In the parts of America that are afflicted with actual seasons, the impulse is to immediately dust off your favorite all-white look the moment the temperature climbs above 70 degrees fahrenheit. But no, you’ve been told by no one in particular at some point in your life when you blindly accepted conventional wisdom, not until after Memorial Day! Naturally, as with most fashion maxims, that rule is meant to be broken—if not completely ignored. But before you bound off into the sun in an icy ensemble this holiday weekend, consider that there are indeed rules to this. There is a right way, and thus a wrong way, to wear white. Here, let Rihanna, Gisele, Cara Delevingne, Mila Kunis, Alicia Vikander, and more of the pages of W show you how to do it well. And then you can do it your own way, anyway. Just don’t spill the rosé.
Steven Klein
Naomi Campbell photographed by Steven Klein for W Magazine, June 2007.
Craig McDean
Photograph by Craig McDean for W Magazine, July 2012.
Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott
Photograph by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for W Magazine, September 2004.
Michael Thompson
Cate Blanchett photographed by Michael Thompson for W Magazine, October 2007.
Ryan McGinley
Anna Ewers photographed by Ryan McGinley for W Magazine, April 2016.
Mikael Jansson
Joan Smalls photographed by Mikael Jansson for W Magazine, June 2013.
Craig McDean
Photograph by Craig McDean for W Magazine, March 2013.
Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott
Kate Moss photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for W Magazine, March 2005.
Emma Summerton
Lily Donaldson, Cara Delevinge, and Jourdan Dunn photographed by Emma Summerton for W Magazine, January 2012.
Mikael Jansson
Cara Delevingne photographed by Mikael Jansson for W Magazine, February 2013.
Juergen Teller
Gisele Bündchen photographed by Juergen Teller for W Magazine, June 2005.
Jerome Corpuz
Photographed by Jerome Corpuz for W Magazine, May 2015.
Venetia Scott
Bella Hadid photographed by Venetia Scott for W Magazine, October 2016.
Juergen Teller
Malgosia Bela, Diana Dondoe and Shalom Harlow photographed by Juergen Teller for W Magazine, April 2006.
Craig McDean
Rihanna photographed by Craig McDean for W Magazine, February 2010.
Venetia Scott
Anna Ewers photographed by Venetia Scott for W Magazine, May 2015.
Juergen Teller
Diana Dondoe photographed by Juergen Teller for W Magazine, April 2006.
Juergen Teller
Lily Cole photographed by Juergen Teller for W Magazine, February 2008.
Angelo Pennetta
Clotilde de Kersauson photographed by Angelo Pennetta for W Magazine, June 2015.
Tim Walker
Tilda Swinton photographed by Tim Walker for W Magazine, September 2011.
