them to the tailor and have the hem closed up. They were pretty opaque, too. They had a good bit of stretch to them and even though they are not high-rise, the mid-rise was comfortable enough for me! I really don't have anything bad to say about this pair of jeans, they were just not really what I was looking for! They run true to size!
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