7 for All Mankind

Tight, white cropped jeans are once again the height of hip. Joss Stone, Kate Moss, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman and Jennifer Aniston seem to be wearing little else. Meanwhile, white jeans by Marc Jacobs, James, 7 For All Mankind and Earnest Sewn have soared to the top of waiting lists at several London boutiques. But haven't we been here before?

Depending on your age, white jeans bring to mind Essex girls, the boys from Wham! and Magaluf clubbers or The Beach Boys and Jackie Kennedy. And when they were consigned to fashion's rubbish tip in the Eighties, it seemed that their days were truly over.

Yet several factors have contributed to their renaissance in the 21st century. "White denim is a good alternative to the current uniform of heels, blue jeans and a sexy top that women have been wearing for the past four seasons," says Suzanne Pendlebury, denim buyer at Harvey Nichols. "White is even better at going from day to evening than dark denim, and cropped styles are popular because they allow you to show off really sexy shoes."

There are plenty of styles to choose from, from bootcut and wide-leg to Capris and crops. Gap is at the forefront of the trend, and the store's new face, singer Joss Stone, wears white bell-shaped ultra low rise jeans in its new ad campaign.

Other styles include skinny, cropped cuffed Capris (£39.50), city shorts in "vintage" white denim with roll-ups just below the knee (£35), low-rise styles (£45) and wide-leg flares (from £45). Also on the high street, New Look has versions with brown seams and button-down flap pockets (£25).

Of the mid-priced brands, David Bitton (who kits out the entire cast of The OC) uses Japanese denim that has a soft feel and embroidery on the back pockets. Jeans start at £130 (www.davidbitton.co.uk; 020 7436 3377 ).

Rock & Republic (Victoria Beckham's favorite brand) has a style called Roth, presumably named after wrinkly, white-jean-loving rocker David Lee Roth, in a white stretch Capri jean (£130; 020 7734 2039).

The most popular white jeans brands at the Matches boutique in Notting Hill include Balenciaga, Dolce & Gabbana and Notify (worn by Gwyneth Paltrow), though Superfine "tight as tights" styles have sold out. At The Cross and Mimi, James' "Frankie" white jeans (£140, worn by Uma Thurman) are selling well.Read more...