I don’t know why fashion rules exist in the first place. Growing up the rules were many and serious. “Don’t wear navy and black, or else!” “Pink and Red can never be mixed, or else!” “White after labor day is the worst possible thing you could ever do so forget it…or else!!!” Do you want to know what I say? The only rule you need to follow when it comes to your wardrobe, aside from please clothe yourself, is to wear what you feel best in. For me, that means white all year round.

pants: Mother Denim. (on sale! more sizes here) shoes: gift my mom had made in Capri (similar here). tee: rag and bone (similar favorite that is less pricey here) sweater: old Vince (similar here) purse: Wandler.

If you ask me, white was just meant to be worn in chillier temperatures. A cozy white sweater tucked into white trousers, a white tee tucked into white jeans with a giant cardigan, all white with converse in a pumpkin patch, white pants with booties in a pile of fall leaves–do you see the picture I’m painting here? What I’m trying to say is if you’re looking longly at your white pants you tucked away in the summer bin, pull it back out and hang them proudly in your closet next to the dark denim and snow pants.

Dallas holds on to summer temperatures longer than most places so I can get away with doing the thick sweater and sandals combo for a while. Before I know it, though, I’ll be exchanging these shoes for ankle boots. Until then, here are my favorite leather sandals if you’re holding onto a little bit of summer too.

The top really helps sell your white pants once summer passes. My favorites for fall are denim or army jackets, thick knit cardigans with crisp tees and a turtleneck if you’re feeling really leaning into that split second of chill in the air. I prefer the cardigan so I can take it off when Texas Fall laughs in my face. My exact sweater is sold out since I snagged it on final sale in the spring but here are my picks for gray cardigans:

I hope this inspires you to pull all those summer whites back out and get creative with them then send me a photo of what you put together–I can’t wait to see all these cooler-weather whites.