How to wear it: White jackets

FOR decades the white jacket was reserved for goddesses of the Hollywood variety.

Bianca jagger

FOR decades the white jacket was reserved for goddesses of the Hollywood variety, with Marlene Dietrich championing the masculine trend as far back as 1932, but last year it seeped into contemporary wardobes courtesy of Balmain and Jean Paul Gaultier.

In their mining of the 1970s for material, designers have been re-imagining the outfit Bianca Jagger wore for her 1971 wedding to Mick Jagger and the white tuxedo has found its way on to the red carpet on the narrow shoulders of Angelina Jolie, Rihanna and Janelle Monae.

You don't need to be a leading lady to pull off this crisp and fresh look. Just wear it with the same casual confidence as a navy blazer and keep an eye out for trays of red wine.

Step one
EASE your way into wearing white jackets with a structured piece such as the Gemma blazer from Sportscraft (sportscraft.com.au, $269). For a casual approach, wear it on top of a blue and white striped shirt and jeans with navy espadrilles. Embrace the season's feast of floral prints by wearing a bloom-packed T-shirt with a blazer and bright cropped jeans in yellow, green or watermelon and leather sandals with metallic details.

A tailored jacket does double duty in the evening. Paris Vogue editor Emmanuelle Alt's work-and-play uniform is a super-snug white blazer with black leather trousers or dark denim and killer Balenciaga shoes. Look for white jackets with black details, such as the Brigit mesh jacket from Arthur Galan AG (arthurgalan.com.au, $449), to tap into the graphic trend that appeared on the Paris runways this month. Galan's cropped-sleeve jacket has a neon yellow strip on the pockets, making it the perfect accompaniment to graphic print pants or a Mary Katrantzou-inspired dress.

Step two
ADVANCED fashion players should explore the roomier boyfriend white jacket with broad, rounded shoulders. The leader of relaxed androgyny in Australian design, Therese Rawsthorne, has been quiet in recent months thanks to the demands of twin girls Telli and Leyla but has returned to form with her latest collection. Her drop-shoulder jacket (thereserawsthorne.com. $595) delivers a voluminous silhouette that is exaggerated by wearing it with cropped cigarette pants. For a fresh summer look, wear a white jacket over a white dress or high-waisted white trousers.

To come
GET your cost-per-wear out of large white blazers this season because their expiry date arrives mid-next year. The Paris runway was filled with cropped jackets bordering on bolero styles for 2013.