Until last month, I would have confidently said, “Head-to-toe white hair just doesn’t suit me anymore.”
I love white in the summer, who doesn’t? But white-hued dresses, whether pure white, ivory, or cream, are more suited to younger women.
Most women over 50 have been taught that wearing white will make you look like an aging bridesmaid faster than an apricot-colored smocked dress.
And then there was Mrs Starmer, 51, who jetted off to Washington DC just days after the election in a cream dress (cream for an eight-hour flight!) and, overnight, looked like the cream-toned future of early 50s.
Mrs Starmer wore a cream dress on a flight to Washington DC with her husband, Sir Keir, this summer, and overnight, cream fifties looked like the future.
She chose a £450 Needle And Thread dress for the eight-hour flight.
She chose a dress from Needle And Thread (£450, needleandthread.com), which is out of most people’s budget, but it still gets you thinking: why not white or cream?
If it’s elegant, simple and smart enough for a NATO summit, the all-white dress is now at the top of our list of things to wear.
The recycled white dresses are simple, clean and unadorned (dresses we can wear and dresses our daughters can wear) and fall into two distinct categories.
First up is a breezy, throw-it-on summer dress – something to wear on holiday or when it’s hot at home. Marks & Spencer has an ivory cotton tiered midi dress with voluminous sleeves (£39.50, marksandspencer.com) that fits the bill perfectly.
Alternatively, if your skin tone suits pearly whites, Autograph by M&S has a pretty, flowy V-neck dress with pintucks at the waist and a lovely three-quarter sleeve blouson (£89).
In pearly white front is the Jigsaw Dress (£92, jigsaw-online.com), which has been a big hit with fashion editors.
With a loose fit, V-neck and light gathering under the bust, and wide, draped elbow-length sleeves, this dress is classic, effortless and airy. The textured, slightly crinkled white jacquard fabric looks and feels fresh, plus it’s soft and summery (it’s great to roll up and carry around).
Actress Minnie Driver, 54, wears a calf-length sleeveless white dress in New York in June.
Anne Hathaway (41) dressed in white at a Bvlgari event in Rome earlier this year.
The second type of recycled white dress is a little smarter: Sessun’s Galaposa cream dress (£107.50, biscuit.clothing) has a similar fit-and-flare shape to Starmer’s Needle And Thread dress, but it buttons down the front and has shirring at the waist.
Don’t be fooled by the shirring (rows of elastic parallel stitching): as long as you don’t wear the dress too tight, it’s not that different from darts and looks flattering.
Another decidedly smart choice is a variation on the shirtdress that has been popular this summer – there were several on display in the VIP area at Wimbledon, and the Queen wore a cream Anna Valentine-inspired shirtdress with pale embroidery at the hem.
Cos sells a V-neck, elbow-length sleeve shirt dress that’s roomy enough for hot weather but smart enough to wear to the office (£85, cos.com), or Jolie Moi’s linen-and-viscose mix midi shirt dress (£68, johnlewis.com), which is described as an oatmeal colour but is pale enough to pass for cream.
For a bit more money, there’s Jasper Conran’s signature Blythe Dress (£250, johnlewis.com ), a sleek, fit-and-flare woven cotton shirtdress with a semi-elasticated waist and wide fabric belt.
The Queen wore a cream Anna Valentine shirtdress with pale embroidery to Wimbledon.
This dress has been making waves this summer because it has sleeves, comes in a variety of lengths and colors (including white), and is smart enough to wear to a wedding (though wearing white to a wedding is still not a good idea, unless the bride is wearing pink).
The great thing about these dresses is that they are effortless to put on.
You can dress it up with smarter sandals (any colour including black) and, if you’re going to a garden party, your bag and hat too.
It can be paired with footbed sandals, flat pumps or flip flops, and also looks great with sunglasses.
There’s no need to add color, and there’s definitely no need to add pattern.
A simple and sophisticated white dress is very attractive.
